Join Sophie Robinson and poet Ariana Reines to celebrate Sophie’s novel Prairie OysterAbout this Event
Join author Sophie Robinson as she celebrates the launch of her debut novel, Prairie Oyster, with a conversation and reading with poet, playwright, and performing artist Ariana Reines. In Prairie Oyster, thirty-something filmmaker Pearl is on the edge of an addiction-fueled breakdown. But when she is invited to interview her idol and crush, lesbian cult filmmaker Mitch Meyer, her stilted life restarts. Buoyed and seduced by Mitch’s interest in her and her work, Pearl swaps alcoholism for romantic obsession and London for a summer in New York with Mitch. All the while she is haunted by a project she has been toying with for years: a film about Veronica Lake, a 1940s film star who drank herself into obscurity.
“Had me laughing, wincing, cheering, recognizing, admiring—and turning pages, rapidly.”—Maggie Nelson, author, The Argonauts
“Sophie out-jars The Bell Jar with this dark and gleaming masterpiece.”—Eileen Myles, author, A “Working Life”
“This lush and detailed dive into the flayed-open femme heart is irresistible—wild, cringy, addictive, relatable.”—Michelle Tea, author, Little F
Sophie Robinson is author of Rabbit. Her work has been published in Granta, The Guardian, Stylist, BOMB Magazine, The Believer, n+1, The Poetry Review, and The White Review. She runs Devotion, a radical and inclusive online creative writing workshop series, and publishes regular essays on her Substack, Feelings Almanac. Prairie Oyster is her first novel. She lives in London, England.
Ariana Reines is an award-winning poet, playwright, and performing artist from Salem, Massachusetts. Her books include 2020 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winner, A Sand Book, and Alberta Prizewinning The Cow. Her play, Telephone, won two Obies and has been performed internationally. In 2020, she founded Invisible College, a study hall for poetry, ancient texts, and the arts. She lives in New York City.
Hive Mind Books is a queer and trans bookstore and coffee shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We are located off of the Dekalb Ave (L), Myrtle-Wyckoff (L/M), and Knickerbocker (M) subway stations. Our coffee and tea bar will be open for the duration of this event.
Event venue
Hive Mind Books, 219 Irving Ave, Brooklyn, United States
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