Brooklyn Voices

St. Joseph's University, New York opens its doors to the area's foremost writers, musicians, actors and artists every semester through Brooklyn Voices.

Created in collaboration with Greenlight Bookstore, the aim of the Brooklyn Voices series is to promote and enhance the creative vitality of our home neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill by providing local writers, artists and intellectuals with a forum in which to discuss and present their works to our neighbors, patrons and students.

Through lectures, forums, performances and public discussion, Brooklyn Voices seeks to make a meaningful contribution to the thriving intellectual culture of the neighborhood and ensure that our community remains a stimulating place in which to live, learn and do business.

Spring 2024 Brooklyn Voices Lineup

Tommy Orange

Tommy Orange presents Wandering Stars
In conversation with Ethan Hawke
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Tuesday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.

Greenlight and St. Joseph's are honored to welcome Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There, to present his new novel Wandering Stars. Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous. Nana Kwame Adjei Brenyah (Chain Gang All Stars) writes of Wandering Stars “If there was any doubt after his incredible debut, there should be none now: Tommy Orange is one of our most important writers.” Actor and author Ethan Hawke joins Orange onstage for a discussion of his new work, followed by a book signing for Wandering Stars.

Photo by Elena Seibert.

Read event recap and watch video

Michael Ondaatje

Michael Ondaatje presents A Year of Last Things: Poems
In conversation with Sonali Deraniyagala
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Tuesday, April 2, 7:30 p.m.

Greenlight kicks off Poetry Month with a special event with Booker Prize winning author Michael Ondaatje: his long awaited return to poetry with the collection A Year of Last Things. In pieces that are sometimes witty, sometimes moving, and always wise, we journey back through time by way of alchemical leaps, unearthing writings by revered masters, moments of shared tenderness, and the abandoned landscapes we hold on to to rediscover the influence of every border crossed. Terrance Hayes writes "Each new book of Michael Ondaatje’s is a literary event, but that is particularly true for his books of poetry... A Year of Last Things is a remarkable, incomparable new collection.” Ondaatje discusses his work with fellow Sri Lanka native Sonali Deraniyagala (author of the memoir The Wave), followed by a book signing for A Year of Last Things.

MICHAEL ONDAATJE is the author of seven novels, a memoir, a nonfiction book on film, and several books of poetry. His novel The English Patient won the Booker Prize in 1992 and became a major motion picture that won nine Academy Awards, including Best Film; Anil's Ghost won the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the Prix Médicis. Born in Sri Lanka, Michael Ondaatje now lives in Toronto.

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Maurice Ashley

Maurice Ashley presents Move by Move: Life Lessons On and Off the Chessboard
In conversation with Levy Rozman
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Monday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.

Maurice Ashley, the first African American Chess Grandmaster, presents Move by Move: Life Lessons On and Off the Chessboard, a book of life advice drawing on his timeless wisdom of chess. Ashley guides readers through the essential lessons that chess has taught him, using both personal examples from his rise from an immigrant kid playing matches in Brooklyn parks to the most rarified levels of competition, as well as insights from fellow notable chess players. Move by Move reaches from the fundamental to the counterintuitive on subjects ranging from strategic thinking to the importance of failure. Maurice discusses his work with American chess International Master, commentator, and author Levy Rozman, along with a reading and book signing.

Tickets: $22.95 (Each ticket includes a signed copy of Move By Move to be picked up at the event)

Purchase Tickets to See Maurice Ashley

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Aimee Nezhukumatathil presents Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees
In conversation with Roxane Gay
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.

New York Times bestselling author Aimee Nezhukumatathil follows up her luminous collection of essays World of Wonders with Bite by Bite, a lyrical book of short essays about food, offering a banquet of tastes, smells, memories, associations, and marvelous curiosities from nature. Aimee Nezhukumatathil explores the way food and drink evoke our associations and remembrances—a subtext or layering, a flavor tinged with joy, shame, grief, desire, or nostalgia. Bite by Bite offers a rich kaleidoscope of vignettes and visions into the world of food and nature, drawn together by intimate and humorous personal reflections, with Fumi Nakamura’s gorgeous imagery and illustration. Aimee discusses her work with best-selling author Roxane Gay, along with a reading and book signing.

