Readings Program I
- Readings Program I
- Readings Program II
- Readings Program III
Saturday, June 12th
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
National Center for Democracy, Tateuchi Democracy Forum
followed by a Q&A and book signings by the authors
Tai Babilonia, Host
Author biography
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tai began skating in 1968 with partner Randy Gardner. They became world champions in 1979, and two-time Olympians in 1976 & 1980. She is a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, co-author of the book “Forever Two as One” and designer of her women’s sportswear line “The Tai Collection” available on her web site www.taibabilonia.com. She is the proud mother of my 15-year-old son, “Scout,” and extremely proud of her mixed heritage (black, Hopie Indian and Phillipino) and eager to share her story with friends and fans at the Festival.
Carleen Brice
Author biography
Carleen Brice’s first novel Orange Mint and Honey won the 2009 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and premiered on LMN as “Sins of the Mother,” starring Jill Scott. She maintains the well-known blog “White Readers Meet Black Authors” (www.welcomewhitefolks.blogspot.com) and lives in Denver.
Synopsis of the reading
Reeling from divorce and feeling estranged from her teenage son, Trish Taylor discovers a shocking secret: Her sister is alive. After years of drawing strength from her black ancestors, Billie Cousins is shocked to find out she was adopted. Both sisters are forced to confront their personal and familial demons.
Recent appearances
VA Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA
American Library Association Yearly Meeting, Chicago
Go On Girl Book Club Annual Weekend, Houston
Kevin Minh Allen
Author biography
Kevin Minh Allen was born Nguyễn Đức Minh on December 5, 1973 near Sài Gòn, Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother and American father who remain unknown to him. He was adopted by a couple from Rochester, NY and grew up in Webster, NY with his two younger sisters. In 2000, he moved to Seattle, WA to pursue a life less ordinary. Kevin is a freelance writer who has had his poetry published in numerous print and online publications, such as Aileron, Monkey King, HazMat Literary Review, and Chrysanthemum
Synopsis of the reading
By taking hyper-factual liberties with multiple, and indistinct, ethnicities contained in one individual, the words to be spoken by the poet will serve to shred the audience members’ perceptions of fixed personal histories and then act to reconstitute emerging multiple identities that bear a slight resemblance to themselves or someone they may know.
Recent appearances
Share The Love 2007 benefit. Flava Coffee, Lake City, Seattle, WA.
Jason Luckett
Author biography
Jason Luckett’s roots are in Maine and Mississippi. His parents met in a New England mental institution… aspiring therapists. Born in Hawaii, raised in Irvine, Jason tried to make sense of this in 70’s suburbia. Seven albums, several world tours, two literary anthologies, and a blog later, he still tries.
Synopsis of the reading
As a young child, the difference between Jason’s body and his parent’s is made expressly clear as both parents walk naked around the house. He subsequently explores his identity through social and sexual experiences both invited and uninvited. He discovers the uniqueness of his and his father’s experience.
Recent appearances
Black Body Release Party, November 1, 2009 – Private Residence, Hollywood, CA
Skylight Books, November 5, 2009 – Los Feliz, CA
Sit ‘n’ Spin @ the Comedy Central Theater, January 14, 2009 – Hollywood, CA
Kerina C. Pharr
Author biography
Kerina Pharr grew up in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Skidmore College, with a major in American Studies and a minor in Spanish. Kerina is currently living in Brooklyn and working on her first novel about a dystopian future society. She is of Puerto Rican and African American decent.
Synopsis of the reading
This short story covers the realm of romance and sexual desire from the perspective of a young mixed girl out at night in the Lower East Side of New York City. Throughout the evening she witnesses various instances of exoticism of one race by another, and reflects on her own fears and insecurities about her racial and sexual identity.
Recent appearances
The Tandem Reading Series at the Cell Theater in New York, NY.
