Adrienne Raphel is an expert in locating the invisible yet ubiquitous and rendering it worthy of investigation–even uncanny. From uncovering hidden histories of crossword puzzle mania to deforming Internet jargon past any point of possible meaning, Raphel’s work reveals the extraordinary lurking beneath the surface of the ordinary. Over the month of June, Raphel will continue to nurture this critical approach toward the everyday as a Visiting Fellow while researching Parisian urban imagination. What are the different stages of crafting a project? What phases does it go through? When, if ever, is it complete? Join Raphel in discussing the evolutions this project has undergone and the research process itself, from initial ideas to drafting to the always nebulous notion of a finished product.
About the speaker:
Adrienne Raphel is a 2022-23 American Library in Paris Visiting Fellow. She is the author of Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can’t Live Without Them, named an Editor’s Choice by the New York Times Book Review; What Was It For, winner of the Rescue Press Black Box Poetry Prize; and Our Dark Academia, forthcoming this fall. Her writing appears in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and many other publications. She has been a featured speaker at events such as the National Book Festival at the Library of Congress, and she serves as a mentor with the Periplus collective. Raphel holds a PhD from Harvard, an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and a BA from Princeton.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Raphel will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
