LIVE from the NYPL: Zadie Smith

November 22, 2010

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Divided into four sections—“Reading,” “Being,” “Seeing,” and “Feeling”— Zadie Smith’s CHANGING MY MIND depicts a range of experiences, from daily activities to a trip to Liberia, Smith incorporates an assortment of themes including literature, movies, going to the Oscars, British comedy, family, feminism, Obama, Katharine Hepburn, and Anna Magnani.  

With CHANGING MY MIND, Zadie Smith reveals much of herself.  She delivers a moving appreciation of the work and thought of David Foster Wallace, and her literary criticism explores the tremendous influence that diverse writers—E. M. Forster, Zora Neale Hurston, George Eliot, and others—have had on her writing. 

Speaking directly to writers as a fellow craftsman, Smith offers invaluable advice and lessons on the writing process.  With her thought-provoking and wonderfully engaging essays—some published here for the first time—Smith shares her unique view of the world distinguished by her intellect, sharp humor, and abundance of life experiences.

ZADIE SMITH is the author of White Teeth, The Autograph Man, and On Beauty, and the editor of The Book of Other People. Zadie Smith is a New York Public Library 2010 Library Lion.

PAUL HOLDENGRÄBER is the Director of LIVE from the NYPL.