Tickets: $27.00 (book included)

Purchase Tickets to See Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Voyage Into Genre LIVE

Andrea Hairston, promoting The Archangels of Funk
Veronica Roth, promoting When Among Crows
Rebecca Thorne, promoting Can't Spell Treason without Tea
Nghi Vo, promoting The Brides of High Hill
Moderator: P. Djeli Clark
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Friday, May 17, 7:30 p.m.

Tor Publishing Group and Lit Hub present an evening of fantasy fiction at a LIVE version of their popular Voyage Into Genre podcast. Join these amazing authors on their epic group tour, with special guest moderator P. Djeli Clark!

Andrea Hairston, author of The Archangels of Funk — post Water Wars, one woman must determine how best to honor her elders and her history while building a future for herself and fellow flood refugees

Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent series discusses her new book When Among Crows — swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear.

Rebecca Thorne, author of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea — In the tradition of Legends & Lattes, a cozy fantasy steeped in sapphic romance about one of the Queen’s private guards and a powerful mage who want to open a bookshop and live happily ever after…if only the world would let them.

Nghi Vo, author of The Brides of High Hill — Vo's Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle returns with a standalone gothic mystery that unfolds in the empire of Ahn.

Tickets: $6.24 (Your GA admission price can be applied to the purchase of any of the featured books at the event. Authors will be signing following the discussion)

Purchase Tickets for Voyage Into Genre LIVE

Previous Seasons of Brooklyn Voices

Fall 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

Wednesday, September 27, 7:30 p.m.

Heather Cox Richardson presents Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Wednesday, October 18, 7:30 p.m.

Viet Thanh Nguyen presents A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial
In conversation with Lisa Hsiao Chen
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Jhumpa Lahiri

Monday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.

Jhumpa Lahiri presents Roman Stories
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Spring 2023

Colm Tóibín

Wednesday, January 25, 7:30 p.m.

Colm Tóibín presents A Guest at the Feast
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Lucy Foley

Monday, February 27, 7:30 p.m.

Lucy Foley presents The Paris Apartment
In Conversation with Andrea Bartz

TJ Klune

Wednesday, March 29, 7:30 p.m.

In conversation with audiobook narrators Kirt Graves, Daniel Henning, and Michael Lesley
Co-presented with Libro.fm and Macmillan Audio
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Alicia Mountain

Wednesday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.

In conversation with Brenda Shaughnessy
Moderated by Ariel Yelen
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Blythe Roberson

Wednesday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.

Blythe Roberson presents America the Beautiful?
In conversation with Phoebe Robinson
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Cleyvis Natera

Wednesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m.

Cleyvis Natera presents Neruda on the Park
In conversation with Robert Jones Jr.
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Brandon Taylor

Wednesday, May 24, 7:30 p.m.

Brandon Taylor presents The Late Americans
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!

Fall 2022

Andrew Sean Greer

Wednesday, September 28, 7:30 p.m.

Andrew Sean Greer presents Less Is Lost
In conversation with Sloane Crosley

Lydia Millet

Wednesday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.

Lydia Millet presents Dinosaurs
In conversation with Jenny Offill

Fatimah Asghar

Wednesday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.

Fatimah Asghar presents When We Were Sisters
In conversation with Angel Nafis, José Olivarez, and Jess Sn

Eileen Myles

Wednesday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.

Eileen Myles presents Pathetic Literature
Featuring Fred Moten, Carmen Boullosa, Nicole Eisenman, Sarah Nicole Prickett and Will Farri

Summer 2022

Anthony Marra

Tuesday, August 2, 7:30 p.m.

Anthony Marra presents Mercury Pictures Presents
In conversation with Amor Towles

Mohsin Hamid

Wednesday, August 3, 7:30 p.m.

Mohsin Hamid presents The Last White Man

Spring 2022

Bernardine Evaristo

Tuesday, January 18, 7:30 p.m.

