Naomi Jackson, author of The Star Side of Bird Hill, 9/24 IWS Lounge at Common Hour

Naomi Jackson, author of The Star Side of Bird Hill (Penguin, 2015) will be speaking at Common Hour in the IWS Lounge on Thursday, September 24, at St. John’s University. Ms. Jackson is a prolific author, scholar, and teacher.

Her debut novel has been reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus, Oprah.com, The New Yorker, and many others. Here’s a bit about the book: “This  lyrical novel of community, betrayal, and love centers on an unforgettable matriarchal family in Barbados. Two sisters, age 10 and 16, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados after their mother can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister Dionne live for the summer of 1989 with their grandmother, Hyacinth. Dionne spends the summer in search of love, testing her grandmother’s limits, and wanting to go home. Phaedra explores Bird Hill, where her family has lived for generations, accompanies her grandmother in her role as a midwife, and investigates their mother’s mysterious life. This tautly-paced coming of age story builds to a crisis when the father they barely know comes to Bird Hill to reclaim his daughters, and both Phaedra and Dionne must choose between the Brooklyn they once knew and loved or the Barbados of their family.”

Please join us for this truly spectacular event!
Sponsored by the Department of English, Africana Studies, Office of the Provost for Global Initiatives, and Spectrum (LGBTQ) at St. John’s University

Bio
Naomi Jackson is the author of The Star Side of Bird Hill, published by Penguin Press in June 2015. She studied fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Jackson traveled to South Africa on a Fulbright scholarship, where she received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. A graduate of Williams College, her work has appeared in literary journals and magazines in the United States and abroad. She is the recipient of residencies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writers House, Hedgebrook, Vermont Studio Center, and the Camargo Foundation. (Photo credit: Lola Flash
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