hello. i'm john reed. faculty here in the creative writing program and the director of the creative creative writing program at the new school.

the one time i was on this stage before i was a board member of the nbcc chairing a category. it's my great honor tonight to welcome the nbcc and to welcome you to this year's national book critics circle awards. the new school and the nbcc have a long standing relationship going back to the very earliest years of the nbcc. our faculty have been board members and awards recipients and our communities have worked together in classrooms and publications and events since before the memory of anyone here. the annual awards have been hosted at the new school for over 20 years. these past few years have been very challenging for all of us with covid. we are finally back on campus for in real life and ceremony. and of course at the new school

we are emerging from last fall when all of us were tested in our ideals and faith in one another and the future working with the nbcc is something that reminds us what we're here for and we're enormously grateful to have a friendship that extends beyond any of us individually. to begin, i have to thank our teams at tnt's at the new school for bringing us to this evening. but that poor stuart pennebaker and nina grant of us fits into kate tully, bianca lamone, laura cronk, the inestimable laurel and laurie lynn turner. and mary watson from the nbcc. thank you. to the nbcc previous president megan libraries arts awards.

award vp maris christman, marilyn winick. david barno and halima. halima alma said to be who's up in the basement. thank you, everyone, for being here tonight. and with that, i'll sit the microphone to mary's question. sorry to disappoint you all. i'm megan liveris. it's an absolute joy to welcome you all to the nbcc awards for publishing year 2022. this is the first time we've been able to gather in person since 2019 as the 2020 ceremony

was canceled due to, you know. thank you so much, john. thank you, john. read for the introduction. thank you to the new school for hosting us for this event. the new school has been a generous partner to the national book critics circle for many, many years. special thanks to laurie lynn turner, associate director of the new school creative writing program. for her tremendous efforts on our behalf. yeah. she's a great as president of the national book critics circle. i have the honor of telling you our origin story tonight. picture it, manhattan, 1974, lapels were wide collars were to the place was lousy with telephone booths, nicotine and norgaard perfumed the air. and gore vidal and merle miller topped the new york times

bestseller list. that april john leonard notable aitkin and ivan sandra met at the algonquin hotel to talk, reading, criticism and literature. they had so much fun talking, reading, criticism and literature they thought, let's take this conversation nationwide. and the national book critics circle was born. fawn. nine years later, the nbcc serves around 800 freelance and staff book critics, book review editors, student members and friends. we've become a5a1c3 nonprofit organization with a mission that's simple and sweet on honor, outstanding writing and foster a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature. we strive to shine a light on books that deserve your attention. books we'd like to discuss with you. we host various panels and programs throughout the year, and of course, each march we give these awards. they remain the only national literary awards chosen by critics themselves. we thank you.

the nbcc has honored the work of e.l. doctorow, katha pollitt, alice munro, jorge luis borges, carol anderson, louise erdrich and shirley hazzard. in recent years, francine, jay harris, cathy park, john, diane. susan honoré. fernand jeffers. clint smith. jeremy atherton. lynn and anthony business. so just to name a few. tonight, we're excited to honor the outstanding books of 2022 and six categories poetry, criticism, autobiography, biography, nonfiction and fiction. we'll also present the john leonard prize for best first book, the notable amy citation for excellence in reviewing and the ivan sandra lifetime achievement award for an individual whose work transformed book culture. last year, we added the toni morrison award for a literary

institution that has done the same. and this year there are two new honors the greg barrios book in translation prize and the nbcc service award for an individual whose work has transformed our organization. welcome to inaugural nbcc service award winner barbara hoffert. welcome to the finalist for the greg barrios book in translation prize. welcome to sandra. winner joy harjo. welcome, leonard. finalists. welcome to morrison. winner city lights. welcome to belief in winner

jennifer wilson. and welcome to the finalists in poetry, criticism, autobiography, biography, nonfiction and fiction. one second. at this time, i'd like to invite all of this year's finalists and winners to stand. you all knew what to do. thank you. thank you. to those of you in attendance tonight. we are so happy you could make the journey. and to those of you who wanted to be with us but could not. you are missed. thank you to those who participated in our virtual finalist reading, which

premiered last night on youtube, where it remains for your viewing pleasure. this is a program of 1 to 2 minute readings by a vast majority of the authors and translators were honoring tonight. there's nothing like it. i wholeheartedly encourage you to check it out. thank you to the brilliant, indefatigable marion winik for coordinating. for coordinating and emceeing the virtual finalists. reading. thank you to wild ben live for producing this and all of our special virtual events since 2021. you'll see some more of their excellent work tonight up on this screen. earlier today, the board met at the offices of the community of literary magazines and presses and online to complete our deliberations. thank you to klemp for hosting us. it was a battle royale of book

criticism intense in the best way possible, polysyllabic adjectives were flying fast and furiously. and i'm not talking like input bull. i mean, like pulchritude in this. everybody brought their best to bear. and we're excited to reveal the results. by the way, if four and a half hours of passionate taste making sounds like a fun time, do you please consider running for the board? we are a 24 person, all volunteer board whose members are traditionally elected to three year terms. thank you to my fellow board members. it's been an honor to serve with you. special thanks to the board members who will be cycling off after this year's award ceremony. their willow curry. diego baez, laurie feathers and tara merrigan. so at this time, i'd like to invite the board to stand.

one last thing before i go perpetuating a national conversation session about reading, criticism and literature. means we must welcome more people into the practice and the profession. to that end, the nbcc launched its emerging critics fellowship in 2017, seeking to identify, nurture and support the next generation of book critics. i want to recognize this year's of ten emerging critics by name. they are lila benitez, james, kathy chow, summer ferrer, ella fox martins. ricardo jaramillo. a day omotosho s.m.. stephan triplett. maisy wilcher. gordon and liz wood.

please look for their bylines. if you're an assigning editor, please hire them. and now it is my delight and my honor to welcome the amazing maris chrisman, vp of awards, to introduce this evening program. thank you so much. the board this year. i mean, after tonight. so thank you for all. the students. see. so i get to tell you all the fun stuff. there is a reception tonight at

63/5 avenue, just up the street on 12th. around and around the corner. and tickets can be purchased at the door if you don't have them already. so please come celebrate with us. even more fun if your name is called tonight because you've won an award. please use either of the staircases to come up on stage and accept the award and give a brief speech. if you so choose. we won't play you off like it's the oscars, but we would love to get out of here by eight. so just keep that in mind. the recipients of awards for which we've already announced winners will get to take home a plaque tonight. all of the others that we voted on today will be sent to winners once they are inscribed. after you've accepted your award, please go backstage for a photograph before returning to your seat. i'd also like to ask all winners and board members to stick

around after the ceremony for a group photo. speaking of photos, thank you to the universally beloved beowulf sheehan who will be taking photos tonight. thank you to c-span booktv for being here. thank you. international literary properties co-sponsor of tonight's award reception based in new york and london. i'll invest globally in the intellectual property rights to books, plays and other works in order to protect, secure and grow their legacy for future generations. by working closely with publishers, agents and authors. we're very proud to partner with you. thank you. to sarah rousseau and suzanne williams for sharing their time and their expertise to help us

