Dog-Eared Books Official Book Club

In these gorgeously written and timely pieces, prizewinning poet and author Ross Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life’s inevitable hardships. Throughout Inciting Joy, he explores how we can practice recognizing that connection, and also, crucially, how we expand it.

In “We Kin” he thinks about the garden (especially around August, when the zucchini and tomatoes come on) as a laboratory of mutual aid; in “Share Your Bucket” he explores skateboarding’s reclamation of public space; he considers the costs of masculinity in “Grief Suite”; and in “Through My Tears I Saw,” he recognizes what was healed in caring for his father as he was dying.

In an era when divisive voices take up so much air space, Inciting Joy offers a vital alternative: What might be possible if we turn our attention to what brings us together, to what we love? Full of energy, curiosity, and compassion, Inciting Joy is essential reading from one of our most brilliant writers.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us April 20, for a thoughtful and entertaining discussion about Inciting Joyby Ross Gay. This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate. No registration necessary.

Content Warnings for Official Book Club 2023

Content Warnings for Inciting Joy
Content Warnings for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
Content Warnings for Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm