James McBride | Philip Gourevitch

Musician and author James McBride returns to LIVE to mark the paperback publication of his book, Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul, a story that speaks to the tensions and contradictions of the American experience: between North and South, black and white, rich and poor. He is joined by journalist and author Philip Gourevitch.

JAMES MCBRIDE is the author of the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award winner, The Good Lord Bird, as well as the bestselling novels Song Yet Sung, Miracle at St. Anna, and the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Color of Water. He is also a saxophonist and composer who teaches music to children in the housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn, where he was born. He is a Distinguished Writer In Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU.

PHILIP GOUREVITCH is a long-time staff writer for The New Yorker, the former editor of The Paris Review, and the author of three books: The Ballad Of Abu Ghraib / Standard Operating Procedure, A Cold Case, and We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, which won a number of prizes including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Guardian First Book Award, and the New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Award. He is completing a new book, in which he revisits Rwanda, called, You Hide That You Hate Me And I Hide That I Know. His profile of James Brown, “Mr. Brown” was included in the volume, Best Music Writing 2003.

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Engage with the brightest at The New York Public Library’s premier cultural series! LIVE from the NYPL offers conversations with notable writers, artists, and leaders, hosted by Paul Holdengräber. Learn more about LIVE.

Come hungry and come thirsty! LIVE at the NYPL is happy to be teaming up with our friends at Amy's Bread to provide food and soft drinks for purchase before the start of shows in Bartos Forum. Also our very own NYPL bar will be selling wine, beer and cocktails to pair with an evening of dynamic conversation. 

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