publicize the awards. thank you. to p.a. knitwear for selling books in the lobby tonight. so please by books from them. you remember that's the best way to show your support for these wonderful authors. and now i am delighted to start the prizes by introducing the inaugural greg barrios book and translation prize. good evening, everyone. my name is mandana shaffer and as one of the deputies for the berrios book in translation prize and especially as an immigrant for whom english is a second language, it is a remarkable honor to be here to present this award. as many of you know, the barriers book in translation prize is named after board member greg berrios, a latino

poet, playwright and obviously a book critic who passed away in 2021. as a board member of the nbcc, greg made an immeasurable impact on our organization. he funded the first balakian book, excluded the blake prize for book critics. in 2012, he chaired the john leonard prize committee, and he also served as our first vice president of diversity and inclusion. he firmly believed that the nbcc should have a prize for literature in translation. and so through this prize, our goal is to highlight the artistic merit of literature in translation and recognize the translators valuable work which expands and enriches american literary culture by bringing world literature to english language readers like the leonard prize for best debut, the the barriers is a prize for which our membership plays a really critical role in determining. it's also an award that is open to work from all genres, and we're really immensely proud

that the nominees in our new school year include books of fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, and even graphic novels. our committee read nearly 300 books this year in translation publishing in the united states from 67 countries of origin and 39 source languages. without the brilliance and leadership of our vice president and my dear friend to our american who shepherded this prize from a dream to the reality that we have today, we wouldn't be here. unfortunately, she's not with us tonight. i also want to commend our thoughtful, passionate, committed, long and short term community of panelists and voters, many of whom are translators themselves. this process wouldn't exist without them either, and i wish i had the time to name them all. but if you go to our website, you'll be able to see who they are. one of my personal guiding lights, italo calvino, who this year was translated by, and goldstein wrote translated is an

art. the transfer of a literary text, whatever its value into another language always requires some type of miracle literary translate. writers are those who stake their entire being to translate the untranslated above. so if the written word connects and elevates us, then i think it does. then books in translation could bring the entire world closer, sharing both the commonality of the human condition as well as the differences. we celebrate and cherish. i know i speak for our entire board and committee members that we have been joyously informed and transformed by the writers and translators of these books. the nominees are grapes by andrei kirchhoff, translated by boris gerlach from russian published by deep ellum. keyboard girl by scholastic mocha sonya translated by mark powells city from french

published by archipelago books. linea negra an essay on pregnancy and earthquakes by yasmina pereira translated by christina max sweeney from spanish published by two lines press. the books of jacob by olga tokarczuk. translated by jennifer croft from polish. published by riverhead books. when i sing mountains, dance by arena sola. translated by marta faye lethem from the catalan, published by gray wolf press. and finally, you can be the last leaf by maya abu al-hayat, translated by fadi juda from arabic, published by milkweed editions.

in the first barrier's book and translator from prize goes to great bees by andré kirchhoff, translated by boris driver from the original version and published by christine. now. i know that boris isn't here with us tonight, and i'm wondering if there is some representative who might want to come and accept the award? no. okay. so let me just read our citation that our beloved american wrote. ukrainian author andre kirchhoff scribes translated from russian into english by boris farrar. luck is a subtle, captivating novel about an isolated man living in the gray zone between ukraine and the breakaway donetsk region and this was prior to the 2022 russian invasion. thanks to relic's translation creeps offers anglophone readers a nuanced, deeply human understanding of the cost of the

2014 aggression against ukraine. the novel, which kerckhove calls his personal farewell to the crimea that may never exist again artfully illuminates the tragedy suffered on ukrainian lands while maintaining a broad humanistic focus on the crisis aftermath. thank you so much. we accept this award on behalf of us. hi, i'm eric banks. i was president president of this outstanding organization sent back in 2011 and 2012. and it's an honor to be invited back once again on this great evening and it's great to see so many people since it was founded nearly five decades ago. the national book critics circle has depended on the hard,

voluntary work of its members, particularly those elected to serve on its board of directors. yet there is a significant distinction in between those whose dedication makes it possible for the nbcc to get its work done. year in, year out. and those special few who, through their great commitment, have had a truly transformational effect when it comes to the aspirations and accomplishments of the organization. it is in honor of those very rare individuals that the nhbc has created. the nbcc service award being given this year for the first time in recognition of extraordinary work on behalf of the organization. the level of service the award speaks to puts me in mind of one of howard nemerov finest poems. indeed, one of the greatest two line poems in the history of the english language. titled bacon and eggs. the chicken contributes, but the pig gives his all. i'm glad that got laughter a little worried about the. what an honor it is and a delight it is for me to introduce the inaugural

recipient of the yearbook service award. this evening, one who truly over many years has given her all. former wnbc president barbara hoffert. barbara has worn so many different hats at the nbcc that one worries about overlooking a chapter or two here or there in addition to serving as president of the organization in 1997 and 1998, halcyon years for the nbcc membership. she has fielded virtually every position in the nbcc lineup from treasurer in her early days on the board to vp for awards a decade ago. among the most onerous and burdensome positions in the organization which she executed with her signature no sweat aplomb. it was in that latter capacity as vp for awards that i first got to know barbara, who made my own days as wnbc president, so much easier with her effortless management of the awards process. from ordering and tracking the mountain of books, the board requested, and this was in the those days before pdf. including the last minute, 20 or 30 titles that are more dilatory. board members invariably cooked up in the waning days of

december, which is always a special time to try and reach book publicists to shepherding the flock of winners and worthies across the stage at the annual ceremony. my experience is decidedly not unique. barbara makes everyone else's work shine often without their being aware of it, and certainly without the public acknowledgment that she is long deserved. tonight is the opportunity for the nbcc to show its gratitude and to publicly acknowledge what a debt the organization owes barbara for her tireless contributions over the years. those contributions run the gamut from the big to the small, as jane three reminded me the other day. they include such unheralded gestures as writing the press releases when john freeman as nbcc president in the late aughts and then always here tonight marshaled support for the ambitious nationwide campaign to save book reviewing and even to providing a meeting space for the nbcc board during the her long tenure at the library journal. and as always, coming over tonight on the subway, i recalled a story, a ceremony about a decade ago when our

sandra off award that winner that year, bob silvers, inadvertently left the plaque in the back of a taxicab, which we later learned, i think it was that very evening he had been separated from the award. and as i recall, it was barbara who tracked down the the taxi, the dispatcher and taxi driver and reunited the awardee and the award. so how's that for service. in the nbcc newsletter in which barbara's presidency and yes, we used to send these led newsletters out with stamps on them and through the mail and the nbc newsletter in which barbara's presidency was first announced back in 1997. she was single. she was singled out for praise, for her warmth, her inclusiveness, and her accessible liberty, as well as her unflagging efforts on behalf of the organization. it's a relief to realize that in a period of monumental change in the book world and in the world of book reviewing, some things remain the same. barbara not only helped shape the awards format that we enjoy

tonight, she not only guided the nbcc into the new century, she also remains a paragon of collegiality and camaraderie. please join me in saluting barbara over. the. thank you for that lovely production. we should get together more often. you know, for that book, i want to thank the board of the national book critics circle and particularly the committee members karen long, laurie mutchnick and jacob apel for giving me this award. i am honored and humbled and grateful. and delay did.

