This event does not require reading the book. An optional chapter to read will be pre-circulated.

Dr. Sara Marcus (University of Notre Dame), author of Political Disappointment: A Cultural History from Reconstruction to the AIDS Crisis, joins MaTovu for a discussion of what she calls political disappointment: the experience of living after moments when profound change once seemed possible. Marcus describes disappointment as “a longing for fundamental change that outlasts a historical moment when it might have been fulfilled.”

Drawing on figures such as Grace Paley, Adrienne Rich, Marlon Riggs, and David Wojnarowicz, the conversation will explore how artists and movements confronted political loss while continuing to imagine solidarity and collective life. The evening will take the form of a discussion, with an excerpt from the book shared in advance.

Sara Marcus is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame and the author of Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution.