Hoptown Chronicle is participating in two book discussions for Black History Month that are devoted to works by Hopkinsville native bell hooks.
“Learning Where We Belong: A Conversation of the Culture of Place” is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 , at Corner Coffeehouse, 1100 S. Main St. The free event will focus on hooks’ book of essays, “Belonging: A Culture of Place.”
The writer explored “what it means to be connected to a place and how that place shapes and affects who we are,” said Alissa Keller, executive director of the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County.
“hooks writes of creating a narrative map of her past and how that represented the geography of her heart,” said Keller. “Through this connection to our past and with a rootedness in a place, hooks evokes a powerful vision of the beloved community where all people can feel as though they belong.”
Keller will lead the conversation with Hoptown Chronicle editor Jennifer P. Brown, Christian County Literacy Council executive director Francene Gilmer and hooks’ sister, Gwenda Motley.
Everyone interested in the topic of connection to place is invited to attend. Reading the book before the event is not necessary, but there are limited copies of “Belonging” to purchase at the Pennyroyal Area Museum’s gift shop. It’s also available from online retailers.
The second event is a meeting of the WKMS Virtual Book Club at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22.
The group will be discussing “Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood,” hooks’ memoir of growing up in Hopkinsville. The public may use this link to join the discussion online.
Hoptown Chronicle is a co-sponsor of the event with WKMS, the public radio station at Murray State University.
Born Gloria Jean Watkins in 1952 in Hopkinsville, hooks was a feminist scholar and cultural critic. She wrote more than 30 books about feminism, race and culture.
She died on Dec. 15, 2021, at Berea, at age 69. Her celebration of life service last spring in Hopkinsville attracted hundreds of admirers and three noted Kentucky authors, Crystal Wilkinson, Silas House and Wendell Berry.