and i can only hope that i really did make a difference for the organization because it is so important what the organization does. there are so many people who worked so hard for this organization. you know, starting with the founding to the recent work in social justice and outreach that i really admire. and so i can feel especially honored and humbled to win the inaugural inaugural award. and i'm just really glad that all that work that so many people do will now be honored. there's a way forward now. there is an award to acknowledge all that work. i really am glad about that. so thank you board for that idea. it's wonderful because it is a volunteer organization and yes, i was reminded as i was thinking back at how busy it's sometimes got, you know, so. so i am a grateful that it is. there's an award here for for

everyone who contributes. when i first learned about the award, i said, oh, a service award that's so resonant because what we do as book critics, as book journalists and as review editors is indeed service to books, to readers, to literature, to critical thinking, to ideas, to beauty, and to language itself. and so with another hearty thanks, we will get on with awards. thank you very much.

hi, i'm adam dalva, and i'm chair of the john leonard prize for best first book. in any genre. this award is named for nbcc co-founder john leonard, who was a longtime champion of debut authors. and it's one of the two awards that are determined by our members and not the board. this is the prize's 10th anniversary. i want to thank our leonard judges for their passion and dedication and hard work in determining both our list and our winner. there were zoom calls. there was very heated slack debate, and there was passionate, passionate advocacy for our seven finalists that advocacy reminded me of the vital importance of book criticism, people donating their time to read and come together and reach some form of consensus. we had a lot of fun. these finalists made the list out of consideration. set of, believe it or not, over 110 debuts. so being on this

list is a major accomplishment. now for the finalists, the john leonard prize finalists are jasmine chen for the school for good mothers, simon and schuster and mary sue richey book. jonathan and scott free for if i survive. you emceed farrar, straus and giroux. tess country for the rabbit hutch off. zane collard for brother alive grow. maud newton for ancestor trouble random house. morgan talty for night of the living rez tin house. and wahoo novara for the

immortal king row norton. without much further adieu, we are delighted to present the john leonard prize to morgan talty for his magnificent debut story collection, night of the living room. i see no one standing, so i'm going to read it here. do you think you'll come up as you make your way across that row of people who will have to stand to let you out? i will read the citation and i'll leave it here so you can read it after. okay. citation morgan to all these images, hare frozen in snow, teeth rattling in a jar are as indelible as his brilliant sentences. the collection's protagonist, david, is wonderfully depicted throughout and our leonard voters particularly appreciated the duality between this younger

and older selves. these are heartfelt stories and sad ones. as the residents of maine's penobscot indian nation reservation struggle with addiction and poverty. but tall tales, deft touch provides humor and beauty in the face of despair. this is a writer to watch, a writer to come back to. as you've heard, morgan is not with us tonight for very good reason. his child was just born. but please. your everything. hi, i'm becky. i'm the publicity director at tin house. i actually have morgan on the phone. i'm going to see if the speakerphone will work. morgan, can you talk? and we'll see if it picks you up. yeah. can people hear me. if you want a quick description of where i am, i'm on the couch with a little baby on my legs and he's half asleep, half awake, and he's very cute.

and i'm just very overwhelmed and happy and excited. and i cannot thank lexi enough for having selected my book and having it be next to all of these finalists. i am just so, so, so grateful. thank you. thank you so, so much. thank you. so. hi, i'm colette bancroft, the vp secretary of the nbcc board. and it was also my great pleasure this year to serve as chair of the committee that selects finalists for the known

a balakian citation for excellence in reviewing presented each year to an nhbc member. we received 54 barium press entries from members and committee chose five finalists. the entire board voted for the winner, selecting jennifer wilson. wilson has written for the nation, the new york times, the atlantic, the new republic, the new yorker, and the new york review of books, among other publications. she received a ph.d. from princeton and has written extensively about russian literature and history. her winning entry for the blake end, the first russian published in the new york review, a deeply knowledgeable and fresh analysis as a new translation of alexander pushkin's unfinished novel. peter, the great african. i'm delighted to present the blake in citation to jennifer wilson.

i don't thank you so much. someone asked me what i was going to use the prize money for, and i said i was going to hire a body double to give this speech for me. but freelancer taxes due. so here i am, the real me and sweaty flesh. i realize i've never had to give a speech before. i guess i'm not. generally speaking, a winner. and i suppose none of my friends trust me to give a wedding toast. but now you all have given me a prize. your trust and a microphone. okay, great. now you're all as nervous as i am. and i have an uneasy relationship to first discourse. but i feel the need. note that i'm the first black recipient of this award.

and. i only mention it to explain why i must, if i ever want to go home again. thank my elders first. so i'd like to dedicate award to my grandmother, zelda, who taught me how to read. okay, now i can thank the national book critics circle and the blake and committee for this tremendous, truly unexpected honor. i also want to congratulate the other finalists, critics whose work i read this year with deep, deep envy to sarah to hire christophe irmscher lauren, michelle jackson and ruth margulis. it's a privilege to be in your company. another book critic was giving me advice for this speech, and he said, whatever you do, do not get political. do not get hyperbolic about the importance of what we do know. the role of the book critic, wartime or any nonsense like that. excellent advice i thought should be easy enough for me to

follow. right? as a critic who mostly reviews russian literature. this has been an unusual year for me. like all book critics, i'm used to getting frantic texts from friends that say i have an 11 hour car ride. what audiobook should i download? i still get texts like those, except now they're interspersed with what's putin's end game? so simple enough questions like which translation of war and peace is the best have been replaced by how likely is a nuclear attack? and you know the answer to that question, by the way, is the mod translation. as one professor i know put it, it's the only one that gets the horses right. and that really matters. i wish i could say these friends were barking up the wrong tree that i looked up from my copy of anna karenina and replied, ma'am, this is a wendy's. however, this this has been a conflict where language has been at the fore on putin use the prevalence of russian peoples in

eastern ukraine as a pretext for this invasion. as a result anything to do with language has gotten pulled into the conflict quite quickly, including and especially literature. on march 16th, 2022, a russian air strike bombed a theater in eastern ukraine, killing 600 people who were hiding in the basement, occupying forces covered the damaged facade with a curtain that had the faces of tolstoy and pushkin on. many in ukraine have responded, by rejecting anything to do with russian culture and language. across the country, many have emptied their libraries of russian language books and sent them be pulped. prominent ukrainian writers and intellectuals have vowed never to in russian again. as i lay out this context, i'm not quite sure how i worked up the courage to review anything all this year with stakes like these, i don't think anyone could have blamed me for wanting to throw my laptop in the east river. that's a dostoyevsky reference, by the way. this past year, i reviewed books by writers from russia, ukraine

and belarus available in translation. and thanks to some of the very people in this room. many of these were contemporary writers reflecting on the first stages of the invasion back to the annexation of crimea in 2014. the proxy war that's been unfolding in eastern ukraine since and putin's neo imperial machinations across the region. why, i thought, didn't writing about all this scare me? i'm just a book critic, after all. then i remembered i'm a book critic. if there's one thing we can do and, you know, there might only be one thing we can do, it's write about language. we, as critics, can hear those writers express a longing for the imprecision and indeterminacy of language in their books and know to read that as a rejection of the politicians who have tried to make language determine everything. i want to thank the national book critics circle. again, not just on my but for instituting a prize for literature in translation this year. i would have no occasion to

review these books and comment on these issues were it not for the work of translators who've made this writing accessible to the english speaking audiences. their work has been a constant reminder to me that language not just a barrier to be broken down, but rather the most central element of our art the quality that makes writing, living, breathing thing worth fighting for. thank you. there's a fresh voice these days leading the poetry world. joy harjo is the first native american to serve as poet laureate of the united states. she's a member of the muscogee creek nation who grew up in oklahoma. i guess what strikes me is the diversity of the diversity of native poetry, which was here

and is here and is still growing. and the diversity of america and poet poetry, which has roots all over the world. and you carry several pieces of stories in one form, several countries in her poems. and it can exist together peacefully in a poem. and so i think of how poetry enables us to maybe to shift our images of each other and to listen. you cannot write poetry. you don't listen. and that is that's probably one of my biggest lessons in this life, is learning how to listen. my mother gave me a stash of coins in a sock. she saved from her dishwashing job. and she gave me this. insight. she said to back on a song, there's power in this song. but you have to sing to wake the power up.

