Change. That ever-present, essential, inevitable part of life that we expect… and sometimes even embrace. The rapid, universal change of the past 18 months—from a pandemic to political unrest—was felt in our work, personal relationships; in every facet of our lives. Freeman’s, an event that dovetails with the bi-annual journal of the same name, discusses these changes of recent months, and how we live with and adapt to change in our lives. Editor John Freeman is joined by Joshua Bennett (Owed) and Lauren Groff (Matrix) to explore two original pieces each author created for the journal, and to muse on writing as a response and coping mechanism to change. Freeman’s is a highlight on the Writers Fest calendar for our regulars; always thought-provoking, exquisitely literary, and deeply human.
Moderated by John Freeman.
Joshua Bennett (appearing virtually)
Lauren Groff (appearing in-person)
John Freeman (appearing in-person)
Participants and Speakers
Joshua Bennett
JOSHUA BENNETT is a poet, performer, and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. He is the author of two collections of poetry, as well as a book of criticism, Being Property Once Myself: Blackness and the End of Man. His writing has been published in The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, Poetry, and elsewhere. In 2021, he was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Award in Poetry and Nonfiction. (UNITED STATES)
John Freeman
JOHN FREEMAN is the founder of the literary annual Freeman’s and the author and editor of Dictionary of the Undoing, The Park, Tales of Two Planets, The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, and, with Tracy K. Smith, There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Orions. The former editor of Granta, he teaches writing at NYU and is an executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf. (UNITED STATES)
Lauren Groff
LAUREN GROFF is a two-time National Book Award finalist and The New York Times-bestselling author of three novels–The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, and Fates and Furies–and the celebrated short story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She has won The Story Prize, the PEN/O. Henry Award, and been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She was named one of Granta’s 2017 Best Young American Novelists. (UNITED STATES)