Come to the Bowtie Project for an evening around the fire as we present a reading dedicated to the memory of Delilah Beasley, an unsung American trailblazer.

Delilah Leontium Beasley became the first person to document the history of California’s black pioneers with her landmark book The Negro Trail-Blazers of California, self-published 100 years ago. She also held the distinction of being one of the first African American women to write a column in a major metropolitan newspaper, the Oakland Tribune.

For this Reading by Moonrise, writers Dana Johnson and Ana Cecilia Alvarez will read from their contributions to Trailblazer: Delilah Beasley’s California, a new book published by Clockshop. The publication is part of Beside the Edge of the World, an exhibition produced by The Huntington and Clockshop on view until February 24th at The Huntington. Copies of Trailblazer and other Clockshop titles will be on sale.

Guests are encouraged to bring picnic items and blankets. S’mores will be provided between readings.

Dana Johnson is the author of the short story collection In the Not Quite Dark. She is also the author of Break Any Woman Down, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and the novel Elsewhere, California. Born and raised in and around Los Angeles, she is a professor of English at the University of Southern California.

Ana Cecilia Alvarez is a writer born in Mexico City and raised in Southern Florida. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the California Institute of the Arts, where she now teaches. She is the Development and Communications Manager at Clockshop.