then the songs fly out, circle and protect you. it goes like this you yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay. don't forget my red ribbon. i try to give it back. save yourself. no, no, baby. it doesn't work. do. anything i say now. i will be proof. totally anticlimactic. i just realized i'm going to

introduce the award that then rob casper will introduce in more detail before joy takes the stage. i'm jacob powell. i'm the nbc treasure. irreversible sound profoundly anticlimactic. this is also the moment where i mention that we are a largely member supported organization. it's a great opportunity for you all to become members or life members or make large donations. i will note that if you have children you wish to disinherit or a wedding ring you're not using at the moment or just ill gotten gains you're wishing to launder. i will be standing at the door on that note. ivan sandrock was one of the three individuals with john leonard known to blake in who came together in 1974 to found this organization. and he was our first president. and donated considerable time and effort while working full

time as an editor at the worcester gazette and a book reviewer and. then he died prematurely in 1979 and to honor him in 1981, the organization set up an award to honor people who contribute to book culture and. two years ago, we then bifurcated that award to set up another award to honor toni morrison so that individuals who have contributed organizations wouldn't compete with each other. i will note that under the brilliant leadership of my predecessor, michael schaub, these awards increasingly focused such factors as support for civil society, free expression and people who spent their own capital to raise up unheard voices of others. and it is in that spirit that i turn things over to robbed, introduced to sandra ford.

of as probably the only federal employee in the room. i'm going to pretend i didn't hear that thing about the money laundering. hello, i'm rob casper, head of poetry and literature at the library of congress. i'm to introduce joy harjo. this year's event, sandra lifetime achievement award winner on behalf of the library. i would first like to congratulate joy on this honor and thank the national book critics circle board for offering the award to a former poet laureate of the united states as the librarian of congress, carla hayden said upon announcing her 2018 laureate appointment. quote, joy harjo has championed the art of poetry, soul, talk, as she calls it, for over four decades to her, poems are carriers of dreams, knowledge

and wisdom, and through them, she tells an american story of tradition and loss, reckoning and mythmaking. her world powerful, connects us to the earth and the spiritual world with direct, inventive lyrics, ism that helps us reimagine who we are. i remember how right joy seemed for the position at the time. not only was her terrific ninth poetry collection an american sunrise, about to be published, but the landmark norton anthology she edited when the light of the world was subdued. our songs came through was slated to be published. the following year, featuring 161 authors from 90 native nations covering 300 years. of course, joy has long been celebrated for her writing and her advocacy of native poets and writers. but in working with her, i came

to see just how committed both she is. her laureate project living nation's living words, which included a story map locating contemporary native american poets across the country unmarked by today's state boundaries. a new digital collection at the library and a corresponding anthology showed how native voices quote belong everywhere in the american story. joyce was a history making laureate ship as her events at the law at the library exemplify. and in 2019, her opening began with the welcome from. the chief of the muskogee creek nation and her career spanning reading and performance with a three piece band set a new standard for a laureate event in 2021. the librarian of congress hosted joy and her friend and former student deb haaland. the first native american to

serve as u.s. secretary of the interior enjoys 2022 closing week of events featured the historic first retreat of ina poe, indigenous nation's poets, a new organizer asian mentoring emerging native writers. i would be remiss if i didn't also tell you that joy's very last laureate event was a dance party on the steps of the library facing the u.s. capitol. and i feel i should admit to you that midway through the party, in a particularly vigorous move, i sprained my ankle. but i kept going and afterwards spent eight months in physical therapy without any regret. such was and is my dedication to joy harjo seriously. i know of no other poet with a stronger network of friends, supporters and fans. the ina apo faculty and fellows

on the steps that evening represented a small small number of the poets and writers for whom joy is a model and a mentor to readers. joy offers wisdom and wonder showcases the beauty of longing and living and captures the truth of who we are as a self, a community a consciousness. joy has also always spoken to the planet and to the ancestors and the generations to come. i know the sandra award is given to a person who has over time made significant contributions to book culture. i would argue just as books can be much more than the words they can, can they contain our enduring and empowering documents of our being? that joy harjo in her writing her interdisciplinary work and her service created a

constellation of connection that continues expand. please join me in welcoming juha jim. i didn't know he sprained his ankle. thank you. or modo in our muskogee language. i am so honored to be standing here with you and before you in person to accept this honor for a lifetime of mischief. i mean, writing, of course, the

best writing makes for a kind of mischief that is, it runs counter to the expected opens doors. a fresh insight that upset the status quo makes a pathway for justice to have its say. i've always had the greatest respect for this organization. for those who read closely and pay attention to literary witness in the story field, the national book critics circle was founded in 1974. this means next year. it will be 50 years since its founding. my first poems were published in 72 when i was an undergraduate student at the university of new mexico. so i have come of age as a poet writer alongside the national book critics. our generation went about making historical adjustment and covering the stories and cultural knowledge that had been

denied a place at the table of american literature. we are all witnesses to history, to the unfoldment and reshaping of mythic structures, of meaning through cultural and societal shift. through the years i come to, i have come to understand that poets are the point. people that is we are just a little ahead when it comes to the shape of an age and how it will arrange itself around the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. we call out to hear of what is and speak of all. listen then with language, music, phrasing, time, and all the other elements of poetry making, we create. i had no plans to be a poet to become a poet, even as much as i depended utterly on doorways of books to draw me into the creativity of imagining inherent in the story field. though i learned to appreciate and enjoy fine poetry and prose,

nothing i read in my public school education and even university education directly included experience of the original native peoples or my muskogee culture. all the literature i read or had come across was to had come across was by european or euro-american writers until i went to the institute of american indian arts, which was then a bureau of indian affairs high school, and read poetry. a fellow student poet. i got kicked out of my high school english class because i caused ruckus with my note passing and limericks about the teacher. i was then taught one on one by a teacher who allowed to read freely. anything i wanted. it was there i buried myself in thomas hardy and other english poets from books donated to the indian school.

i also wrote lyrics for a campus rock band, but didn't yet turn to writing poetry that would come a few years later. i am related to the nationally known, then nationally known and respected muskogee poet alexander posey, who lived between 1873 and 1908. his poems were not part of our public school curricula. my earliest education in the state of oklahoma did not include native literature. we were rarely present in any discipline. we appeared briefly in the unit on oklahoma history. then the course continued without us to the glorification of the oklahoma land run. in that representation of history was an immense unspoken back that was hidden to protect the american dream story from tarnish. oklahoma state law 7175 in 2021.

