Parnassus Books is pleased to welcome Matthew Desmond to celebrate his new book, Poverty, by America, in conversation with Cybele Raver.
This is a free event which will take place IN STORE on Monday, March 20th at 6:30pm Central Time. Please note: This event is full and registration has closed. To be placed on a wait list, please fill out the form below. You will be notified if a space becomes available. (Note: If for any reason you need to cancel your registration, please call the store at 615-953-2243 at least 24 hours before the event so your space can be provided to another guest.) Masks are strongly encouraged for all attendees during this event.
(Please note: Ann Patchett was originally announced as the moderator for this event, but due to schedule conflicts will no longer be able to attend. Thank you for understanding.)
About the Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2023: The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Salon, Kirkus Reviews
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.
Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
About the Author
Matthew Desmond is the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and the founding director of the Eviction Lab. His last book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award, among others. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, Desmond is also a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.
About Cybele Raver
Dr. Raver offers a unique perspective on education as a developmental psychologist, professor, researcher, clinician, educator and administrator. Raver oversees all faculty, staff, programs and initiatives for Vanderbilt’s 10 schools and colleges. She also leads the university’s research, admissions, student affairs and residential life. Beyond her roles in higher education, Raver advises various local and federal government agencies, working with them to promote healthy development and learning among children ranging from birth to the third grade.
WAITLIST: Matthew Desmond
