Poets & Writers Theater

In this 2023 event hosted by the Chicago Humanities Festival, Zadie Smith reads from her latest novel, The Fraud (Penguin Press, 2023), and discusses the definition of historical fiction, the relationship between truth and emotion, and the impact of code-switching on her voice-driven writing with poet and novelist Chris Abani.

“The only time I meet a stranger is when I confront myself. Any time I meet new people, they’re not strangers.” Poet, novelist, and essayist Chris Abani tells a story about meeting strangers in the airport, learning from their kindness, and how these experiences have influenced his writing for this 2016 House of SpeakEasy event at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York.

Nigerian author Chris Abani gives a TED Talk on the concept of ubuntu, sharing stories of remarkable people, and concludes with Lucille Clifton's poem "Libation." Abani has taught at the VONA/Voices workshop, which was featured in "The Moment of Truth: Eleven Authors Share Stories of Life-Changing Retreats" in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.