a law that essentially was created to keep it that way. and i just got a letter, an email from a young, muskogee educated who asked me if i would help her start a book club for band books in oklahoma. so it started going on there, too. those years of the early seventies began a national shift towards cultural, racial and gender reckoning. i came of age in that arc of change, a spool of transformation that is still unwinding and getting caught up on stuff. i was a studio art major at the university of new mexico and a member of the native student club, the keep a club. we were engaged in securing native rights in the surrounding tribal communities and national key local native community is asking us to help them to be

present at negotiations with coal and uranium companies, to share their stories. i heard eloquent testimonies with i heard eloquent testimonies of the poets and story keepers from various tribal nations as they told the stories and sing of their presence in their lands and underlined their responsibilities. wounded knee went down in 1973. many made that trek to stand for human rights. these were the times that bertha kiowa poet and writer in scott mohammadi, whose novel house maid of dawn, won the pulitzer prize and james james welch blackfeet, published his first novelist, but published his first and only book of poetry, writing the earth boy 40, which is now a classic in american poetry. laguna pueblo writer leslie marmon silcox novel ceremony was threaded with oratorical

references to classical myths. laguna structures. she was awarded one of the first macarthur genius grants. that novel became part of the american canon. this is how i came to poetry. the one semester. leslie silke was a visiting writer at the university new mexico. she brought in ishmael reed, the african american satirist and novelist, to read. he was a force in calling attention to multiculturalism. the multiculturalism of american literature. my first visit to new york city was to participate in one of the first multi-car cultural poetry gatherings and is memorialized on an lp from folkways records. at that time, any book by a native author could not be found in the literature sections at bookstores. they were always shelved under anthropology. sometimes they still are. we were not seen as literary.

and one very well-known critic told my italian translator there were no native poets worth attention. it has been about 50 years. and here we are at the top of the loop of the next coming of age. there is a new generation. students now read poetry of many people's who call this country their home. they are more present in the literary community lately, long soldier was a finalist for the national book award in poetry into 2017. natalie diaz won a pulitzer prize for poetry 2021. a new native poetry organization in ipoh was launched last year. at last year at the final event of my poet laureate ship. inspired by the success of kavi khanum in growing black writers and poets of consciousness and quality during the pandemic, the citizens of this country turned to poetry in numbers unseen. in recent years because they

needed what poetry could give them a place to grieve, express a joy, fury and uncertainty. and to do what poetry has always done. offer a doorway to the unspeakable, to the artist story of words. i am honored to have been part of this poetry story of my generation. the story of literature this country and its contradictory history. a poet of the muskogee creek nation. i have had so many assist along the way, including my of 30 years jewel by a law school. are you here, jill? i think she's here. and there were. there are so many along the way who have who are part of this story of this lifetime. thank you. deeply for this recognition for a lifetime of achievement. i am not done yet. each of you.

they're selling postcards of the hanging their painting, the passports from the beauty parlor as to who the sale is. the circus is in town. let's start. tell me about this place. well, it was founded in 1953 by lawrence ferlinghetti, and it was modeled after the european bookstore, which had a publishing house as well as a bookstore in the same operation. lawrence's partner was a guy,

the name of peter de martin. peter de martin was mostly interested in the journal. ferlinghetti really had a broader vision, which was to create a publishing house that issued fourth quality paperbacks. hardcovers were very expensive. yeah, and the great thing about a paperback is that, you know, you didn't have to spend a week's worth of wages on it. you wanted to make something that just some kid would come in and with an allowance money, be able to pick up and open up and just like and inspire. you wanted to inspire a generation of people to look at poetry differently. first and foremost were a cultural center. and this is really the nexus where the literary and the political meet. and so our job to keep the avant garde alive. yes, sir. i received your letter yesterday about the time that donna broke with you, asking me how i was doing. yes, that's okay, joe.

oh, all these people that you mentioned. yes, i know them. they're quite lame. i had to rearrange their faces and gives them all another. right now. i can't read too good. don't send me no more letters. give it up for our interpreters the night. they've been amazing. and. thank you for that. my name is john freeman. it's my pleasure to be presenting the toni morrison achievement award to city tonight and it's a huge honor to be standing in a space that joy

harjo recently vacated. i'm hoping that some of your poetry muse rubs off on me. it was in city lights. i was first given a copy of one of your books by a bookseller there, and that's how it works, isn't it? all of us are here because someone gave us a book, a grandmother, a library, and it could have been a bookseller. someone said to us, read this or they read it to us. books travel a long way to us. but the close part is very special because in that hand over these roles get mixed up. the poetry reading starts to feel like family, or maybe the bookseller acts like a librarian and says, hey, you can hang out here and read. here's a chair and oh yeah, check this out. the bookstore becomes a house of worship where we're read to and where we're safe. that spirit of total commitment, of nurturing the community and

the person and the mind and the spirit is why we're here to acknowledge city lights tonight. i would venture to say in a history of bookselling, at least in this country, no room full of books for sale has ever been treated so warmly and lovingly like the extended classroom political rally spot. cozy den and yes, sanctuary as it's four walls and basement of books. are they opened 70 years ago with that democratic approach in mind? they would sell paperback books because they were cheap and available to more. they would be open late because while most of us work all this time while san francisco and the nation changed around them, they have kept to this wonderful formula and they have showed a model for how to be together. i can't be the only californian in this audience whose parents treated city lights like a last minute babysitter who lost 2 to 3 hours in the poetry room and was encouraged to stay longer.

who discovered antonin aalto and daisy zamora and their elegant addition as our marxism in their basement and then was given a brief lecture and why that applies to america by paul yamazaki, who attended events there marshaled by peter marvelous. and who founded and who discovered the power of the freedom of expression. from their example, who started with their line of early poets of gary snyder and allen ginsberg and ann waldman, and moved on to some as dan and modena, which tango ise and martin christina perry ross rosie and mosab abu talha. congratulations on your finalists tonight. their light burns ever bright today. even as our country gets hotter and as the eco poetic source of their lists seems ever more necessary and present. three decades ago, elaine

katzenberg stepped across that urine soaked alley from vesuvio bar and city lights and never looked back. she's been a captain, an organizer, a curator, parexel wants. we are extremely lucky to have you, elaine. please come and accept this richly deserved award. also host oscar jones hanging the painting the passport from the beauty parlors. i didn't think i would get all teary eyed, but seeing all those pictures of laurence. yeah, it's been it's been a lifetime for me at that organization and it's been a gift and a privilege to spend my life there and to learn how to

live there and when we were told that we were going to receive this award and i really i didn't take it very personally because citylights has been around for 70 years doing the work. it does. and i've been involved for half. but, you know, it's laurence. so i thought, well, but you know, they're they're giving this this award and that means that those of us who have been doing this for him all these years haven't screwed it up. you know, we're doing a good job. so thank you very much for recognizing us and it's great to be here with so many esteemed people and colleagues and following joy harjo in particular. i didn't know that that would be the lineup and i wanted to say a few words about poetry.

