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Big Ideas in Literature Series:Fiction as Revolutionary Laboratory with Daniel Sarah Karasik
Friday, Feb 20 at 7 pm, Art Gallery of Guelph
Free | Reception to follow
Can fiction be a laboratory where we construct miniatures of the world we want, the obstacles to building it, and how we might overcome them? Especially speculative and other so-called "genre" fiction?
Daniel Sarah Karasik's debut novel, a work of queer and trans speculative fiction called Disobedience, examines the fraught internal dynamics of a community dedicated to justice and liberation. Set in a distant future, it asks questions urgent in our own times. How should a social movement address the conflict and harm that develops between its own members? What might compassionate, sustainable models of justice look like in practice?
Join Daniel Sarah on Fri. Feb. 20 for a talk about literature's relationship with social movements for liberation, what we talk about when we talk about "community," and what it means to participate in political life at a time when the far right is rising, and politics so often feels like a machine for grinding hope down. As the theorist and activist Mike Davis put it: "Fight with hope, fight without hope, but fight absolutely."
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Daniel Sarah Karasik (they/them) is the author of seven published books, including the novel Disobedience; two poetry collections, Plenitude and Hungry; and the short story collection Faithful and Other Stories. Their work has been recognized with the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award, the CBC Short Story Prize, and the Canadian Jewish Playwriting Award. They organize with the network Artists for Climate & Migrant Justice and Indigenous Sovereignty (ACMJIS), among other groups, and are the founding managing editor of Midnight Sun, a magazine of socialist strategy, analysis, and culture. They live in Toronto.
The Big Ideas in Literature lecture series is devoted to writers and editors whose work expands how we understand literature’s role in contemporary life. The series explores literature not only as a textual practice, but as a way of engaging the social, political, ethical, and imaginative dimensions of the worlds we inhabit. Speakers are invited to reflect on their creative and intellectual trajectories, to share works-in-progress, and to experiment with the lecture format itself through readings, conversations, and other forms. Designed for a curious and engaged audience in the Guelph region—ranging from students to lifelong readers—Big Ideas in Literature creates a space for convivial and thoughtful exchange, and fresh thinking about how literary ideas circulate in public life.
The Big Ideas lecture series also includes Big Ideas in Art + Culture and Big Ideas in Improvisation. These programmes are presented through collaborations between Musagetes and other organizations, including Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener-Waterloo (CAFKA), Art Gallery of Guelph, and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IISCI).
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The Big Ideas Lecture will be at the Art Gallery of Guelph. The space is accessible by a ramp and stairs leading to the front entrance, with stair and elevator access to gender-neutral washrooms. Masks are encouraged, and some will be available at the door for both the public and exhibitors. We encourage exhibitors and guests to stay home if they feel unwell. Please reduce the use of scented products (e.g. perfume, cologne) for this event.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Art Gallery of Guelph, 358 Gordon Street,Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
