Join author Phillip B. Williams in conversation with Aricka Foreman, on Wednesday, April 24^th at Haymarket House for a celebration of his new book, Ours. 

In this ingenious, sweeping novel, Phillip B. Williams introduces us to an enigmatic woman named Saint, a fearsome conjuror who, in the 1830s, annihilates plantations all over Arkansas to rescue the people enslaved there. She brings those she has freed to a haven of her own creation: a town just north of St. Louis, magically concealed from outsiders, named Ours.

Set over the course of four decades and steeped in a rich tradition of American literature informed by Black surrealism, mythology, and spirituality, Ours is a stunning exploration of the possibilities and limitations of love and freedom by a writer of capacious vision and talent.

**We ask that all in-person attendees wear masks in the event space during the program for the health and well-being of the speakers and other guests. We will have a reception afterwards with light refreshments and books available for purchase.***

Phillip B. Williams is a Chicago, IL native and author of two collections of poetry: Thief in the Interior, which was the winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and a Lambda Literary Award, and Mutiny, which was a finalist for the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the winner of a 2022 American Book Award. Williams is also the recipient of a Whiting Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and the National Endowment for the Arts. Williams is currently on tour with his new novel, OURS, published by Penguin/Viking in 2024.

Aricka Foreman is an American poet, interdisciplinary writer and artist from Detroit, Michigan. Author of Dream with a Glass Chamber and Salt Body Shimmer, winner of the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry, she has earned writing fellowships from Cave Canem, Callaloo, and Millay Arts. Her poetry and essays have been featured in Catapult, Black Warrior Review, Teaching Black: The Craft of Teaching On Black Life and Literature, Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry, and the Academy of American Poets, amongst many others. She lives in Chicago and works as a publicist at Haymarket Books.