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One Author, One Kirkwood

One Author, One Kirkwood is a yearly community read for the people throughout our St. Louis community. All events are free and open to the public.

Our 2023 event is Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023 at 7 pm

Kirkwood Performing Arts Center
210 E Monroe Ave
Kirkwood, MO

Registration is free, but tickets are required to attend.

Image is the logo for One Author, One Kirkwood. The image is a red circle with a white center. Inside the center is an outline of the Kirkwood Public Library building over an open book. Under the book the text reads, "Discover More." In the red outer circle there is white text that follows along the top of the circle that reads, "One Author, One Kirkwood." and along the bottom of the circle it reads, "Kirkwood Public Library."

Morgan Talty

Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. Named one of Narrative’s “30 Below 30,” Talty’s work has appeared in The Georgia ReviewShenandoahTriQuarterlyNarrative Magazine, LitHub, and elsewhere. He lives in Levant, Maine.
(Bio courtesy of Tin House)

Night of the Living Rez (2022)

Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.

In twelve striking, luminescent stories, author Morgan Talty-with searing humor, abiding compassion, and deep insight-breathes life into tales of family and a community as they struggle with a painful past and an uncertain future. A boy unearths a jar that holds an old curse, whichsets into motion his family’s unraveling; a man, while trying to swindle some pot from a dealer, discovers a friend passed out in the woods, his hair frozen into the snow; a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s projects the past onto her grandson; and two friends, inspired by Antiques Roadshow, attempt to rob the tribal museum for valuable root clubs. A collection that examines the consequences and merits of inheritance, Night of the Living Rez is an unforgettable portrayal of an Indigenous community and marks the arrival of a standout talent in contemporary fiction.

Reviews

  • Remarkable. . . . An electric, captivating voice. . . . Talty has assured himself a spot in the canon of great Native American literature. —The New York Times
  • Hypnotizing. . . . friendship and family, beautifully tinted with both sadness and humor. —TIME
  • A perfect mix of funny, sad, timely, and intense, this one has something for everyone. —The Boston Globe
  • A blazing new talent. —Oprah Daily
  • Astounding. . . . Talty is an important new writer to watch. —Esquire
  • Unearths grace amid strife. . . . Talty, with his ear for natural, almost musical dialogue, compels you to keep listening. —Vulture
  • These stories took me in the same way Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son did when I first read it. The comparison here is meant in every way to praise Talty as a writer, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one who says so, partially because of his emotional precision, his stark, unflinching, droll, intoxicating style, and also because of a certain drug/addiction element at play here. But as I got deeper into the work, into the book, and came to understand these lives and this community, the further away it felt from my initial comparison with Johnson, and the more familiar it felt—our Native communities being bound by countless common threads, strengths and afflictions both—and only then did I understand the distinct brilliance of Talty’s voice as its own, and ours. I knew and felt for these people. Wanted to and knew I couldn’t help them, even as they did me. There is so much brutal, raw, and beautiful power in these stories. I kept wanting to read and know more about these peoples’ lives, how they ended up where they ended up, how they would get out, how they wouldn’t. It is difficult to be so honest, and funny, and sad, at once, in any kind of work. Reading this book, I literally laughed and cried. —Tommy Orange, author of There There
  • Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez is a beautifully crafted, raw and intimate book about youth, friendship, and family on the reservation. These stories are profoundly moving and essential, rendered with precision and intimacy. Talty is a powerful new voice in Native American fiction. —Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed
  • Woven together with the care and intimacy of a family heirloom. —Chicago Reivew of Books
  • If you only read one short story collection this year, make it Night of the Living Rez. —Book Riot
  • There is so much beauty in these stories. . . . they build on themselves the way a life builds: messily, unpredictably, with love and heartache and never quite in the way you expect. —BookPage
  • Ingenious. . . . Unforgettable. —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
  • Talty is adept at unearthing his characters’ emotions. . . . these stories reveal the hardships facing a young Native American in contemporary America. —Kirkus, Starred Review

Other Books by Morgan Talty:

The Best American Short Stories 2021 (Fiction, 2021) Edited by Jesmyn Ward

The Best American Short Stories 2020 (Fiction, 2020) Edited by Curtis Sittenfeld

We also have a book club kit available for checkout to your book club!

Upcoming One Author Events



Event Partners

Image of the Buder Center Logo. Image is four wooden benches in a circle on concreate with green shrubbery behind the benches. There is a circle in the center outlined in black with orange, blue, white, black and yellow color blocks interweaving on it, and the words under it read, "Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies. Brown School."

Women-owned and operated, The Novel Neighbor is an independent bookstore and community space in the Webster Groves neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 2014 by owner Holland Saltsman, The Novel Neighbor sells new books of all genres, locally made art, and carefully curated gifts for avid readers of all ages.

The Buder Center develops programs and curriculum, engages in research, builds relationships and partnerships with communities and people, and develops the ability of its students and alumni to make positive change in Indian Country.

Established in 1962, St. Louis Community College is the largest community college district in Missouri and one of the largest in the United States. STLCC has four campuses: Florissant Valley, Forest Park, Meramec and Wildwood. The College annually serves more than 50,000 students through credit courses, continuing education, and workforce development programs. For more information about STLCC, visit stlcc.edu.

Advises the City Council on ways to: Promote awareness, recreation, employment, legislation, education, accessibility, and participation of and for minority groups, including persons with disabilities; remove any inequalities that pertain to minority groups and the disabled in such areas as housing, recreation, education, employment, law enforcement, services, and accessibility; encourage participation by minority groups and disabled persons in City programs.

Community for Understanding and Hope Book Group: In the quest to transform the Kirkwood area into a prejudice-free community of highly respectful individuals, CFUH initiates ongoing dialogue and social interaction to create an environment of understanding and healing.  Monthly meetings held on 3rd Thursday at 7pm at Kirkwood Public Library.

Our aim is to support children in the community through books, scholarships, and other endeavors in Kirkwood and Glendale, MO. A local chapter of KIWANIS.

The West County Community Action Network (WE CAN) works to impact the education, policing, and voting systems in pursuit of racial equity in our region.

The Rotary Club of Kirkwood is part of a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

Kirkwood was established in 1853 and was the first planned residential commuter suburb west of the Mississippi. Today the City is nine square miles in size and is home to a population of 27,540.

Funding for the One Author series of programs is provided by the Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Foundation.

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