Wendy Chin-Tanner with Joe Osmundson: King of the Armadillos

Join us for an insightful conversation with Wendy Chin-Tanner, author of King of the Armadillos - her transcendent debut novel about family, love, and belonging set against the backdrops of 1950s New York City and a historical leprosarium in Louisiana - with Joseph Osmundson, biophysicist, poet, and author of Virology.

This event will take place in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor.

In King of the Armadillos, Victor Chin’s life is turned upside down at the tender age of 15. Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease, otherwise known as leprosy, he’s forced to leave the familiar confines of his father’s laundry business in the Bronx – the only home he’s known since emigrating from China with his older brother – to quarantine alongside patients from all over the country at a federal institution in Carville.

At first, Victor is scared not only of the disease, but of the confinement, and wants nothing more than to flee. But soon he finds a new sense of freedom far from home – one without the pull of obligations to his family, or the laundry business, or his mother back in China. 

Inspired by Chin-Tanner's father’s experience as a young patient at Carville, King of the Armadillos is a captivating look at a forgotten radical community and a lyrical exploration of the power of art. At this event, Chin-Tanner speaks with author Joseph Osmundson about her new book and about other topics related to biology, race, and geography. 

To join the event in-person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Wendy Chin-Tanner is the author of the novel King of the Armadillos and the poetry collections Turn —which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award—and Anyone Will Tell You. She is the editor of EMBODIED: An Intersectional Feminist Comics Poetry Anthology, co-author of the graphic novel American Terrorist, and co-founder of A Wave Blue World, an independent publishing company for graphic novels. Wendy’s poems and essays have been featured in numerous journals and publications including the Academy of American Poets, The Rumpus, The Collagist, Salon, Gay Magazine, The Kenyon Review, Literary Hub, and DAME Magazine. Her work has been covered by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Ms. Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Paste Magazine, Deep South Magazine, and The Southern Bookseller, and she has been featured on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis and NPR. She was a founding editor at KIN Poetry Journal, a poetry editor at The Nervous Breakdown for over a decade, and staff interviewer at Lantern Review. Born and raised in New York City, Wendy was educated at Cambridge University, UK where she studied English Literature and Sociology. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her family.

Joseph Osmundson is an American biophysicist and writer. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Biology at New York University. Osmundson is the author of various books exploring bodies, queerness, race, and geography. Osmundson's third book, Virology, was published in June 2022 by Norton, and earned him a spot on last year's TIME100 list. The essay collection focuses on "the social and scientific impact of viruses through the lens of queer theory, race, capitalism, and the legacy of HIV/AIDS activism".

GET THE BOOK

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• E-Book app: SimplyE, available on iOS and Android

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email [email protected] or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

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Please submit all press inquiries to Amy Geduldig at least 48 hours before the event: email [email protected].

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All programs are subject to change or cancellation.

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).