The Ethics of Now with Deesha Philyaw

Join the Kenan Institute for Ethics and host Adriane Lentz-Smith for a conversation with Deesha Philyaw, author of “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” on Black women’s loves, lives, and labors.

Award-winning writer Deesha Philyaw dares to explore the intimacies of Black women’s lives that are otherwise left at the church door. Her writing cares for Black women’s loves and desires, be they tender, challenging, funny, or misunderstood. She pushes us to embrace without judgement what makes her church ladies feel good, unstuck, and themselves.

“The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” Philyaw’s debut short story collection, won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 2020/2021 Story Prize, and the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, a 2020 LA Times Book Prize. The collection was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction.

This event takes place at the Hayti Heritage Center. Copies of “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” will be available for purchase, courtesy of the Regulator Bookshop. A book signing and reception will follow the event. Parking is available on the premises, at Phoenix Square, Heritage Square Shopping Center, and on adjacent streets. An accessible entrance to the premises is available from the parking lot. Please write to event coordinator, Jac Arnade-Colwill, at jac.arnade-colwill@duke.edu if you require accessible parking and entrance. Please be advised that seating for this event is first come, first served.