Talk by Jake Lamar “Brothers in Exile: African-American Authors in Paris”

Talk by Jake Lamar “Brothers in Exile: African-American Authors in Paris” | 24/05/2019 | 10:00 am-11:00 am

Talk by Jake Lamar "Brothers in Exile: African-American Authors in Paris"

American author, Jake Lamar, will talk about his play, Brothers in Exile, featuring the three most important African-American expatriate writers of the post-World War II era in Paris: Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Chester Himes.

Jake Lamar is the author of a memoir, six novels, numerous essays, reviews, short stories and a play. He is a recipient of the Lyndhurst Prize (for his first book Bourgeois Blues), a prestigious French National Book Center grant (for his novel Postérité), France’s Grand Prix for best foreign thriller (for Nous Avions un Rêve, French translation The Last Integrationist), and a Beaumarchais fellowship for his play Brothers in Exile.

Although inspired by people and real facts, Brothers in Exile is a work of fiction. The story revolves around Wright’s death and an official inquiry by the French authorities into Himes’ and Baldwin’s potential involvement. Lamar invents circumstances for the trio but builds those circumstances around the information that he has learned from reading about their fraternal affection and fierce rivalry. Click here to listen to the French radio adaptation of Brothers in Exile aired on France Culture.

This talk is free and open to the public. No reservations necessary, but seating is limited. The Speaker Series has been made possible with the support of the Embassy of the United States of America, France. / Avec le soutien de l’Ambassade des États-Unis d’Amérique.


Location: English-language Library in Angers