Next Thursday November 7th from 7pm – 9pm in the SMC MPR 114, Millersville will welcome award-winning author Amina Gautier for a reading as part of the annual Hazel I. Jackson Lecture series. She will will share some of her work and also discuss her life, especially as an artist, followed by a time for Q&A. Amina Gautier specializes in the short story genre. She has published over 140 short stories, many of them collected in her four books, which have won major awards. In 2018 Gautier became the first African American woman to win the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, an award that recognizes writers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form. Gautier’s most recent collection The Best That You Can Do was mentioned by Oprah in her February’24 “best new books” recommendations.
Dr. Katarzyna Jakubiak, Associate Professor of English at Millersville, shares her thoughts on The Best That You Can Do:
I’ve read this collection, and I am captivated. Most of the pieces are flash fiction and have a powerful lyrical quality. The first section is partly autobiographical, based on Gautier’s experience of growing up in Brooklyn. Like Gautier, the young characters negotiate their dual African American and Puerto Rican identities, switching to different codes and rhythms during summers spent in PR, as well as building their sense of self on tropes found in popular 80s TV shows. Gautier is also quite original at portraying women’s experiences – paying attention to women of all ages and various social standings, masterfully blending the personal and the political.
You can check out more about Gautier on her website or take a look at her works like The Best That You Can Do (2024) and The Loss of All Lost Things (2016).
This event is sponsored by the Hazel I. Jackson Committee. See the incredible list of previous Hazel I. Jackson Lecturers here.