Claudia Rankine: The White Card

A special reading from the award-winning poet and Library Lion’s first published play examines whiteness.

Award-winning poet Claudia Rankine brings her first published play, The White Card, to NYPL for its New York premiere. Rankine is best known for her collection Citizen: An American Lyric, which confronted its readers with expressions of racism in this country that are both seen and unseen. The White Card continues that conversation in an exploration of “conceptions and constructions of whiteness” and how that idea has contributed to America’s enduring issues with race.

Diane Paulus (Waitress on Broadway, In the Body of the World at American Repertory Theater), who directed the world premiere of The White Card at American Repertory Theater, will direct actors including Karen Pittman, Colton Ryan, and Margaret Colin. Rankine will be joined by Paulus for a talk back following the reading, which has been edited for time.

The White Card was originally conceived by ArtsEmerson, Boston, MA.  It was commissioned by ArtsEmerson and the American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA. The world premiere was produced by A.R.T. and presented by ArtsEmerson in 2018.

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Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc.) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Sara Beth Joren at sarabethjoren@nypl.org. For all other inquiries, please contact publicprograms@nypl.org.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of The New York Public Library.

ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.