We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Sarah Smarsh on August 20th.
Sarah has long written about the dangers of simplistic political and cultural narratives, especially about rural America and the people who live there. This election season, she invites us to transcend fear-based postures and polarizing frameworks even as we insist on a more just society.
Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has reported for the New York Times, Harper’s, the Guardian, and many other publications. A former English professor and grant-writer for social service agencies, Sarah aims for all her work to have a backbone of civic responsibility.
Her first book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, was an instant New York Times bestseller, a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize, the winner of the Chicago Tribune Literary Prize, and a best-books-of-the-year selection by President Barack Obama. Her 2020 book She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named a must-read book by TIME Magazine.
Sarah is a regular political commentator in national media and has spoken internationally on poverty, rural issues, and cultural divides at venues ranging from small-town libraries to Sydney Opera House. A former writing professor, Sarah has served as a Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. In 2019, Sarah released a podcast entitled The Homecomers, which focuses on how a national blind spot toward rural and working-class America is driving misleading headlines, broken politics, and dangerous fissures in our social fabric. The podcast showcases stories of people who, as residents or advocates, remain committed to their complex, embattled homes.
Sarah’s next book, Bone of the Bone: Essays on America from a Daughter of the Working Class, 2012-2024, will be published by Scribner in 2024. She is also at work on a book about the endangered tallgrass prairie ecosystem, which will be published by Scribner in 2026.
Chef’s Hideout will be offering dinner at the Octagon Barn beginning at 5:30. They will have:
Brisket sandwich, served with slaw and baked beans: $16
Pulled pork sandwich, served with slaw and baked beans: $16
Gumbo, served with rice, beans, and cornbread: $20
Salad with cajun tofu and beans: $16
Cheesecake: $7.00
Pre-order by August 14th at 10:00 p.m. and skip the line! Go to pre-order