Ever been to a party and some chap starts talking to you about a book that you are, in fact, the author of? Rebecca Solnit feels your ambivalence. In her seminal essay Men Explain Things To Me, she says, “explaining men still assume I am, in some sort of obscene impregnation metaphor, an empty vessel to be filled with their wisdom and knowledge.”
Trinity University hosts an evening this Wednesday with the writer, historian, and activist who is anything but an empty vessel.
But don’t expect a night devoted to mansplaining; Solnit’s voice is incomparable and her subject matter is immense. She has authored 15 books about art, nature, memory, hope, and wandering, including, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster, River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas, and more. She is also a contributing editor to Harper’s and regular contributor to Tomdispatch.com
Solnit will discuss her new book, The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness, published by Trinity University Press. Trinity explains, “as the title of the book suggests, the territory of Solnit’s concerns is vast, and the evening will combine commentary on history, justice, and war and peace with captivating explorations of place.” The evening’s discussion might range from Henry David Thoreau’s laundry to Elvis, from urban gardening to nuclear testing in Nevada. You will never look at the world with the same eyes again.
The free evening of thought and discussion includes an opening wine reception at 5:30, with the lecture beginning promptly at 6:30. Solnit will conclude the night with a Q&A and book signing.
