Robert Jones Jr. on The Prophets: A Novel: Fiction

Name: Robert Jones Jr. on The Prophets: A Novel: Fiction
Start: 2022-11-17T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2022-11-17T13:00:00-05:00
Location: On Demand

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Robert Jones Jr.’s The Prophets – his debut novel – tells the story of Samuel and Isaiah, slaves whose love creates a refuge in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man, a fellow slave, seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own – and Isaiah and Samuel’s love is called out as sinful and dangerous. Moderating is William Johnson, program director at PEN America.

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Jones Jr., Robert

Robert Jones Jr.’s writings have been featured in The New York Times, Essence, The Paris Review, and the anthologies Four Hundred Souls and The 1619 Project. His debut novel, The Prophets (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for fiction and a New York Times bestseller. The book tells the story of Isaiah, who was Samuel’s, and Samuel, who was Isaiah’s. That was how it was from the beginning and how it was to be until the end. In the barn, they tended to the animals and each other, transforming the shed into a human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man – a fellow slave – seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own, and Isaiah and Samuel’s love is called out as sinful and dangerous to the plantation’s harmony. As tensions build and the weight of centuries culminates in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance. But it is also a story shot through with hope, beauty, truth, and the power of love.

Johnson, William

William Johnson is the PEN Across America program director at PEN America. A longtime steward in the writing community, he was the editor and publisher of Mary Literary, a literary magazine committed to showcasing work of artistic integrity, and also co-produced Nepantla: A Journal Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color, the first major anthology for queer poets of color in the United States. In 2011, Johnson began his tenure at Lambda Literary, an organization dedicated to promoting LGBTQ+ literature. As the deputy director of Lambda Literary, Johnson oversaw many of the organization’s most dynamic programs and public events, including the Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices and Lambda’s web magazine, the Lambda Literary Review. In 2021, Johnson was awarded The Publishing Triangle’s Leadership Award, an award recognizing contributions to LGBTQ+ literature by those who are not primarily writers, such as editors, agents, librarians, and institutions.

Robert Jones Jr. on The Prophets: A Novel: Fiction