The series features Brazilian author Maria José Silveira (Her Mother’s Mother’s Mother and Her Daughters) in conversation with Maria Helena Lima, professor of English and Comparative Literature at SUNY Geneseo.

The book Mother’s Mother’s Mother and Her Daughters was included on the BBC’s list of “Ten Books to Read in December 2017” where it was referred to as a “panoramic and illuminating chronicle.” It’s a novel that’s set in Brazil from the period of 1500-2000s, and traces the country’s history through the lives of twenty women. Each chapter is a story unto itself, filled with strong female characters, plenty of violence and corruption, love and adventure stories, and much more. It was optioned for TV in Brazil, and reads like a bingeable Netflix show. 

https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/her-mother-s-mother-s-mother-and-her-daughters.

Maria Helena Lima is also from Brazil and has written extensively on Black Atlantic writing, and co-edited a bilingual anthology of short fiction by Afro-Brazilian women. She’s a great thinker and spirited conversationalist, and we’re incredibly glad that she agreed to participate in this special event.