Jennine Capó Crucet, acclaimed author and University of Nebraska–Lincoln associate professor of English, is offering a special opportunity on Sept. 17 for readers to hear about perspectives offered in her latest book, “My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education.”
The event, “An Evening with Jennine Capó Crucet,” is 5 p.m. at the Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R St. With her colleague Hope Wabuke — a poet, essayist and literary scholar — Capó Crucet will have a candid conversation about the experiences that inspired her latest work. A book signing and reception will follow.
The event is sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, the Office of Research and Economic Development and the Department of English.
Launched Sept. 3, “My Time Among the Whites” is an essay collection exploring themes of identity, race, money and power through the eyes of Capó Crucet, the daughter of Cuban refugees who was raised in Miami. Across a range of diverse settings — from Disney World in Florida, to a university in New York, to a cattle ranch in Nebraska — Capó Crucet reflects on her experiences as a Cuban-American living in a predominantly white society, and what it feels like to be an “accidental” American.
The book is a follow-up to her 2015 novel, “Make Your Home Among Strangers,” which traces the racial, cultural and familial issues that arise when a young Cuban-American woman leaves her family’s home in Miami to attend an elite college. The book was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, won the International Latino Book Award for best Latino-themed fiction in 2016 and was longlisted for the 2015 First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction.
