Newark Public Library To Hold Annual Philip Roth Lecture: Nov. 2

NEWARK, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Newark Public Library. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

The Newark Public Library (NPL) will hold the 8th annual Philip Roth Lecture at the Main Library on Thursday, November 2 at 6 p.m. Dr. John Wesley Johnson, Jr., assistant professor of history at Saint Peter’s University will speak on History, Memory and the Weequahic Section of Newark.

NPL is the home of the Philip Roth Personal Library, a collection of the great American author’s 7,000 books and personal memorabilia. Roth, a native of the Weequahic neighborhood of Newark, wanted his books to have a home in the public library that inspired and nurtured his commitment to writing. Roth also provided the Newark Public Library with a generous endowment which is supporting many programs throughout the library. The Philip Roth Lecture is part of his gift. Previous lecturers have been Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Robert Caro, Sean Wilentz, Tracy K. Smith, Ayad Akhtar and Nikole Hannah-Jones and Jelani Cobb.

Johnson is also a Newark native who attended St. Benedict’s Prep and earned his master’s in history and Ph.D. in American Studies from Rutgers University – Newark. He is currently writing a book-length manuscript on the Weequahic section of Newark. Johnson documents this area’s growth and transition from a community of farms on the edge of industrial Newark to its transition from a predominately Jewish to majority African American neighborhood. His work also looks at the effect of federally funded urban renewal, including the impact of development and highway construction, on Newark residents.

Before joining St. Peter’s, Johnson was a fellow at the Clement A. Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, involved in helping develop and coordinate public history projects.

Christian Zabriskie, director of Newark Public Library, said “I am excited to attend my first Philip Roth Lecture. In just four months at NPL, I have gained an enormous respect for this city, and for its significant impact on the country’s art and culture. It is fitting that NPL is the home of the astounding Philip Roth Personal Library.”

Rosemary Steinbaum, a member of the library’s board of trustees who also shepherded the collection to its NPL home, said “It’s especially meaningful to have one born-and-bred Newarker share his deep research into the Weequahic area where Roth, another proud native son, grew up.” She added, “In just over two years, the Philip Roth Personal Library has established itself as an important creative and intellectual hub that offers poetry slams, supported a high school writing contest and attracts countless scholars and Roth fans.”

The lecture will be held at Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, Newark, from 6 to 8 p.m. Register here or call 973-733-7744.

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