but you've said everything so eloquently, so i will just let's just remember what joyce said, because. that's but it's the holy truth. i mean, really, first, i want to obviously thank the board and members of the national book critics circle award for your work, the work you do to nurture and develop our community of writers, readers, publishers and booksellers. as toni morrison herself described, the nbcc, it's a wild faculty of sorts dedicated to books and their scrutiny. passionate, eager to laud and reward the best. this cohort of readers who are devoted to the astute criticism of books provides a critical service to the writing. publishing and bookselling world. and we are all enriched by the work you do. special to change arbitrary and

mary's craftsmen who have been extremely helpful to us and basically walked us through the door tonight, we're especially grateful to chai, who nominated us for this award. and i'd also like thank jacob apel for our selection, despite the fact we're located west of the hudson river. he describes city lights as a guiding flair for readers and across the globe who dream of a better world. and that's really those are lovely words. it's an honor to stand here before you tonight representing, city lights and accepting this award for significant contributions, book culture and this comes at a particularly auspicious moment as you've been told it's our 70th anniversary year this year and tomorrow, march 24th is lawrence birthday. so happy 104 to lawrence ferlinghetti and am and of

course and foremost i'm accepting this award on behalf of lawrence ferlinghetti whose name is basically with city lights, his vision, his example and the consistency of his commitment are in large part what's being honored here tonight. but there are others who deserve to share this honor. and i know that lawrence would want me to mention them. nancy peters, my predecessor and my mentor was a significant force in shaping the trajectory of our institution. and she worked alongside lawrence for more than 40 years, infusing it with her own formidable intelligence acumen and vision. and as lawrence put in an interview that took place as nancy was preparing to retire and pass the torch to me, well, there were many years when i was just traveling around, giving poetry readings, running here and there and basically had my head up in the clouds and nancy was there steering the ship, the whole we would have gone without

her. so thank you, nancy peters. and then there's paul yamazaki. give it up for paul. skinner. i knew this room would be with yamazaki fans and. he most definitely wishes that he were here with all of us tonight. and i really wish that he was here sharing this stage me and helping to give this speech. paul been working at city lights for over 50 years, a lifetime of dedication to his craft, of choosing exactly which titles will fill the shelves of our bookstore, executing complex choreography between backlist and front list. what's new and what's essential and always what's imperative for us to share. we wouldn't be who we are now without paul. i'm also here to represent all the folks who are working at city lights right now, both as booksellers and as publishers.

without them and all of those who collaborate added in the project of bringing city lights forward year after year, working hard for not much money, choosing instead to find gratification in the merit of our work. this is for all of you. quick out to my colleagues who are here with me, stacy lewis and gregory gero and two of our authors, emil alcala and musab abu tome, who, as you've heard, is a finalist for tonight's poetry award. we're extremely proud of that honor as well. and this book represents exactly what is at the core of our mission since city lights is, after all, the work of a poet, lawrence ferlinghetti believed fervently in the power of human creativity to unlock the doors, to inspire and encourage and to the best of what humans are capable of poetry is. the beating heart of city

lights. personally, i am astonished at the journey that brought me to this stage after the gift and privilege of working for many years with the extraordinary people i've just mentioned, i now find myself an honor with covid. and getting an award that's meant to honor toni morrison. i don't i was raised as a in an environment where. books were paramount, but i was an avid reader and books were the way i found myself into the world. and yes, indeed, i did stumble across a it wasn't urine soaked alley and city lights and it was home. it was home immediately. and what i've come, understand and know and experience and witness for all the years i've been there is that that's certainly not a unique

experience for me. people all the time. and find home there. and there are people who don't even come there and think of it as their and it's uncanny and and beautiful and important to protect. speaking of toni morrison, of course, i remember the first time i ever saw toni in person. i mean, who doesn't remember that it was an event held at the main branch of the new york public library celebrating publication of a new city lights edition of narrative of the life of frederick douglass, which includes two lectures on liberation by angela davis that night, angela and toni had an extended conversation about what they called the three l's literacy liberation and libraries, which brings me to the most important thing that all of us who understand the power and the potential of books have to confront.

now, the of intimidation and the attempt to control what we're able to read. this is not the first time that those who seek power have attempted to gain it by limiting access, knowledge and ideas. but this phase of book burning is something much more cynical and dangerous. and unfortunately more successful than what we've had to fight in the past. on hand. it's gratifying to see how those who would seek to ban books seem to understand the actual power they have to transform culture. but without readers, books cannot do their work. freedom of expression only goes so far if there is no freedom of access. and while the libraries and, librarians themselves are under attack, we in the bookselling publishing critical world must do our part, keep access open dissent must turn to defiance in as many ways as. i'd like to take a cue from toni and angela and propose the three c's that i would say define the

role we strive to play at city lights creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking. that's what we're here to stimulate. protect ferlinghetti has quoted. i think it's socrates saying that the poet is the gadfly to the state. and he adds, and sometimes the firefly, too. we do our work in the face of some other very daunting seas, namely the commodification of consumer capitalism. i always balk at the phrase now more than ever, when people want to talk about the importance of a long standing mission. there is no more than ever. there's just always it's, always important to do what we do. the work is important. someone wrote about our anniversary saying that city lights, unlike the city, changing all around us is preserved in amber. well, that's not quite it, but i'll take it.

i think part of what's being recognized here tonight is that we are still here fighting the fight, and it's still the work at hand to open hearts, open minds and open doors with books. and i'd to close with a few lines from one of lawrence's most popular books called poetry as insurgent art, just a compilation, various writings about the role of poetry our lives, published by our friends at new directions and apologies in advance. and again, that i am indeed not lawrence ferlinghetti, but i'll do my best. i am signaling you through the flames. the north pole is not where it used to be. manifest destiny is no longer manifest civilization self destruct nemesis is knocking at the door. what are poets for in such an age what is the use of poetry the state of the world? calls out for poetry to save it if you would be a poet create works capable of the challenge

of apocalyptic, even if this sounding apocalyptic if you would be a poet write living newspapers, be a reporter from outer space, filling dispatches to some supreme managing editor who believes in full disclosure and has a low tolerance for -- it. if you call yourself poet, don't just sit there. poetry is not a sedentary occupation, not a take your seat practice, stand up and let them have it. have wide angle vision each look a world glance express the vast clarity of the outside world, the that sees us all the moon that strus its shadows on us quiet garden ponds willows where the hidden thrush sings the dusk falling along the river run and the great spaces that open out upon the sea high tide and the herons come and the people the

people, yes, all around the earth speaking battle tones give voice to them all. thank you so much. good evening. i'm rebecca morgan frank. and it's my great pleasure to kick off the single genre awards. some of you, i'm sure, finalists have been waiting patiently for it's i'd like to start by celebrating our five finalists things you may find hidden in my ear by mozart about zohar city

lights, books. hotel oblivion by cynthia cruise four way books. hello. i must be going by david hernandez, poet poetry series. banana by paul lava szabo's also poet poetry series. and milkweed smithereens is by bernadette mayer. new directions. and the winner of the national book critics circle award in poetry is cruz.

