Kiese Laymon on writing, and his Master Class at City Lit Festival

Today, it’s Midday on the Arts.   A little later in the show, Tom speaks with the actor Kiefer Sutherland. In addition to his work on television and in film, he’s an accomplished singer-songwriter. He’s playing some tunes from his latest album tomorrow night in Annapolis, and he’ll join us to talk about it today on Midday.  But we begin with the powerful and acclaimed African American writer, Kiese Laymon. He’s published a novel, Long Division, a collection of essays called How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America and a best-selling memoir, Heavy, which chronicles his childhood in Mississippi, his struggles growing up, and his complicated relationship with his brilliant and demanding mother. Laymon is a professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi. He’ll be offering a workshop for writers Tuesday night (3/15) as one of the featured artists at this year’s CityLit Festival. (Follow the link to register for his Master Class event.) Kiese Laymon joins us on Zoom from Virginia. ______________________________________________ The 19th Annual CityLit Festival continues on March 29 with a program called How We Break Free: The Birth of Promise at the Motor House and on April 1, a program called Killing Rage: A Festival of Poets at Busboys and Poets in Baltimore.  Follow the links for more info.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.