To support and stimulate campus-wide conversation about Marshall’s Quality Initiative – Building a Stronger and More Inclusive Marshall Community – we encourage everyone to read and discuss the following books during the spring semester. The messages of both books align to the Quality Initiative’s 2023-2024 theme, “Building Bridges.”
- The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns by William H. Turner
- Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora
Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57691816) describes the Harlan Renaissance as “an intimate remembrance of kinship and community in eastern Kentucky’s coal towns written by one of the luminaries of Appalachian studies, Willima Turner.” It is the winner of the Weatherford Award for Nonfiction.
Solito is a New York Times bestseller, which NPR described as a “gripping memoir” of bravery, hope, and finding family.
Watch for information about upcoming lectures and discussions featuring these books!