This staggering debut novel from Robert Jones Jr. tells the story of the forbidden love between two enslaved men on a plantation in the deep south. Finding solace in the hollowed-out shed where they tend to their daily duties, and each other, Isaiah and Samuel share a love that is both innocent and tender. But when an older slave is taught to preach the gospel to the other slaves, a tension begins to brew that not even the heavy shoulders of the long generations of women who have brought healing to the plantation can repair.

Lyrically in line with Toni Morrison and James Baldwin, Robert Jones Jr. 's The Prophets is an extraordinary love story that evokes the voice of slave and slaver alike, to cast a complex and profound story about the reckoning of inheritance and the inherent hope found within love. 

Join author Robert Jones Jr. in conversation with academic and author Rinaldo Walcott, on The Prophets.

About this event's guests:
Robert Jones Jr
Rinaldo Walcott

Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Please call or email us if you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation to participate in this program. Please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. At least three weeks’ notice is preferred. Phone 416-393-7099 or email accessibleservices@tpl.ca.

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This event is part of TPL's Black History series.

Robert Jones Jr : The Prophets