cynthia cruz is in germany and can join us tonight. but the director of four way books, ryan murphy, is coming to accept on her behalf behalf. and i'll start by reading the congratulations to four rebels. cynthia cruz by reading the citation the body as animal a living thing but separate from the mind singing or a child not held when small alone turns changes is the speaker of cynthia cruz's hotel oblivion inhabits hotel rooms in warsaw berlin and belgrade anonymous serving as archives of memory ephemera of text and films. she has a synthetic shape shifting virtuoso transfer coming from star of an estonian underground experimental film to a young jean journey as seen in

a photograph two other versions of herself in enclosures of hotel rooms and through collection of fragments, the speaker manifests new language for the trauma beneath, quote, the cut that was made in me was made when i was small. so everything that happened after just play acting. don't be deceived. this is no straightforward confession in all but carefully curated inquiry. what is a body? how can it possibly contain us? how does language emerge from fragments, memory, knowledge and images within us? watch as i transfer form the speaker of hotel oblivion says, then vanish before you. congratulations, cynthia cruz and. thank you so much. i know cynthia. she could be here but is living berlin. she says that she wanted to express her gratitude to the

national book critics circle for nominating hotel oblivion and that she's honored and humbled to be included among the luminous writers. this prize before her. thank you very much. have a great. good evening. i'm j. howard rozier here to announce winner of the national book critics circle award and and what a wonderful of finalists they are. rachel aviv four strangers to ourselves from farrar straus and grow. timothy buse free and direct from columbia.

peter brooks first seduced by story from new review books. margo jefferson for constructing a nervous system from pantheon pantheon. and alia tribute goes around for when women kill translate it by sophie hughes from coffeehouse press press. and the winner is timothy buse for free and direct. i'm sorry i missed you on duty. i would just tell you compare. read the citation. bu's groundbreaking work

interrogates the boundary, the eroding boundary between reality and fiction, which is culminated a unique type of novel that subverts both the genre and the study of it. by reconsidering the novel not as a form, but as logic free, indirect cast as in organic and autonomous form that acts as subject rather than a vehicle. and at a time when the state of the humanities is being called question, buse proves that literary studies remains a fertile ground for examining both esthetics and human perception. congratulations. something unselfish. i'm. i'm stunned. thank you. that was a lovely citation to write an acceptance speech like this in advance of the award.

indeed perhaps even before the award has even been decided, feels presumptuous, but do so is to enter into region that my book argues we dwell in all the time. one that is inherent to all mental and discursive life, fictional. i become a novelist the fact of this award is not necessary to prove the validity of my argument. a speech by any one of my fully deserving fellow finalists would have demonstrated that nevertheless this prize enables me to thank publicly my editor columbia university press film philip leventhal for his faith in this project. thank you, philip. the editors of the serious literature now in which my book appears my wife thangam ravindran, who was with me from the beginning of the project and is accompanied me through it and many friends and supporters, including branca, ozick, mother, emory, jed sd, joanna howard,

this young guy, and addie ophir. i dedicate the award to the nationwide community academic literary critics, of which am proud to be a member, that this award has gone to a work of literary scholarship means more to me than that. it went to my book, although i am honored and thrilled beyond measure for that. above that too. thank you. finally to the national book critics circle, especially the prize committee and the board for reading my work, those of the other finalists and for this extraordinary gesture of support for the work we do. thank you so much much. hello, i'm heather scott.

turning ten. i have a bit of laryngitis, so bear with me. i'm autobiography committee chair. please join me in celebrating our autobiography finalists for 2022. they are linea negra an essay on pregnancy and earthquakes by hasn't mena translated kristina mcsweeney two lines press. the who could move clouds a memoir by ingrid rojas contreras doubleday doubleday stayed true a memoir by wasp to double. a line in the world. a year on the north sea by

daughter. twins lated by carolyn waite gray wolf press and back in september, a literary education on west 67th street, manhattan by darryl pinckney farrar, straus and giroux. and it's great honor to announce that the winner of the 2022 award for autobiography she is stay true my soon.

stay true by is a clear eyed, vulnerable exploration of platonic friendship and lifelong loss, while su writes of his college age friendship ken forged over music and smoke breaks at uc berkeley to illuminates a particular moment in bay area culture. he demonstrates how earnest teens seek to define themselves in dichotomies and how it's our routines that create our identities. oh, now, he loves me. please. when ken is tragically killed in a carjacking, sue is to reckon with both a senseless death and his own memories. this is a memoir borne out of both loss and imperative to write as nbc's board member

cajun capers said, sue earns the trust of readers, by and by revealing the unexpectedly tender intimacy of male friendship in a vulnerable coming of age memoir. sue's memoir is a celebration of life and the marks that we leave on each other's souls. it's exceptional work. congratulate since. i write this very weird. i'm sorry you had to speak so much. thank you. to the asylum alice interpreters and all the finalists. not just in this category, inspired me so much, but just in all the categories. it's very cool to be here here. yeah. so this book would not have existed without my agent, chris not here right now. my editor, thomas beautiful, humane, very eligible person in back there on my team at

doubleday. just an incredible group of folks. elena, johanna, kayla and everyone else. readers, booksellers. it's just i've never done something like this, so it's very weird. i feel like thinking everyone ever met. not only did everyone at doubleday really just support the book, but you're also friends, which if you've read my book, means it means a lot because i'm actually a very good friend. i want to thank the editors who over the past 20 or so years has, as i was writing criticism and reporting annoying, they put me in a position to finally write this, particularly willing. and david haglund, staffs of the wire and urb magazines, o dubs and i don't know if any of you are watching this my friends, my close really held me down. all these years, even when i was nowhere to be found. so thanks to you, my family, carol zeek, my parents model,

the kind of person i wanted to be. so it's been pretty bewildering the past few months. i'm so grateful to wnbc and everyone who's read this book. it's still a trip to me that any single person has read this book. it's a book that i started writing 25 years ago in this journal, and it wasn't a book. it was just sort of something that i had to do. it was just something that a weird, sad 21 year old had to get down. and now it's done. and people who never knew my friend ken, we'll never forget him. and that's it's a trip. i just wanted to hang out a little longer, and i hope that. you find this as amusing and strange as i do. i remain changed, and i remain grateful. so thanks to you and thanks to ken.

so. evening, elizabeth taylor here for big was a great year for biography great so the finalists g-man j. edgar hoover and the making of the american century by beverly gage viking viking. the turin keys. legacy of slavery in american family by gary greenidge can be made right right. mr. b george balanchine 20th century by denver homans random house.

metaphysical animals how four women brought philosophy back to life by claire mccomb hill and rachel. and doubleday. doubleday and finally up from the depths herman melville lewis mumford and rediscover ivory in dark times by sachs from princeton press. so the winner is in the is not here but. her editor is i think she is should present the receive this award but gee man j. edgar hoover and the making of the american century.

in this in this biography beverly gage tells the story of the quincy government man j. edgar hoover, one of the most powerful, unelected did officials in american history. he shaped the fbi by his image. we cannot know our own story without understanding his it all, its high aspirations and, terrible cruelty, and its many contradictions. writes beverly gage beverly gage has miraculously untangled those contradictions in her own paradoxical national involving american anxieties over security, masculinity race. it's a big ambitious book and is written with a propulsive energy and on its she weaves through

archival revelations historical nuance to to interpret notations and psychological keenness. it is really suspenseful biography washington dc is essential to her understanding hoover and his biography is also the biography story, his hometown as it ran swarmed from a sleepy, parochial city into the center of the global power gauge. she herself understands power, she writes. it does not arrive. it has to be created policy by policy law, by law, step by excruciating step. and in in revelations that resonate today, each found that hoover's world view was framed by the southern fraternity, kappa alpha and liberty.

