Zoe Ward, Staff Writer–

Novelist DK Nnuro and poet Jesse Nathan presented at the Beck Series last Feb. 18 in the Barney-Davis Boardroom. 

Both are winners of the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award, which brings them to Denison. The authors continued a season of influential readings by prominent visiting writers.   

Senior Zoe Barclay gave the introduction for Nathan. Nathan, who grew up in rural Kansas, currently teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. Nathan read from his debut collection, “Eggtooth,” a book about existing in a place but also about leaving or returning to it. 

He defined an eggtooth as a bit of cartilage formed on a reptile’s beak so that they can emerge from their egg; after hatching, it disappears. Nathan explained his metaphor of the eggtooth, stating that, “What your eggtooth is depends on the context.”

His resonating voice filled the room as he presented experimental poems. 

“When I was young, the farmhouse was hit by lightning,” he said, and the “biblical clap” felt like a symbol of electrification. This electrocution is evident throughout his work, with depictions of “air flavored with ozone” and “arid floors of long departed seas.” 

One of Nathan’s longest poems, “Between States,” depicts a journey west from rural Kansas. Nathan’s landscapes come alive as he represents the complicated history of the state. He describes the Indigenous tribes forced out of the states. “This state already had a song,” he bemoans  while expressing that “maybe certain pain is meditative.”

As characteristic of the Beck Series, Nathan gave richer insight into his work, depicting how the work sprang from him feeling like a person between many literal, mental, and emotional states. 

Nathan’s father is Jewish and his mother is Mennonite; his mother’s family was invited by the U.S. government to live in Kansas after being pushed out of their former country due to pacifism. He uses his familial roots and others to challenge the audience to view place in a fresh way. 

“The idea of a landscape being empty is absurd,” Nathan said. “You just have to get up close.” Subtly tapping into the United States’ tumultuous political climate, Nathan stated, “A border is also a world.”

Nnuro took the stage next. Nnuro is the author of “What Napoleon Could Not Do,” a novel about a Ghanaian immigrant that was featured on former President Barack Obama’s 2023 Summer Reading List. 

Nnuro began his talk with by discussing Robert Frank’s photograph “Trolley-New Orleans,” describing how Frank’s outsider status as an immigrant allowed him to view America’s contradictions from a clarifying distance.

Nnuro tied this into his reading from his book, which depicts the protagonist, Belinda, attending her frenemy’s funeral. The scene between Belinda and her driver illustrates the nuances in the experiences of African immigrants and African Americans. Nnuro describes the Black driver picking up Belinda, stating, “It was always more painful when it was another Black person diminishing you.”

Nnuro explained that he began writing “What Napoleon Could Not Do” shortly after a protestor at an anti-racist counter-protest in Charlottesville drove through the crowd, killing one activist and injuring thirty-five more. 

Nnuro “couldn’t laugh” and felt the pressure of the explosive political context. Ghana, where Nnuro immigrated from, overcame authoritarian rule and became an active democracy in 1992. 

“If you want to understand what authoritarian rule looks like, ask an African,” Nnuro said. While fielding questions from the audience about what inspired him, Nnuro said, “I don’t write out of rage. I write out of need for understanding.”

 Nnuro explained that in this social climate, Americans should seek out the perspective of immigrants, rather than dismiss them; immigrants have the “ability to juxtapose” after experiencing living under multiple governments. 

When asked what it is like writing African characters for a Western audience, Nnuro explained that he writes them as he knows them. “I’m not seeking to make Africans look good,” Nnuro said. “I’m seeking to make Africans look real.”

Nnuro and Nathan expanded on this response, discussing the importance of diverse characters. Nnuro encouraged writers to think of their characters based on what they want, not just their race. 

Nathan agreed, asserting that our society needs to practice empathy. 

Dr. Margot Singer concluded the event, urging attendees to carry the last word of empathy in their hearts.