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.

Brooklyn Voices Lineup

Lili Taylor

Actor Lili Taylor launches the paperback edition of her book Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Monday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.

During a much-needed break from her work as an actor, Lili Taylor sought silence and instead found the bustling, symphonic world of birds that had always existed around her. Since then, she has kept a keen eye pressed to her binoculars in search of vivid stories that elevate the everyday, if only one pays attention. Her book Turning to Birds, publishing for the first time in paperback, is a series of beautifully crafted essays in which Taylor shares her intimate encounters with the birds that have captured her heart and imagination—from tracking flitting woodpeckers through oak trees to spotting majestic blue jays perched on a Manhattan fire escape; from the exhilaration of witnessing a migratory flock from the top of the Empire State Building to the quiet joy of observing a nest of hatchlings in her own backyard. Taylor presents her book with a reading and Q&A, followed by a book signing.

Tickets $20 (Book Included)

Purchase Tickets

Neal Allen and Anne Lamott

Neal Allen and Anne Lamott present Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Thursday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.

Writing duo, and husband and wife, Neal Allen (Shapes of Truth) and Anne Lamott (Almost Everything) present their new book Good Writing! In this, two writers show you how to turn a worthy sentence into a memorable one. Starting where The Elements of Style leaves off, Good Writing can improve your book, your essay, your memo, your blog post, speech, or script. Whether you’re a novice writer or a seasoned author, this entertaining guide will revolutionize your approach to crafting sentences. Allen and Lamott read and discuss the rules of good writing, from subtle to fundamental, before an audience Q&A and signing.

Tickets $27 (Book Included)

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Chuck Klosterman

Book Launch: Chuck Klosterman presents Football
In conversation with Nora Princiotti
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Tuesday, January 20, 7:30 p.m.

New York Times bestselling critic, journalist, and, yes, football psychotic Chuck Klosterman launches Football, a hilarious but nonetheless groundbreaking contribution to the argument about which force shapes American life the most. This is a book for two kinds of readers: those who know that force is football, and those who are about to find out. Written for the new age, and rooted in a personal history he cannot escape, Klosterman's Football gets to the bottom of what is not merely the country’s most popular sport; but what is ingrained in almost everything that explains what America is, even for those who barely pay attention. Nora Princiotti, author and staff writer at The Ringer—where she covers culture, from Taylor Swift to the National Football League—joins Klosterman for a reading and discussion on the book before an audience Q&A and signing.

Photo © Joanna Ceciliani.

Tickets $5 (General Admission), $32 (Book Included)

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The Friends of Attention

Book Launch: The Friends of Attention present Attensity! A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement
IN-PERSON: Live at St. Joseph's University!
Wednesday, January 21, 7 p.m.

From the Strother School of Radical Attention and the New York Philosophy Club comes a unique event designed to challenge and inspire! D. Graham Burnett, Alyssa Loh, and Peter Schmidt of the Friends of Attention present their new book, Attensity! A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement, a rallying cry to fight the commodification of human attention and re-enchant the world. Then join the Friends and the NYPC for a participatory and reflective inquiry into the practice and meaning of ATTENTION. The evening will be a chance to feel the power and beauty of shared time, sensory experience, and radical thought.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and event will start promptly at 7 p.m. All pre-ordered / ticket-bundled books will be signed in advance of the event. All of the proceeds from the sales of Attensity! will directly support the non-profit work of the Friends of Attention coalition and the School of Radical Attention.

Tickets $5 (General Admission), $30 (Book Included)

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Previous Seasons of Brooklyn Voices

Fall 2025

W. David Marx

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

Book Launch: W. David Marx presents Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century
In conversation with Emily Sundberg

Lee Clay Johnson

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

Lee Clay Johnson presents Bloodline
In conversation with Andrew Martin

Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith

Wednesday, September 10, 7:30 p.m.

Book Launch: Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith present The People's Project: Poems, Essays, and Art for Looking Forward
In conversation with Hala Alyan, Aubrey Hirsch, Mira Jacob, and Chase Strangio

River Selby

Thursday, August 14, 7pm

Book Launch: River Selby presents Hotshot
In conversation with Alexander Sammartino

Spring 2025

Damon Young

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

Book Launch: Damon Young presents That's How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor
In conversation with Wyatt Cenac
Moderated by Jazmine Hughes

Mark Kriegel

Wednesday, June 4, 7:30 p.m.

Book Launch: Mark Kriegel presents Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson
In conversation with Rosie Perez

Ocean Vuong

Wednesday, May 14, 7:30 p.m.

Ocean Vuong presents The Emperor of Gladness

Ezra Klein

Thursday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson present Abundance
In conversation with PJ Vogt

Colum McCann

Wednesday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.

Colum McCann presents Twist
In conversation with Phil Klay

Chris Hayes

Monday, February 10, 7:30 p.m.

Chris Hayes presents The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource
in conversation with The New Yorker's Jia Tolentino

Liz Pelly

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

Book launch: Liz Pelly's Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist
In conversation with Max Alper

Fall 2024

Ayana Mathis

Thursday, December 12, 7:30 p.m.

Ayana Mathis presents The Unsettled, winner of the Gabe Hudson Prize
In conversation with Akhil Sharma and Gary Shteyngart

Jeff VanderMeer

Thursday, October 24, 7:30 p.m.

Jeff VanderMeer presents Absolution: A Southern Reach
In conversation with Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel

Friday, September 20, 7:30 p.m.

Emily St. John Mandel presents Station Eleven Ten-Year Anniversary Celebration!
In conversation with Jenny Jackson

Spring 2024

Lev Grossman

Monday, July 15, 7:30 p.m.

Lev Grossman presents The Bright Sword

Tommy Orange

Tuesday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.

Tommy Orange presents Absolution: Wandering Stars
In conversation with Ethan Hawke

Read event recap and watch video

Michael Ondaatje

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

Michael Ondaatje presents A Year of Last Things: Poems
In conversation with Sonali Deraniyagala

Maurice Ashley

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

Maurice Ashley presents Move by Move: Life Lessons On and Off the Chessboard
In conversation with Levy Rozman

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil presents Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees
In conversation with Roxane Gay

Voyage Into Genre LIVE

Friday, May 17, 7:30 p.m.

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

Julia Phillips

Tuesday, June 25, 7:30 p.m.

Julia Phillips presents Bear

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