herbert. now, i think so, but but. oh, my god. see, that's kappa alpha raising its ugly head. his, his is because it was hoover's chief source of sustenance and friendship and it informed hoover's values about, especially about race segregation and, and the the honor of the old south mythology. beverly gage chronicles the episode and abuses of power committed during hoover's reign, but insists the really important, she points out, hoover was no lone ranger or that he had public opinion on his side with everything he did. as gage articulates beautifully, to look at him is also to look at ourselves, at what america and valued and fought over

during those years and what we tolerated and what we refused to see. so thank you. and wendy wolf. beverly was unable to be with us tonight for health reasons, but she is going to be really excited. when i a chance to text her. scott moyers sorry to started beverly and i this path together 40 years ago andrew source across the line everybody in bev's family everybody in ben's department and everybody at viking supported us the whole way through. we never thought we wouldn't get here and we thank everyone. we thank the other finalists. it's an honor to be in their company. we thank everybody at the nbc series. we thank all of the writers, the

readers who understood why hoover's story had to be told for us to understand the story of america. thank you. good evening. i'm reuben kinsella, the vp of diversity, equity and inclusion. and it's my honor to have served the nonfiction chair this year. the finalists for nonfiction are isaac butler. the method how the 20th century learned to act. bloomsbury. kelly lytle hernandez bad mexicans, race, empire and revolution in the borderlands.

norton. joseph and virology essays for the living, the dead and the small things in between norton. he proved then bog and swamp a short history of peatland destruction and its role in the climate crisis. scribner. added, young and immense world animals senses reveal the hidden realms around us. random house. and the winner is isaac. the method of the 20th century learned to act linked the.

decades ago. film historian vito russo analyzed the representation of characters in film providing audiences with a way to understand themselves and each other through identity and experience of characters. isaac butler's book, the method, builds on this understanding by exploring the concept of petit's villainy. i'm butchering. this is a technique where actors imaginatively enter the world and experience their characters to create a sense of reality in their performances. the method is based on this foundation, and it's an insightful exploration of an artistic movement that challenged conventional presentations of emotion and instead prioritized experiencing the real life emotions the individual. this movement broke with past stylistic, dramatic conventions, resulting in a stunning transfer motion before the era of super blockbuster.

sorry, lost my place. this book is an outstanding, astounding intellectual and social history that poses intriguing lines of inquiry about identity and dramatizes the sparkling contradictions between character self-perception and public perceptions. congratulations. wow. okay. it's a little past eight. sorry, maris i'll try not to keep you here too long. as a reader and buyer of books, the state see sticker is the one that matters the most to me. so it's an immense, immense honor to to get this award. thank you so much. thank you to the to the board and to the committee and to book critics. holy. i mean, just to be nominated,

you know, these these books that invited us to see the world through different lenses to reexamine it, whether it was the the unveil of the animal kingdom or, the life cycle and vital importance of people, dogs, the contested border and its wild history or lives, the eternal present of the pandemic. it is an honor to my fellow nominees to in your company. thank you. i share this prize with a lot of people. ben heineman at bloomsbury, my editor, i love you. thank you so much for everything you did for this book, too, morgan jones. thank you so much to emily fishman and marie kuhlmann for all your incredible work publicizing the book. lauren mosley and everyone in marketing nancy miller and everyone on the production team. my incredible, incredible agent, aliyah, hannah habib. thank so, so much. sophie pew jones, also a gardener. thank you. my mom and dad are here tonight. thank you, mom and dad.

thank you for making me a reader. thank you for housing me the pandemic. while i finished this book. thank you as well on that score to my mother in law, patty love, mark armstrong of the most important friends and readers. my life is also here tonight. mark, thank you so much. and i also must thank catherine nichols, who read every page of the first draft of this book and gave me voluminous notes. and of course, to my daughter iris, who kept saying, saying, you're going to lose. you were right. sorry. and to my incredible wife and who is the reader, i think of every i put my fingers to the keystrokes. one last thing i just wanted to say, 21 years ago, tony kushner wrote, the past can't be erased and can only be effaced if agree to forget. and what has been should not be forgotten. i fear the forces in our nation that want to forget everything that is in convenient to their beliefs, everything that adds complexity to the way that they

see the world. the thing that unites all of us in this room is the art. we are here to celebrate one that enshrines and is impossible without memory. thank you to the nbcc for all the ways that refuse to forget. thank you to everyone in this room for fighting those who would have faced the complex d of our world. thank you all so for this incredible, incredible. thank. good evening. my name is anita feller shelley and i'm honored to present the award for fiction on behalf of the national book critics circle. here are the five wonderful finalists. dr. no by percival everett gray wolf.

a new name, scientology six through 7 billion fossil. translated by damien searls. transit books. all the lovers in the night by mieko kawakami. translated by sam bent and david boyd. europa editions. bliss montage by klingman, farrar, straus and giroux. the furrows by wylie. serpell. hogarth. and winner of the national book critics circle fiction award is lima for bliss montage.

and here to accept the award on lincoln's behalf is joanna johnson of fsg. but i will read the citation lima's bliss montage is a sublime short story collection. ma unspools not only quiet, tender moments, but also lives and humorous and ridiculous notes and its absurdity. her book, the sometimes startling indignities of race and immigrant experience and the challenges of being in a body, navigating the strangeness of the human condition. whether she's writing about yetis or mothers, moll pulls us into a world where everything has been called into question, where even the genre in which she her literary magic is not always clear. she subverts tropes of speculative fiction. magic, surrealism and realism. co-mingling. and playing with these elements. my stories are individually

brilliant, but the collection architecture as a whole is equally remarkable. she invites you into a fantastic multistory house of emotional resonance in which you open the door to one room. the room where a narrator lives with her husband and her 100 ex-boyfriends. and that unfolds into another room, that unfolds into another and yet another until you reach the final room. having encountered zany furnishings and inhabitants unlike any other congratulation linger. everyone and ling is very sorry not to be here tonight. but i'm glad to be here so i can you that i read this collection when it was first submitted with her novel severance and as much as i loved severance, i loved this more. and i was desperate to publish it for the years that i was waiting for it. and when it came in, i hadn't read anything in a long time

that made me have the full range of human emotions and that was this moment from the very first page. and i just almost cried with that. i could read like that again at length and a note it says, there's this deep seated fear that writers have that your work will reach the right readers, and that even if it does reach them the white noise of everyday circumstance voices, the endless scroll, the news will drown it out anyway. we're afraid that our demanding books can't compete in the attention economy. just being for the national book critics circle awards is meaningful. it signifies not only that people are paying attention, but that there are critical thinkers engaging with your work on a deep level who can perceive with crystal clarity the facets of your work that may even be a mystery to yourself. at times, that kind of attention is intimidating, but it's also

exactly what i want as a writer. i hope to continue to make writing that's worthy of that attention. thank you for this award. thanks, joanna thus concludes the national book critics circle awards for publishing year 2022. we ask you all please to join us in celebration at a reception just down the road at 63/5 avenue. would the winners and the board members please stay after for a few minutes for a couple of group portrait? thank you all so much for joining us. we're thrilled to celebrate with you. thank

good evening and welcome. further investigation edition of the los angeles times for crisis.