A lecture series created by Rice University’s Multicultural Community Relations department held its first in-person discussion Feb. 9 at Sewall Hall. “Books That Shaped My Life,” which began during the pandemic and originally took place via Zoom, explores literature that challenges and expands our understanding of the human journey.
The featured speaker was Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of Creative Writing and English Kiese Laymon — who was recently awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a “genius grant.” He discussed his book “Heavy: An American Memoir,” which was published in 2018 and won a host of awards, including the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.
From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to time in New York as a college professor, the work charts Laymon’s complex relationships with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing and gambling.
