We are thrilled to welcome Ruth Forman and Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie in conversation for the wonderfully joyful board book Curls! This event will be held digitally via Crowdcast and is free to RSVP. If you order the book from our website, you'll be automatically registered for the event,  and there will also be an option to buy the book during the event!

A joyfully poetic board book that delivers an ode to African American girls and the beauty of their curls.

Me
Morning

Mirror Smile

Shine big
hair love

This simple, playful, and beautiful board book stars four friends who celebrate the joy of their hairstyles from bouncing curls to swinging braids.

Ruth Forman is the author of award-winning poetry collections We Are the Young Magicians and Renaissance and children’s books Young Cornrows Callin Out the Moon and Curls. She is the recipient of the Barnard New Women Poets Prize and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, among others. She has presented in forums such as the United Nations, the PBS series The United States of Poetry, and National Public Radio. Ruth is a former teacher of creative writing with the University of Southern California and June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and is a longtime faculty member with the VONA writing program.

Geneva Bowers is a self-taught illustrator based in western North Carolina. She’s illustrated children’s books The Dragon Thief, Beyoncé: Shine Your Light, and Curls, among others. Geneva’s work has won the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist and a 2018 BSFA Award nomination. She loves manipulating color and adding whimsy with a touch of realism and calm. Visit her online at GenevaB.com.

Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie is the author of the award winning children’s book Layla’s Happiness (Enchanted Lion Books), the poetry collections Strut and Karma’s Footsteps, and Dear Continuum: Letters to a Poet Crafting Liberation. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies program at Brown University. Ekere is the mother of three galaxies who look like daughters.

Please note Loyalty has a zero tolerance policy for harassment or intimidation of any kind during this virtual event.

Ruth Forman and Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie for CURLS