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November 18, 2022
On behalf of Hennepin County Library, we want to thank everyone who joined us for Mary Ann Key book club’s fall season as we explored Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of the Sower”. When we launched this book club with Myron Medcalf two years ago, we hoped to support the interest so many expressed in being part of a community of readers, where we sustain conversations about race, racism and antiracism and connect with each other to make this community a better community for all. As we close our 4th season, we are grateful so many of you continue to embark on this journey with us. “Parable of the Sower” was checked out more than 2700 times in October and November, more than 500 of you attended or watched our events, including our first in-person panel discussion at Minneapolis Central’s Pohlad Hall.
We want to give a huge shout out to everyone who contributed to this season’s events and newsletters. Thanks to Dr. Tarshia Stanley for sharing wisdom and insight into “Parable of the Sower” and Octavia Butler’s life and work. Thanks to our extraordinary moderator Shannon Gibney and panelists JaNaé Bates and Maya Washington for an incredible evening of conversation that connected “Parable of the Sower” to our current context.
Last but not least, thanks to our partners – to Myron Medcalf for bringing vision and commitment to the Mary Ann Key book club, to the Friends of Hennepin County Library for generous funding and support, and to the Star Tribune for providing free access to Myron Medcalf’s book club columns and promoting our events.
We are excited to continue the journey in 2023. Stay tuned for details on our spring book club selection and email us if you would like to share feedback on the Mary Ann Key book club.
Myron Medcalf and Shannon Gibney share final reflections and a thank you to participants of the fall 2022 Mary Ann Key Book Club season.
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Minister JaNaé Bates' reflections
It was such a phenomenal experience to be on a panel of Black women, in the Twin Cities metro area who have such amazing backgrounds, wisdom and experiences to talk about the heartbreakingly prophetic book, Parable of the Sower. It was a particularly apropos time to discuss this Octavia Butler classic as we were less than a week away from a midterm election. As mentioned on the panel, I am particularly interested in the theme of democracy and how it shows up in the novel through concepts of belonging, faith and power.
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The book, in current day reading, appears to be an overt cautionary tale. Much of the warning signs were referenced at the very beginning with the subtle mention of an election. There were also small breadcrumbs throughout that confirmed my suspicions that the people of the story and that world, succumbed to the apathy and distrust of both government and the mechanisms to participate in it. It’d become so bad that those of this world have abdicated the responsibility to govern themselves as a collective people and instead chose the tribalized way of existence. We’ve seen glimpses of that in our own world. And sometimes, for a short time, it serves us to sequester ourselves to those tribes, for protection, comfort or even joy. But there seems to always come a point when it no longer serves us - which usually looks like us manufacturing power dynamics and creating hierarchies of people.
But in Minnesota, yet again, record numbers of people turned out to exercise their voice through their vote and participated in building a truly multi-racial democracy across the country. Contrary to national, historical statistics about midterm elections, people stood in lines in the rain, students at universities packed out their local polling places, and people collectively fought off a new wave of fascism and capitalistic racism - not for the long haul, but enough to fight for another day. It gave me hope and joy knowing that in us we have what it takes to be resilient and maybe even possibly resistant to the fate of the world of the Parable.
For anyone wishing to take a Race Class Gender Narrative Training workshop that I referenced a few times in the talk, they are offered virtually - and for free - once a month. You can register for it here: www.faithinmn.org/trainings.
Maya Washington's reflections
It was a pleasure and an honor to explore the work of Octavia E. Butler within the context of the Mary Ann Key Book Club in community with other Black women writers who are also contributing to the fabric of the Twin Cities in a variety of ways, similar to Butler’s teenage protagonist. It cannot go unrecognized that the inspiration for naming this Book club after a Black woman, Mary Ann Key, who persevered through unimaginable hardship and lived in a time and life condition that must have literally felt like the end of the world to her and other enslaved Americans during that period, made Parable of the Sower a powerful selection. What I feel is present in the tales of suffering and resilience that speak to our hearts and minds from hundreds of years ago, or in the imagined future one-hundred years from now, is the hope that humankind will somehow persist.
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I enjoyed being in conversation with the panelists and community for the first in-person gathering. One of the questions that stuck with me was posed by an audience member. It asked what we would put in our “ready bag” if we were forced from our homes like Lauren and the Earthseed nomads. In this time in our history in Minnesota and in the nation, we are increasingly thinking about and witnessing how the obstacles that Lauren and the characters in Parable of the Sower face in the novel, feel real if not eerily plausible. I appreciate the ways that Shannon and JaNaé explored the presence of the prophetic—and the ease with which we as readers can imagine Butler’s choice to follow a Black woman to lead us safely through a dystopian future.
Contact Maya Wahington on Instagram or Twitter: imayawashington.
Originally recorded November 3, 2022. The Mary Ann Key Book Club apologizes for technical difficulties, some minor audio issues present from approximately 7:00-23:00.
Originally recorded October 6, 2022.
We'd like to hear from you
Share your final thoughts as you read “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler. Share your feedback, reflections or questions. Responses and questions may be shared with Myron Medcalf and library staff, and quotes may be shared with readers through our newsletter.
Recommended reading
If you enjoyed "Parable of the Sower", we recommend this reading list.
Neurodiverse Author Reading and Book Release
Monday, December 5, 10-11 a.m.
Northeast Library
Join us for the release of the newest Cow Tipping Press book – a collection of writing from neurodiverse students who participated in writing workshops at Northeast Library. The program will feature live reading and discussion with new authors from RISE. Collaborator: Cow Tipping Press. This program is funded with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Our Stories, Ourselves: Food in Cultural Celebrations
Tuesday, December 6, 6:30-8 p.m.
Online
Join notable chefs and food writers Sean Sherman, Yia Vang, Mecca Bos and Natalie Mendez in a conversation about their communities and the historical and contemporary ways food serves as a backdrop for cultural celebrations. Moderated by Tess Montgomery. Opening poem by Zenobia L. Silas Carson. Collaborator: More Than a Single Story. This program is funded with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Registration required
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