On this episode of the Talk of Iowa book club, expert readers discuss the novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. In this work of speculative fiction, Whitehead explores themes of enslavement, freedom and greed in a world where the Underground Railroad really was a train.
This episode was originally produced in June 2023.
Guests:
- Makeba Lavan, assistant professor department of English, Grinnell College
- Reverend Ray Dial, retired teacher
- Tara Bynum, assistant professor of English and African American studies, University of Iowa, author, Reading Pleasures: Everyday Black Living in Early America
- Abena Sankofa Imhotep, author, executive director, Sankofa Literary and Empowerment Group, Sankofa Literary Academy