Critical Grooves Book Lab

December 28, 2023, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Select Thursdays, 6:30-8 PM

  • October 26: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
  • November 30: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns
  • December 28: Devil in the Blue Dress by Walter Mosely

For our fourth session (Fall-Winter ’23), we will read four riveting novels by some acclaimed writers. Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater, demands that we strap in and hold on as it embarks on a journey through Igbo ontology—a journey grounded in a series of refusals of both ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity.’ V. M. Burns’ Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder promises a sassy, stylish mystery set in a cozy little Michigan town—the first installment of Burns’s Baker Street Mystery series. Finally, Walter Mosely’s classic Devil in a Blue Dress takes us on a scintillating ride down mean streets, through bedeviling political plots, and right into the unconscious bedrooms of American relationships.

If this assemblage of original and diverse voices sounds compelling, please join us at Plains Art Museum on the select dates below. Light refreshments and beverages will be provided. Feel free to bring your own beverages/snacks, as well. To encourage broad participation, you may acquire the selected texts through convenient means, as per your situation. Also note: Critical Grooves Book Lab selections will also be available for purchase from The Store at Plains Art Museum. Ages 16+ are welcome. We exercise respect among ourselves.

For more information and/or participation contact Dr. Kelvin Monroe at kmonroe@plainsart.org.


Events Calendar

December 2016

Other Exhibitions

Clear as Mud

August 01, 2026 - November 29, 2026
Annie Lee & Brian Zimerle

Clear as Mud brings together the work of Annie Lee-Zimerle and Brian Zimerle, two artists whose practices navigate memory, materiality, and the quiet complexities of everyday life to reconsider the promises and contradictions of the American Dream.

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Threads of Offering

June 27, 2026 - January 24, 2027
Thương Hoài Trần

Thương Hoài Trần (she/they) is an interdisciplinary Vietnamese American artist whose immigrant experience informs their identity and creative practice.

View Exhibition