LISTEN TO EPISODE 127!

Dear listeners,

In our latest episode, we are graced by the presence of Hanif Abdurraqib whose latest book, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, was just released in March 2024. We are very excited about this episode because Hanif is interviewed by one of his students, writer and stand up comic Stuti Sharma. This episode focuses a lot on community, whether that is a writing community or a school community, and it felt fitting to also include audio of Hanif reading at Smith College, a reading that took place in April 2023. I was lucky to be at this reading in person, so I am especially thrilled to share this audio and this episode with you all! 

Like many of our episodes, this one continues to spotlight the importance of finding community. I hope that you, too, are finding solace in these interviews and feeling less alone in this world. Engaging with the community, even just by lending an ear to listen, makes all the difference in working toward justice and prosperity. We can build a sense of empathy and togetherness, even through your earbuds, headphones, and speakers.

Here is some more information on Hanif Abdurraqib and Stuti Sharma: 

Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His newest release, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House, 2024) is a New York Times Bestseller. His previous book, A Little Devil In America (Random House, 2021) was a winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and the Gordon Burn Prize. In 2021, Abdurraqib was named a MacArthur Fellow, and in 2024 was named a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient. He is a graduate of Beechcroft High School.

Stuti Sharma is a poet, stand up comic, writer, filmmaker, and cook. She was a 2023 Open TV Fellowship Finalist for her short film after Noname’s song “Bye Bye Baby” and a 2023-2024 Tin House Inaugural Reading Fellow and has been published in Mason Jar Press, the Chicago Reader, Hooligan Magazine, Sixty Inches From Center, South Side Weekly, and forthcoming in HarperCollins. She is of Indian heritage, born in Kenya, and grew up on Devon street in the West Ridge and in the south suburbs. She is moving to California and New York for a bit to work on her novel but will be in Chicago for her hour of stand up comedy at Chicago Art Department in December of 2024. She cooked at various pop ups and restaurants including a French wine bar in Chicago and likes to explore diasporic traditions of Kenyan and Indian cuisine in America. Follow @cyborgstuti for more information on upcoming shows, food pop ups, and projects. 

A great way to connect with more amazing authors and with Rachel would be to sign up for a Reading with Rachel class! Here’s a preview of upcoming sessions:

• In July, we read and discuss Brenda Shaughnessey’s book, Tanya

• In August, we will read The Poet’s Novel by Laynie Browne

Both authors will be present at the live-virtual session to discuss their work!

If you’d like to know more about Reading with Rachel and other Commonplace School classes, check out our new website: commonplace.today where you’ll also find all Commonplace episodes, extra resources for each episode and transcripts for almost every episode! And if you are interested in supporting us here at Commonplace—we operate without any institutional funding—please consider supporting us on Patreon! 

Some members of the Commonplace book club will get a copy of one of Hanif Abdurraqib’s books: A Fortune for Your Disaster (Tin House), The Crown Ain't Worth Much (Button Poetry), Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest (University of Texas Press), A Little Devil in America (Random House), and There's Always This Year: Notes on Basketball and Ascension (Random House). 

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Tin House, Button Poetry, University of Texas Press, and Random House for their generosity and for allowing us to continue spreading a love of books to our Commonplace Book Club members. 

In honor of this episode Commonplace’s charitable partner will donate $250 to J.U.S.T., an organization selected by Hanif which provides services for communities of color such as free meals and believes in a “collective inclusion that results from racial equity.” They aim to dismantle systems of racial oppression through acts of civic duty in Columbus, Ohio. 

Please consider sharing this episode with a poetry lover in your life, and also give our recent Instagram post a like or share: @commonplacepod 

ALSO, we have developed an audience poll to get feedback from YOU about Commonplace! We would love to hear your thoughts. Please fill out this form here. If you do, you will be entered into a raffle for FREE BOOKS! 

Thank you so much to Rachel for making this special episode happen, and to my other Commonplace colleagues, Christine Larusso and Leigh Sugar, for producing Episode 127 with me. 

With love,

Lola Anaya