Described by the New York Times Book Review as "...a lyrical yet finely argued book [in which] Johnson sets out to show that being alone — so different from loneliness, its direct opposite, in fact — is absolutely essential to the creative life," Fenton Johnson's At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life explores what it means to choose to be solitary and celebrates the notion that solitude is a legitimate and dignified calling. Combining memoir, social criticism, and research, At the Center of All Beauty resonates with all solitaries and all who might wish to carve out more space for solitude.

Joan Silber’s novel Improvement was the Winner of the PEN/Faulkner and National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. In her most recent book, Secrets of Happiness, she interweaves the fates of two New York families by the same father, unknown to each other until one son uncovers the secret. Spanning three continents, it explores how we can forge joy independent of circumstance.

Award-winning authors Fenton Johnson and Joan Silber will discuss the necessity and joy of solitude in every person’s life, and its essential role in all creative endeavors. 

About the Authors: 

Author of three novels and four books of literary nonfiction, Fenton Johnson has received Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Arts, and Lambda Literary Awards for his fiction and creative nonfiction. His seventh book, At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life (W.W. Norton), was listed as a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice. A contributor to Harper’s Magazine, he also writes scripts for independent video documentaries. A professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, he has previously taught in the MFA programs at Columbia, NYU, and Sarah Lawrence College, and leads creative writing workshops around the United States. For more information: www.fentonjohnson.com.     

Joan Silber is the author of nine books of fiction. Her novel, Improvement, was the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award and was listed as one of the year’s best books by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, The Seattle Times, and Kirkus Reviews. Of her recent book, Nick Hornby has said, “Secrets of Happiness feels like a benchmark, a guiding star, a minimum height requirement; I’d like to say I will never again settle for fiction that’s not as good as this, but I know I will have to.”  She lives in New York and taught for many years at Sarah Lawrence College and in the Warren Wilson MFA Program. Find out more at joansilber.net.