Dartmouth Events

The Department of English & Creative Writing and the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College welcome author Maaza Mengiste to read for the Cleopatra Mathis Poetry & Prose Series. Her reading will take place Tuesday, November 5th, 2019 at 4:30pm in the Sanborn Library, Sanborn house.

Set against the first real conflict of World War II, Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King (W. W. Norton & Company) is an indelible exploration of what it means to be a woman at war. In 1935, orphaned servant Hirut struggles to adapt to her new household as Ethiopia faces Mussolini’s looming invasion. As the battles begin in earnest, Hirut and other women must care for the wounded. But when Emperor Haile Selassie goes into exile and Ethiopia is about to lose hope, Hirut helps to disguise a gentle peasant as the emperor to keep the fight alive. She becomes his guard, inspiring women to join the war against fascism. Maaza Mengiste breathes life into complicated characters on both sides of the battle line, shaping a searing story of ordinary women and the advanced army they courageously opposed.

Maaza Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A Fulbright Scholar and professor at Queens College, she is also the author of Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, named one of the Guardian’s Ten Best Contemporary African Books. She is the recipient of a 2019 Creative Capital Grant in Literature, and a 2018 NEA Fellowship in Prose. She lives in New York City.

The Shadow King will be available for purchase courtesy of The Norwich Bookstore.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.