Tracing Lives: Biography Research at the Library

The Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities invites you to an evening at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building dedicated to biography research and the Research Library's vast collections. Please join us for a conversation with biographers Susannah Cahalan and Eric K. Washington on the symbiotic relationship between biography and research libraries and the unexpected ways they used library collections. This discussion will be followed by a spotlight on the Manuscripts and Archives Division, presenting case studies for using archival materials in biographical research.

Following the conversation there will be a reception with refreshments and ample time for conversation with fellow biographers and Research Library staff.

To join | Registration is required. Check in begins at 5:15pm. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Susannah Cahalan is an award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker. Her 2012 memoir, Brain on Fire has sold over a million copies and was made into a Netflix original movie. Her second book, The Great Pretender, made an array of “Best-Of” lists and was shortlisted for the 2020 Royal Society’s Science Book Award. She has written for The New York Times, The New York Post, Elle, The New Scientist, and BBC’s Focus, as well as academic journals The Lancet and Biological Psychiatry.

Eric K. Washington (he/him) is an award winning, independent scholar and the author of Boss of the Grips: The Life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal, about a once influential Black railway figure and his Harlem-based workforce, published by Liveright. His first-time biography received Columbia University's Herbert H. Lehman Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in New York History, and other awards and accolades. Eric serves on the board of directors of the Biographers International Organization (BIO), and chairs its Frances "Frank" Rollin Fellowship that is awarded annually for a biography-in-progress on an African American figure or figures. He is also on the Archives, Reference and Research Advisory Board (ARRAB) of the New York City Municipal Archives.

If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | 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.

CONNECT

For questions and inquiries, please email crhevents@nypl.org