The words of Oprah Book Club author Ta-Nehisi Coates are coming to life as part of a special live reading of his New York Times bestselling book, Between the World and Me on Tuesday October 22 at Atlanta’s historic Symphony Hall.
The event is being presented by the Apollo Theater and The Collective Culture and will feature Atlanta hip hop icons T.I. and Killer Mike as well as Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Ledisi, TV and film actress Pauletta Washington and spoken word sensation Marc Bamuthi Joseph and more.
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.
A live reading of his book was first done last spring at the Apollo Theater and featured a who’s who of star performers including Angela Bassett, Joe Morton, Black Thought, Common and Susan Kelechi Watson from NBC’s This Is Us. The show was conceived and produced by the Apollo Theater’s Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes and includes a jazz score by Jason Moran.
Click here and listen to my UPFRONT interview with Kamilah Forbes about the event and click here to purchase tickets for the 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. performances.
PHOTO CREDITS: RayCornelius.com and Ronald B. Hill
