Namwali Serpell - The Old Drift: Lecture

The Africana Studies Program introduces to campus a new, ongoing series, Black Studies Book Club. Each semester, BSBC brings a scholar whose recent publication has shifted the conversation in Africana Studies to campus to give a public lecture and discuss their recent work (free and open to everyone). Our third Black Studies Book Club Scholar is Namwali Serpell, who will be speaking about her book The Old Drift on Thursday, October, 27 at 6pm in Diboll Gallery at The Commons. There will be a reception following the moderated Q&A.

ABOUT THE OLD DRIFT

1904. On the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Victoria Falls, there is a colonial settlement called The Old Drift. In a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M. Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian hotelier and an African busboy. This sets off a cycle of unwitting retribution between three Zambian families (black, white, brown) as they collide and converge over the course of the century, into the present and beyond. As the generations pass, their lives—their triumphs, errors, losses and hopes—emerge through a panorama of history, fairytale, romance and science fiction.

From a woman covered with hair and another plagued with endless tears, to forbidden love affairs and fiery political ones, to homegrown technological marvels like Afronauts, microdrones and viral vaccines, this gripping, unforgettable novel is a testament to our yearning to create and cross borders, and a meditation on the slow, grand passage of time.

More about The Old Drift at Penguin Randomhouse.