Bernardine Evaristo presents Manifesto
In conversation with Rumaan Alam

Marlon James

Tuesday, February 15, 7:30 p.m.*

Marlon James presents Moon Witch, Spider King
Interviewer To Be Announced!

Jennifer Egan

Tuesday, April 5, 7:30 p.m. (doors 6:30 p.m.)*

Jennifer Egan presents The Candy House
In conversation with Susan Choi

Emily St. John Mandel

Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. (doors 6:30 p.m.)*

Emily St. John Mandel presents Sea of Tranquility

Spring 2021

Hermione Lee

Wednesday, February 24, 5 p.m.

Hermione Lee presents Tom Stoppard: A Life
In conversation with Tom Stoppard

Tickets $45-50 (Includes access to the event, a hardcover copy of Tom Stoppard: A Life and a bookplate signed by Hermione Lee. Note pickup and shipping options when purchasing tickets.)

Naima Coster

Thursday, March 4, 7:30 p.m.

Naima Coster presents What’s Mine and Yours
In conversation with Elizabeth Acevedo

Carol Edgarian

Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m.

Carol Edgarian presents Vera
In conversation with Jennifer Egan

Amy Solomon

Tuesday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.

Amy Solomon presents Notes from the Bathroom Line: Humor, Art, and Low-grade Panic from 150 of the Funniest Women in Comedy
Featuring Catherine Cohen, Tien Tran, Sydnee Washington, Sunita Mani, Aya Cash, Atsuko Okatsuka, Punam Patel, Rachel Sennott, and more to be announced!

Craig Taylor

Tuesday, March 23, 7:30 p.m.

Book Launch: Craig Taylor presents New Yorkers: A City and Its People in Our Time
Featuring special guests to be announced!

Edward Hirsch

Monday, April 5, 7:30 p.m.

Edward Hirsch presents 100 Poems to Break Your Heart
With special guests Victoria Chang and Vijay Seshadri

Rachel Kushner

Thursday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.

Rachel Kushner presents The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020
In conversation with Hari Kunzru

Joshua Jelly-Schapiro

Monday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.

Joshua Jelly-Schapiro presents Names of New York: Discovering the City's Past, Present, and Future Through Its Place-Names
In conversation with Matt Weiland

Quiara Alegría Hudes

Wednesday, April 28, 7:30 p.m.

Quiara Alegría Hudes presents My Broken Language: A Memoir
In conversation with Daphne Rubin-Vega

Summer 2020

Betsy Bonner — VIRTUAL EVENT

Monday, August 17, 7:30 p.m.

Betsy Bonner presents The Book of Atlantis Black: The Search for a Sister Gone Missing

In conversation with Christopher Castellani

Spring 2020

Ezra Klein

Sunday, February 2, 4:30 p.m.

Ezra Klein presents Why We're Polarized

In conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates

Erik Larson

Monday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.

Book Launch: Erik Larson presents The Splendid and the Vile

In conversation with Maria Konnikova

Robert Reich — VIRTUAL EVENT

Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 p.m.

Robert Reich presents The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It

In conversation with Anand Giridaradas

Kathy Valentine — VIRTUAL EVENT

Monday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.

Kathy Valentine presents All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir

In conversation with Lizz Winstead

Mikel Jollett

Monday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.

Mikel Jollett presents Hollywood Park

Masha Gessen

Wednesday, June 3, 7:30 p.m.

Masha Gessen presents Surviving Autocracy

In conversation with Tim Snyder

Fall 2019

Dan Rather

Tuesday, September 3, 7:30 p.m.

Paperback launch: Dan Rather presents What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism

In conversation with Sally Kohn

Ann Patchett

Thursday, September 26, 7:30 p.m.

Ann Patchett presents The Dutch House

Eric Foner

Sunday, September 29, 4:30 p.m.

Eric Foner presents The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution

In conversation with Chris Hayes

Mark Bittman

Wednesday, October 2, 7:30 p.m.

