Lecture at The Prior by Hanif Abdurraqib

The Prior Performing Arts Center is presenting a free public lecture by Hanif Abdurraqib on Tuesday, September 16 at 6 pm. MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, music writer, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His newest release, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House, 2024), was a New York Times Bestseller and longlisted for the National Book Award in nonfiction. His 2021 book, A little Devil in America: Notes on Black Performance, placed as a finalist for the National Book Award.

There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension interweaves Abdurraqib’s passion for basketball and life reflections. The book has been described by Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams as “Mesmerizing . . . not only the most original sports book I’ve ever read but one of the most moving books I’ve ever read, period.” Time has said that “[There’s Always This Year] moves through reflections on his father’s jump shot, a dissection of the legend of LeBron James, and more. Abdurraqib . . . offers a complex rumination on home, belonging, and mortality.” 

Tickets are free but a reservation is required. Use the QR code to register or simply go on the Holy Cross website.