Virtual gathering

The Smart Museum of Art’s virtual book club returns in 2023 with monthly gatherings and an updated format. 

The Smart Reads series continues in March with Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall. We invite you to read along with us and engage in a thought-provoking conversation with host Dorian H. Nash. 

FREE. To help build a community of participants, capacity is limited and advanced registration is required. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall

Maps have a mysterious hold over us. Whether ancient, crumbling parchments or generated by Google, maps tell us things we want to know, not only about our current location or where we are going but about the world in general. And yet, when it comes to geo-politics, much of what we are told is generated by analysts and other experts who have neglected to refer to a map of the place in question. All leaders of nations are constrained by geography. In Prisoners of Geography, journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the US, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic—their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders—to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders. 

2023 SMART READS SCHEDULE

January 25, 6–7:30 pm
The Theater and its Double by Antonin Artaud

February 22, 6–7:30 pm
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis

March 29, 6–7:30 pm
Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

April 26, 6–7:30 pm
Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo

May 31, 6–7:30 pm
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong 

June 28, 6–7:30 pm
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

July 26, 6–7:30 pm
The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto

August 23, 6–7:30 pm
We Do This 'Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba 

September 27, 6–7:30 pm
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez 

October 25, 6–7:30 pm
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

November 29, 6–7:30 pm
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

December 6, 6–7:30 pm
Year in books recap and reflection