Ben Lerner I

Kansas native Ben Lerner often weaves personal experiences into his writing, which is particularly apparent in his third novel, The Topeka School, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. While UMKC’s Cockefair Chair Writer in Residence, Lerner performs this first public reading of the novel at the Kansas City Public Library just after its fall release in 2019. The second half of this program about The Topeka School features an interview about this novel. Also acclaimed for his poetry, he talks about his first two poetry books in this 2007 interview from our audio archive.