Transnational Series Presents:  Priya Basil with Elissa Altman

Brookline Booksmith

Priya Basil discusses her new book 'Be My Guest' with writer Elissa Altman.

Join the <a href="https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/event-category/26" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith</a> for a virtual event with Priya Basil and Elissa Altman to discuss Basil's latest book, <a href="https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/book/9780525657859" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Be My Guest: Reflections on Food, Community, and the Meaning of Generosity</a>.A thought-provoking meditation on food, family, identity, immigration, and, most of all, hospitality—at the table and beyond—that's part food memoir, part appeal for more authentic decency in our daily worlds, and in the world at large.Be My Guest is an utterly unique, deeply personal meditation on what it means to tend to others and to ourselves—and how the two things work hand in hand. Priya Basil explores how food—and the act of offering food to others—are used to express love and support. Weaving together stories from her own life with knowledge gleaned from her Sikh heritage; her years spent in Kenya, India, Britain, and Germany; and ideas from Derrida, Plato, Arendt, and Peter Singer, Basil focuses an unexpected and illuminating light on what it means to be both a host and a guest. Lively, wide-ranging, and impassioned, Be My Guest is a singular work, at once a deeply felt plea for a kinder, more welcoming world and a reminder that, fundamentally, we all have more in common than we imagine.Priya Basil was born in London to a family with Indian roots and grew up in Kenya. In 2002, she moved to Berlin, where she still lives. She has published two novels and a novella, as well as numerous essays for various publications, including The Guardian. Her fiction has been nominated for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Basil is also the cofounder of Authors for Peace, a political platform for writers and artists, established in 2010.Moderator Elissa Altman is the critically-acclaimed author of Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing; Poor Man's Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking and the James Beard Award-winning narrative blog of the same name; and Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw. Her work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, On Being, The Guardian, The New York Times, Tin House, The Rumpus, LitHub, and The Washington Post, where her column, Feeding My Mother, ran for a year. Her work has been anthologized in Best Food Writing for six consecutive years. A finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award, Altman teaches the craft of memoir at The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Maine Publishers and Writers, The Loft Literary Center, 1440 Multiversity, and has appeared live on stage at TEDx and The Public, on Heritage Radio, and on NPR. She lives in Connecticut.About the Transnational Literature Series at Brookline BooksmithThe Transnational Series focuses on stories of migration, the intersection of politics &amp; literature, and works in translation and is supported by the independent bookstore Brookline Booksmith. <a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001oF9gEYooEdF2KevpIuU1zMSN8CxQt19bV62zzIbU3oGsNUoxLap0sIFDhL7CAmQ62QNIMXOuArvy_n5ce1lsCV7LYMqk4adglLTpPBVsy4M%3D" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Subscribe to the Transnational Series newsletter</a> for information on upcoming events, book recommendations, and more.WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO ATTENDThis virtual event is free to attend, but please consider purchasing <a href="https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/book/9780525657859" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Be My Guest</a> from Brookline Booksmith.About DonationsWe are pleased to make this event free for entry, but you may notice you have the option to donate. By donating, you help Brookline Booksmith build toward a stronger today and a post-pandemic future. Every dollar of support means the world to us. Thank you for your continued support!

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Transnational Series Presents: Priya Basil with Elissa Altman

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Transnational Series Presents: Priya Basil with Elissa Altman

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