Iranian American writer Kaveh Akbar is a recipient of multiple Pushcart Prizes and the author of two acclaimed poetry collections including Calling a Wolf a Wolf (2017) and Pilgrim Bell (2021). In 2016, he published the chapbook Portrait of the Alcoholic about his ongoing struggles with addiction, a theme that he continued in his stellar first novel, Martyr!, published in 2024.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His work has appeared in The FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His first poetry collection, The Crown Ain't Worth Much (2016), was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Prize. His first collection of essays, They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us (2017), was named a book of the year by multiple outlets. In 2021, A Little Devil In America was released and became a finalist for several prestigious awards and won the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. His most recent book, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Press the play button located in the center of the video player to activate the live stream. The live stream will begin approximately 30 minutes before the published time.
For best viewing experience, set your player to 1080 p or "Auto." if you experience buffering, reset the player to "720p." (click the bottom right corner labeled HD to make these changes).
If you have both audio and sound, but it appears that the event hasn't started within 5-7 minutes of start time, please be patient as the event may not start precisely at 7:30.
- Please make sure that the volume slider is at full.
- If you experience audio or video issues, please refresh your browser.
- Recommended browser for ideal viewing is Google Chrome.
- If using Microsoft Edge and video will not play, you will need to adjust your browser settings, or move to Chrome.
- Viewing is available on phone, tablet, or computer through an internet browser.
- if you continue to experience issues, please contact us at mpacinfo@case.edu and you will get a more immediate response than you might in the chat.