Praisesong for the Books that Cradled Me
GLORY EDIM’s Gather Me. In conversation with LESLIE GRAY STREETER (Baltimore Banner)
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
31st Street & Barclay Street
Waverly Neighborhood
Author, activist, and the founder of the renowned online literary community, Well-Read Black Girl, GLORY EDIM discusses her forthcoming work Gather Me, called a “book-lovers memoir” with LESLIE GRAY STREETER of the Baltimore Banner. Named after the Toni Morrison quote, “She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order,” For Glory Edim, that “friend of my mind” is books. Edim, who grew up in Virginia to Nigerian immigrant parents, started the popular Well-Read Black Girl book club at age thirty eventually reaching a community of half a million other readers. But her love of books stretches far back. This new work paints a portrait of a life where written words conjured “the warmth and wisdom of chatting with a clutch of aunties”. Gather Me is a glowing testament to the power of representation and the lasting impact of literature to gather our disparate parts and put them back together. The force that is Glory Edim reminds us every time, she is not done yet and that she soars in possibility in all the right order. Pre-orders for this highly recommended book are welcomed and encouraged. Edim is a literary tastemaker, author, and founder of Well-Read Black Girl, an online platform and book club that celebrates the uniqueness of Black literature and sisterhood. Leslie Gray Streeter, the lifestyle columnist of The Baltimore Banner, was recently named Best Columnist by Best of Baltimore 2024: News & Media Baltimore Magazine.
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GLORY EDIM is a literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. In 2015, she founded Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG), an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers. Under Glory’s leadership, WRBG has grown into a non-profit organization, hosting events, book festivals, and author conversations that highlight the richness and diversity of Black literature. Her efforts have earned her accolades such as the 2017 Innovator’s Award from the Los Angeles Times and the Madam C.J. Walker Award from
the Hurston/Wright Foundation. As an author herself, Glory has contributed to the literary landscape with her best-selling anthologies Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, and On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library.
gloryedim.com
Instagram: @guidetoglo
X: @guidetoglo
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LESLIE GRAY STREETER is an author, both of a memoir (Black Widow) and fiction (Family and Other Calamities, forthcoming) and a lifelong journalist. She is the lifestyle columnist for the Baltimore Banner, having previously written for The Palm Beach Post. She lives in her native Baltimore with her son Brooks and plants she’s kept alive so far. Fingers crossed.
https://lesliegraystreeter.com/
Instagram: @lesliegraystreeter
X: @LeslieStreeter