Goddard College presents a reading by New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Bond on Wednesday, July 20th, at 7 PM at 204 Battery Way in Fort Worden State Park. Bond will read from her critically acclaimed novel Ruby, an Oprah book club selection.
Inspiration for Ruby came from some of the author’s own family history, including the story of her aunt who was killed by men rumored to be part of the Ku Klux Klan. A PEN Rosenthal Fellow for Emerging Writers, Bond attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, then moved to New York and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Bond founded The Blackbird Collective in 2011 to “create a nurturing, supportive environment for writers” with an emphasis on “telling truths seldom shared, and using creativity to help others.” She has taught writing to homeless and at-risk youth for over fifteen years.
The NY Times Sunday Book Review praised Ruby as a “stunning debut novel” while The Guardian newspaper stated that “while many will compare Ruby to the work of Toni Morrison or Zora Neale Hurston…It may be most apt to compare Bond to Gabriel García Márquez. Ruby is woven with magical realism…Luminous.” According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Bond traffics in extremely difficult subjects with a grace and bigheartedness that makes for an accomplished, enthralling read.”
The reading is free and open to the public with a book signing and reception to follow. Presented by Goddard’s MFA in Creative Writing Program’s Visiting Writers Series.
Contact: Joyce Gustafson Phone: 360-344-4100 or Email: joyce.gustafson@goddard.edu
That sounds fantastic, I am going to get the book. What can be wrong about combination of Toni Morrison with a bit of Magic Realism?
Thank you!