EHS Takes Students to Book Reading With Professor Marlon James

By Kira Schukar ’22

February 22—Last Tuesday night, English Honor Society officers and students braved wintry conditions to hear Professor Marlon James read from his new book, Moon Witch, Spider King, at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis. Professors Emma Törzs and Peter Bognanni joined the students, along with Provost Anderson-Levy and other members of the Macalester community.

Moon Witch, Spider King is the second book in Professor James’s Dark Star Trilogy. The first book in the series, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, was published in 2019. While the first book follows the main character, Tracker, as he searches for a mysterious boy, Moon Witch, Spider King tells the story from the perspective of his adversary, Sogolon, chronicling her search for the boy and her transformation from a  little girl to Sogolon to the Moon Witch.

Hosted by Magers and Quinn Booksellers, the reading was originally planned as a conversation between Professor James and author Ben Percy. When Percy could not make the trek to Minneapolis because of bad weather, Magers and Quinn brought in author Joel Turnipseed, author of Baghdad Express, to take his place. Professor James read two sections from Moon Witch, Spider King before diving into a conversation with Turnipseed about his inspiration for the book and his writing process for the trilogy. 

Responding to a question about language in his fantasy series, Professor James said that he took inspiration from the grammar of West African languages such as Wolof as he planned the dialect for the trilogy. While many classics of the fantasy genre borrow from and retell British and European mythology, Professor James wove African mythology and oral storytelling traditions into the Dark Star trilogy. For the last half hour of the reading, Professor James responded to a long line of questioners and teased the audience with juicy details from his book, from the “super hot” shapeshifting lion to the badassery of the 177 year old Sogolon. 

On Wednesday, Professor James joined the English Department for an informal conversation hosted by Professor Bognanni with students at our weekly Coffee House. Read about his visit to the department in this month’s issue.

The English Honor Society has more exciting events planned for the semester, including a trip to the theater and a trivia night. Look for updates and event announcements in your inbox!

Moon Witch, Spider King is available now in hardcover. Paperback editions will be available later this year.