Day two of Winter Institute kicked off with a keynote discussion among Lauren Groff, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Colson Whitehead, and moderator Michelle Malonzo titled Novelist as Citizen. The writers spoke about the role of the novelist in the wake of political upheaval, the purpose of literature, and more. Nguyen remarked that the upheavals of 2020 around George Floyd’s death “were extreme manifestations of things I’ve seen my entire life in the United States,” and Whitehead noted, “they’re ongoing dilemmas we grapple with.” Groff said, “If you’re paying attention to the world, your work is going to be political.” Asked if […]
