The legendary novelist and essayist discusses her vital new interpretation of the Book of Genesis.

Whether on account of scholars debating its origins and its coherency or fundamentalists questioning the literal truth of its stories, the Book of Genesis is often overlooked as a piece of literature and for its exploration of themes that resonate throughout the Old and New Testaments. In her new book, Reading Genesis, Marilynne Robinson reconsiders this foundational text, and the profound meanings and promise of God’s enduring covenant with humanity.

Robinson discusses her latest work with author Ayana Mathis.

This March celebrate Women's History Month with the women making history.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Marilynne Robinson is the author of Gilead, winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award; Home (2008), winner of the Orange Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Lila (2014), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; and Jack (2020), a New York Times bestseller. Her first novel, Housekeeping (1980), won the PEN/Hemingway Award. Robinson’s nonfiction books include The Givenness of Things (2015), When I Was a Child I Read Books (2012), Absence of Mind (2010), The Death of Adam (1998), and Mother Country (1989). She is the recipient of a 2012 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama, for “her grace and intelligence in writing.” Robinson lives in California.

Ayana Mathis is the author of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Knopf, 2012) and most recently, The Unsettled (Knopf, 2023) which was named a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book of 2023, a best of 2023 by The New Yorker, Publisher’s Weekly, an Oprah Daily Best Novels of 2023, and a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2023. Her essays and criticism have been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Guernica, and Rolling Stone. Mathis is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She currently lives in New York City where she teaches writing in Hunter College’s MFA Program.

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ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. 

Livestream | Captions and a transcript will be provided. Media used over the course of the conversation will be accompanied by alt text and/or audio description. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

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Marilynne Robinson © Alec Soth, Magnum Photos
Ayana Mathis © Beowulf Sheehan