NYU Skirball Book Club: Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD WINNER

Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the “rez”–and his former life–to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The seven days that follow are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and the heartbreaking recollection of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny’s life is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages–and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life.

Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of First Nations life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.

Date + Time

Book Club 101

While we can’t gather in the theater, we’re taking select book clubs online. Join us via Zoom for Virtual Book Club. RSVP with your e-mail address so we can send you the Zoom link on the day of the event. How does it work? After a brief introduction, we will shift participants into self-led breakout rooms, in groups of about 10, so everyone can participate in a discussion before coming back to the main room to wrap up. Need a copy of the book? Order a copy from our bookshop.org list, and NYU Skirball will receive a portion of the proceeds.

Author

Joshua Whitehead

Support

Co-sponsored by the NYU Office of Global Inclusion and Diversity.