"Body Work: The Power of Personal Writing"
2-3:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Merrick Hall 301

Join Melissa Febos–bestselling author of four books, including Girlhood, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, and Body Work The Radical Power of Personal Narrative, among others–as she discusses the power inherent to writing intimately on true subjects and how personal narratives can wake us to oppressive histories and function as acts of subversion.  Drawing on her own path from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professor–via addiction and recovery, sex work, and academia–Melissa Febos explores issues of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence, ultimately arguing that "social justice has always depended on the testimonies of the oppressed" and that "the resistance to memoirs about trauma is always in part…a resistance to movements of social justice."  Books will be available for sale and this event will be followed by a book-signing and Q&A.


Moderator: Amy Butcher
Associate Professor of English

David G. Osborne Lecturer: Melissa Febos
Author of the nationally bestselling essay collection, "Girlhood"

Contact Info

Location

Slocum Hall
61 S. Sandusky St.
Delaware, OH 43015

Contacts

David D. Markwardt
Associate Dean of the OWU Connection
Slocum Hall 308 | ddmarkwa@owu.edu

Megan R. Ellis
Executive Director of the OWU Connection
Slocum Hall 211 | mrellis@owu.edu