Diana Friend
Director of Communications & Marketing
785-554-5334 (cell) | 785-580-4486 (office)
dfriend@tscpl.org
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Award-Winning Author Dr. Rita Woods
Shares Storytelling, Conversation & Afrofuturism
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(TOPEKA) – Afrofuturist and Hurston/Wright Award-winning author Dr. Rita Woods will discuss The Last Dreamwalker, her book about power and agency, and the ways trauma and secrets take shape across generations. Attend at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library or by Zoom on Saturday, April 15. Events are co-hosted by the Topeka Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and ArtsConnect.
Use registration link tinyurl.com/3u8272ek to register for one or all three free events (storytelling, breakfast and/or reading and conversation):
- Friday, April 14 | 7-10 p.m. Storytelling Salon for New and Experienced Writers moderated by playwright Darren Canady at Arts Connect
- Saturday, April 15 | 9-10 a.m. Unity Breakfast sponsored by the Greater Topeka Partnership's Equity and Opportunity Office (must register by April 10 for breakfast) at library
- Saturday, April 15 | 10 a.m. - noon Reading and Conversation with Dr. Woods and playwright Darren Canady at library
- Saturday, April 15 | noon - 1 p.m. Book Signing Reception at library
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Woods describes Afrofuturism as, “a genre (aesthetic) that takes Sci-Fi, fantasy, magical realism, historical fiction and looks at it through the lens of the African-American experience. It is a way to revise and re-imagine the world through our history, our traditions. Someone said, Afrofuturism is a way to say African-Americans will exist in the future. I would add that it also says we have always existed: past, present and future.”
"Woods' genius is apparent in The Last Dreamwalker, which we will be spotlighting on April 14 and 15," said longtime Topeka Links member and event chair Monique Pittman-Liu. "This gripping tale makes complex truths about Black identity and existence truly comprehensible. It is speculative, historical fiction at its best, and we invite everyone to come share in this rich diversity of thought. There's a reason why Woods was honored with the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award in 2021.”
Woods was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She received a bachelors in Microbiology from Purdue University before graduating from Howard University College of Medicine. Woods completed her training at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently serves as Medical Director of a Wellness Center that provides care for members of one of the largest Trade Unions in the nation.
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