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The Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center

Reading list

Reading at the Lyric

An adaptable reading shelf for future author events and conversations.

Use this regional shelf as a starting point. When the Lyric confirms an event, attach the official event page and add the guest’s catalog works and selected discussion questions.

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Recommended reading

Fiction

The Birds of Opulence

Crystal Wilkinson

Generations of women in a Kentucky community live with losses and knowledge that are carried through families.

Poetry

Affrilachia

Frank X Walker

Walker’s poems insist on the visibility of Black lives in the language and geography of Appalachia.

Memoir

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts

Crystal Wilkinson

Recipes and recollections connect Appalachian foodways with the stories of Black women across generations.

Poetry

Head Off & Split

Nikky Finney

Finney’s poems move between family, public history, and the language that mediates what people see.