Mark Bittman presents How to Cook Everything – Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition: Simple Recipes for Great Food

In conversation with Melissa Clark

Lindy West

Thursday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.

Lindy West presents The Witches are Coming

Fall 2018

Gary Shteyngart

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Gary Shteyngart presents Lake Success
In conversation with Angela Ledgerwood

Anand Giridharada

Monday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Anand Giridharadas presents Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
In conversation with Lydia Polgreen

Barbara Kingsolver

Monday, Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Barbara Kingsolver presents Unsheltered
In conversation with Julie Orringer

Anne Lamott

Monday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Anne Lamott presents Almost Everything: Notes on Hope

Spring 2018

Michael Chabon

Thursday, May 23, 7:30 p.m.
Michael Chabon presents Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces
In conversation with Julie Orringer

Fall 2017

Nathan Englander

Wednesday, September 6, 7:30 p.m.
Nathan Englander presents Dinner at the Center of the Earth
In conversation with Jonathan Safran Foer

Karl Ove Knausgaard

Thursday, September 14, 7:30 p.m.
Karl Ove Knausgaard presents Autumn
In conversation with Katie Kitamura

Jeffrey Eugenides<

Monday, October 2, 7:30 p.m.
Book Launch: Jeffrey Eugenides presents Fresh Complaint: Stories
In conversation with Ruth Franklin

Matt Taibbi

Wednesday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.
Matt Taibbi presents I Can’t Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street

Spring 2017

John Darnielle

Monday, February 6, 7:30 p.m.
John Darnielle presents Universal Harvester
In conversation with Donna Tartt

Chris Hayes

Saturday, April 8, 6 p.m.
Chris Hayes presents A Colony in A Nation
In conversation with journalist Wesley Lowery

Fall 2016

Teju Cole

Tuesday, August 9, 7:30 p.m.
Teju Cole presents Known and Strange Things

Ann Patchett

Tuesday, September 13, 7:30 p.m.
Ann Patchett presents Commonwealth (book launch)
In conversation with J. Courtney Sullivan • A Brooklyn Book Festival Bookends event

A Celebration of Marie Ponsot

Tuesday, October 4, 7:30 p.m.
A Celebration of Marie Ponsot • Presenting her Collected Poems
Readings by Ed Hirsch, Sapphire, Cynthia Zarin and other poets • Hosted by PSA Executive Director Alice Quinn

Zadie Smith

Wednesday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.
Zadie Smith presents Swing Time

Spring 2016

Colin Beavan

Thursday, January 7, 7:30 p.m.
Colin Beavan presents How to Be Alive: A Guide To The Kind of Happiness That Helps The World
In conversation with ABC’s Dan Harris, co-anchor of Good Morning America and Nightline
Event Recap

Hanya Yanagihara

Thursday, January 28, 7:30 p.m.
Hanya Yanagihara presents A Little Life (paperback launch)
In conversation with Isaac Fitzgerald of BuzzFeed
Event Recap

Ken Corbett

Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.
Ken Corbett presents A Murder Over a Girl: Justice, Gender, Junior High
In conversation with Tony Kushner
Event Recap

Charles Bock

Monday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.
Book launch: Charles Bock presents Alice & Oliver
In conversation with A.M. Homes
Event Recap

Nathaniel Philbrick

Thursday, May 19, 7:30 p.m.
Nathaniel Philbrick presents Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution

Fall 2015

Jonathan Franzen

Saturday, September 26, 6:30 p.m.
Jonathan Franzen presents Purity
In conversation with Wyatt Mason

Patti Smith

Thursday, October 8, 7:30 p.m.
Patti Smith presents M Train

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Macarthur "Genius Grant" winner
Thursday, October 15, 7:30 p.m.
Ta-Nehisi Coates presents Between the World and Me
In conversation with interviewer James Bennet of The Atlantic

Kristin Hersh

Wednesday, October 21, 7:30 p.m.
Kristin Hersh presents Don’t Suck, Don't Die: Giving Up on Vic Chesnutt
In conversation with Amanda Petruisch

Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Thursday, November 12, 7:30 p.m.
Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor present Welcome to Night Vale