Library Talks

This week, we welcome two award-winning authors: American writer Darryl Pinckney and popular English novelist Zadie Smith. In this wide-ranging conversation, Pinckney and Smith talk about race, class, and Pinckney’s new novel, “Black Deutschland.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri comes to the Library to celebrate the release of her new novel, “In Other Words.” In this conversation with NYPL’s Paul Holdengraber, Lahiri talks about nostalgia, expression, and her love of the Italian language.

Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie came to NYPL’s Library for the Performing Arts in 2013 for a talk with Rolling Stone senior critic Will Hermes. In this rousing conversation, Harry and Stein discuss punk, photography, and the New York City music scene in the 1970s.

Ta-Nehisi Coates, Toni Morrison, Jay-Z, and Zadie Smith are just a few among the black authors and creators we'll hear from this week. In our 100th episode, we present the men and women making black history today, from music moguls to authors, chefs to television stars. Please join us for a look at of some of the most incredible guests The New York Public Library and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture have had the privilege to host. In order of appearance:Marcus SamuelssonNtozake ShangeCharles BlowTavis SmileyGeorge Clinton (with Paul Holdengraber)Shaquille O'NealTimbaland (with William Jelani Cobb)Ta-Nehisi Coates (with Khalil Gibran Muhammad)RuPaulToni Morrison & Angela DavisZadie Smith & Chimamanda AdichieJay-Z (with Cornel West)Jesmyn Ward (with William Jelani Cobb & Khalil Gibran Muhammad)Toni MorrisonZadie Smith Music by: Blue Dot Sessions, Chris Zabriskie, and Hot Acid Alien Lust Bomb.

We’re going back in the archives to bring you a conversation with the founders of record label Def Jam Recordings: music producers Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. In this talk with NYPL’s Paul Holdengraber, Simmons and Rubin discuss hip hop, collaboration, and the importance of speaking your own truth.

Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Yusef Komunyakaa came to the Library last October to celebrate the release of his latest book, “The Emperor of Water Clocks.” In this engrossing conversation with NYPL’s Jessica Strand, Komunyakaa talks about music, Langston Hughes, and his literary coming of age.

We’re kicking off Black History Month with Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, who came to NYPL in 2010 for a conversation with activist and author Angela Davis. In this wide-ranging talk, Morrison and Davis discuss Frederick Douglass, education, and liberation.

Award-winning author Francine Prose came to the Library to talk about her latest novel, “Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932.” In this conversation with NYPL’s Jessica Strand, Prose discusses love, storytelling, and how to read like a writer.

Bestselling author Junot Díaz came to the Library in 2013 to mark the release of his book “This Is How You Lose Her.” In this conversation with NYPL’s Paul Holdengraber, Díaz talks about family, love, and the American immigrant experience.

This week, we welcome two great artists: Pulitzer and T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds; and Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon. In this entertaining conversation, co-presented by the Academy of American Poets, Olds and Nixon discuss theater, Emily Dickinson, and channeling their energy into art.