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Join us in-person or on Zoom for a book discussion of Memphis by Tara Stringfellow!
n the summer of 1995, ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father’s violence, seeking refuge at her mother’s ancestral home in Memphis. Half a century ago, Joan’s grandfather built this majestic house in the historic Black neighborhood of Douglass–only to be lynched days after becoming the first Black detective in Memphis. This wasn’t the first time violence altered the course of Joan’s family’s trajectory, and she knows it won’t be the last. Longing to become an artist, Joan pours her rage and grief into sketching portraits of the women of North Memphis–including their enigmatic neighbor Miss Dawn, who seems to know something about curses.
Unfolding over seventy years through a chorus of voices, Memphis weaves back and forth in time to show how the past and future are forever intertwined. It is only when Joan comes to see herself as a continuation of a long matrilineal tradition–and the women in her family as her guides to healing–that she understands that her life does not have to be defined by vengeance. That the sole weapon she needs is her paintbrush.
Click this link to search for the book in our catalog and place a hold on it.
Register for this book discussion using the form below. If attending virtually, you’ll receive the link to the Zoom meeting in an email confirmation of your registration.
William Jeanes Book Club Afternoon Edition
Please email Jennifer at jrusche@mclinc.org for assistance in accessing Zoom on your smart device, computer or by calling in on your telephone.
Closed captioning for this event made possible by the Mary Knowles Technology Fund of the Friends of William Jeanes Memorial Library.
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Due to a software issue, the public computers will be out of service all weekend.
However, you will still have access to wi-fi, copying, scanning, and mobile printing.
This is WJM-specific, and does not affect our neighboring libraries, if you need to use a public computer.
Thank you for your patience!