The Ronald Williams Library, Department of English and Office of Cultural Events present
Faculty at the Cafe
Bradley Greenburg reads from his new novel When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed.
Thursday, September 4th at 3:00 p.m.
Cafe Descartes - Ronald Williams Library
Free - Parking Permits Required
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed charts the massive changes in the United States following the death of Lincoln. It’s also a riveting adventure story about fathers and sons and the difficult moral choices which resound down the generations as America moves haltingly towards freedom and equality.
‘Left us a cross stuck in the road,’ James said, his voice low but distinct over the whetting of the knife. ‘Likely they read in the papers about them white sheets down to home. They been out here a couple other times, at night. Just to look. They ain’t killed or took nothing yet.’
‘Yet,’ Cmicky repeated.
The end of slavery is no guarantee of freedom.
When 12 year old Clayton McGhee journeys north with his parents and grandparents in search of a new life, they must build a homestead with their own labour and defend their right to own land from powerful vested interests and deep rooted prejudice.
Thirty years later, Clayton is still forced to defend his livelihood and his family’s safety from racism and greed. But life is more complex now, as the men of influence in this increasingly mixed community find to their cost.
