READING AND DISCUSSION BY KENNETH A. MCCLANE

The Tompkins County Public Library will host Kenneth A. McClane for a reading and discussion of his latest book, Color: Essays on Race, Family and History, Saturday, February 27 at 2:00 PM in the BorgWarner Community Room.

McClane, the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Literature for Cornell University, is known for the enthusiasm and inspiration he shares with students in his creative writing and African American Literature classes. In addition to Color, he has authored eight poetry books and a collection of personal essays.

Color, a collection of interconnected essays, offers readers an unobstructed glimpse into what it was like to be black and middle class in Harlem during the rise of the Civil Rights Movement. The son of an artistically-gifted mother and a brilliant New York surgeon, McClane shares what it meant to be reared by parents who charged through racial barriers in search of success. From their involvement in the battle for Civil Rights, including work with Martin Luther King, Jr., to their struggles with Alzheimer’s disease, McClane’s parents are the inspiration for many of Color’s most poignant and beautiful essays.

The Library program will include a reading from and discussion of Color. The program is free and open to the public and will be hosted by Eric Acree, director of Cornell’s Africana Library. Copies of Color will be available for purchase at the event.

For more information, contact: Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at (607) 272-4557 extension 248.