Aaron Robertson & Joseph Earl Thomas Talk Utopia vs. Reality

Renowned translator Aaron Robertson comes to City of Asylum to share his nonfiction debut, The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America. One of Literary Hub’s most anticipated books of 2024, The Black Utopians is a lyrical meditation on how Black Americans have envisioned utopia—and sought to transform their lives. How do the disillusioned, the forgotten, and the persecuted not merely hold on to life but expand its possibilities and preserve its beauty? What, in other words, does utopia look like in black?

Aaron will be in conversation with Joseph Earl Thomas, who returns to City of Asylum after a wonderful discussion of his memoir Sink, to dive into his latest novel, God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer. The novel is a stirring, unsparing work about Black life in Philadelphia and the struggle to build intimate connections through the eyes of a struggling ex-Army grad student. Otis Spunkmeyer is a powerful examination of everyday Black life—of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics. Joseph and Aaron, through the lenses of their respective books and perspectives, will discuss Utopia vs. Reality, the differences between what could be, what is, and what we might need to bridge the gap between the two. 

In addition to discussion, the program will feature short readings from both authors and an audience Q&A, followed by a book signing. 

You can purchase your own copy of Aaron’s book, The Black Utopians, and Joseph’s book God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer at City of Asylum Bookstore.

About the Authors:

Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Joseph Earl Thomas is the author of Sink, a memoir (Grand Central Publishing, 2022), longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer (Grand Central Publishing, 2024), and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach (Grand Central, 2025). His writing has been published in The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Dilettante Army, and The New York Times Book Review. His honors include the 2020 Chautauqua Janus Prize, and fellowships from Kimbilio, VONA, Tin House and Bread Loaf. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s MFA program in prose, he earned his PhD in English from The University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, and teaches courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant Cucina Alfabeto is open for brunch from 12-3pm, and for dinner from 5-9pm. Please visit Open Table or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.

The bar will be open during the program.