Governing Bodies: A Memoir of Family, Animals, and the Natural World

Fri. Nov 21, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EST
30 days away
  • Reserve
  • Details
Event Stats
30 days away
Event Description

In her new book Sangamithra Iyer explores how our lives, choices, and relationships with the environment ripple across generations and species.


Book cover of Governing BodiesEnvironmental planner Sangamithra Iyer explores in her debut memoir, Governing Bodies, the connections between family, heritage, and the natural world. In three letters written to three different recipients, Iyer examines how systems shape, and sometimes limit, our lives. In the first letter, Iyer recounts to her grandfather the story of a man who dedicates his life to developing wells in Tamil Nadu. The second, to her father, explores their shared commitment to compassion for all beings. The final letter is addressed to readers and weaves Iyer’s family history into her experiences as a woman of color and global citizen trying to move beyond resignation and live more fully.


Iyer conducted research for her book as a Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellow at NYPL.


To join | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open around 1:30 PM. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.


ABOUT THE SPEAKERS


Sangamithra Iyer headshotSangamithra Iyer is an environmental planner, engineer, and writer. She is the recipient of a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, a Café Royal Foundation Literature Grant and the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellowship at The New York Public Library. She is the founder of the Literary Animal Project, for which she was awarded a Culture and Animals Foundation Grant. She lives in Queens, New York, with her husband, Wan, and rescued pit bull, Asta.




READ THE BOOK:



Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!


ACCESSIBILITY


In-Person | You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.


CONNECT


For questions and inquiries, please email publicprograms@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


Please submit press inquiries at least 48 hours before the event: email press@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


The New York Public Library's free services and resources are made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library. Join this group of Library lovers and take advantage of special membership benefits, like invitations to members-only virtual events, discounts at the Library Shop, and more. Join now.


Sangamithra Iyer © Jonathan Blanc

Comments
Registration Options
In-Person Ticket Free
Venue Details
Map of Venue Location.
Lenox and Astor Room, Room 216 The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, 42nd Street & 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10018
Join the Conversation

Follow the event with #NYPLEvents