Media

Recent

Susan Coll + Tope Folarin

Word Salad · Politics and Prose

Recent

Richard J. Powell + Tope Folarin

Colorstruck!: Painting, Pigment, Affect · Politics and Prose (Union Market)

Selected

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Jamie Raskin + Sulma Arias + Tope Folarin

Forging a Democracy That Works for All · 3rd Henry A. Wallace Symposium, Institute for Policy Studies

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Robin Broad + John Cavanagh + Tope Folarin

The Water Defenders · Politics and Prose

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Miguel Ángel Hernández + Tope Folarin

The Pain of Others · Politics and Prose

Selected

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Karl Ove Knausgaard + Tope Folarin

The School of Night · Politics and Prose

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Oyinkan Braithwaite + Tope Folarin

Cursed Daughters · Politics and Prose (Union Market)

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David Means + Tope Folarin

2025 PEN/Malamud Award · American University

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Mukoma wa Ngugi + Novuyo Rosa Tshuma + Helon Habila + Tope Folarin

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Tribute Evening at Georgetown’s Lannan Center, moderated by Tope. Recorded November 18, 2025.

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Rabih Alameddine + Tope Folarin

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) · Lannan Center, Georgetown University

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Denice Frohman + Tope Folarin

Poetry, basketball, and music · HoCoPoLitSo’s The Writing Life

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Osita Nwanevu + Lisa Gilbert + Tope Folarin

Defending and Reimagining Democracy · 2nd Henry A. Wallace Symposium, Institute for Policy Studies

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Shehan Karunatilaka + Tope Folarin

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida · Lannan Center, Georgetown University

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Monica Youn + Tope Folarin

From From · Rhodes Trust Scholars’ Library

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Leila Aboulela + Tope Folarin

River Spirit · Lannan Center, Georgetown University

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Nadia Owusu + Tope Folarin

Aftershocks · 2023 Bauder Lecture, Howard Community College

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Chuck Collins + Tope Folarin

Altar to an Erupting Sun · The Power of Fiction in Social Change · Institute for Policy Studies

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Stephen Buoro + Tope Folarin

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa · Politics and Prose

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Alex Mar + Tope Folarin

Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy · Politics and Prose

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Rabih Alameddine + Meghan O’Rourke + Daniel Marchalik + Tope Folarin

Surviving in the Aftermath · Lannan Symposium, Georgetown University

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Abdulrazak Gurnah + Tope Folarin

Afterlives · Sixth & I

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Tomás Q. Morín + Morgan Talty + Tope Folarin

Let Me Count the Ways & Night of the Living Rez · National Book Festival

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Anthony Barnett + Tope Folarin

Taking Control! · Greenlight Bookstore

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John Freeman + Amy Goldstein + Sarah Anderson + Tope Folarin

Can America Survive Capitalism? · 2022 Lannan Symposium, Georgetown University

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Marita Golden + Tope Folarin

The Strong Black Woman · Institute for Policy Studies

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Nadia Owusu + Tope Folarin

Aftershocks · Greenlight Bookstore

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John Feffer + Tope Folarin

Songlands · Haymarket Books

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Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah + Tope Folarin

Friday Black · Inaugural Bauder Lecture, Howard Community College

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Dayo Olopade + David Smith + Tope Folarin

Lessons in Democracy · Lannan Symposium, Georgetown University

Selected

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Martin Amis + Tope Folarin

The Rub of Time · Politics and Prose at Sidwell Friends Meeting House

Recent

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Metamodern Fiction

With Tope Folarin, Peter Clarke, and Daniel Garner · Hosted by Greg Dember · What Is Metamodern?

Recent

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Who Counts as a Human Being?

Tope Folarin’s opening address · 2026 Henry A. Wallace Symposium. Recording also includes Sarah Anderson’s policy presentation.

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Metamodernism and Autofiction: A Discussion with Tope Folarin

A conversation with Greg Dember about autofiction, metamodernism, and A Particular Kind of Black Man, with reflections on literature and film.

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How to Survive in the Book Criticism Landscape

A panel on the shrinking space for book criticism, fair pay, and sustaining a life as a freelance critic. Presented by the National Book Critics Circle and Freelance Solidarity Project.

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Introducing Edwidge Danticat · PEN/Malamud Award

Tope introduces Edwidge Danticat at the 2023 PEN/Malamud Award ceremony. This recording includes the full ceremony at American University.

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Alice McDermott + Tope Folarin

Writing Against Ulysses · Chaired by Cóilín Parsons · Georgetown University

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W.E.B. DuBois Men’s Conference · 2022

Navigating the Black Male Identity in the Diaspora · George Mason University. Full conference recording, linked from Tope’s appearance archive.

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Introducing Oprah Winfrey · PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion

Tope introduces the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion, Oprah Winfrey, during the annual award celebration.

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Tope Folarin · Lannan Reading and Talk

A reading and talk at Georgetown’s Lannan Center, introduced by Aminatta Forna. Recorded November 30, 2021.

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Tope Folarin · Snow College Convocation

Tope’s convocation appearance at Snow College, recorded October 28, 2021.

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Sarah Emily Duff + Tope Folarin

A joint discussion of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart · Maine Humanities Council’s 2021 Readers Retreat, held May 6–8.

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Tope Folarin · Maine Readers Retreat

A presentation on Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart · Maine Humanities Council’s 2021 Readers Retreat, held May 6–8.

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Split Infinitive: Four Writers on Star Trek

A roundtable with Tope, Zach Powers, Gwydion Suilebhan, and Gale Marie Thompson about Star Trek and their writing · The Writer’s Center.

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Answer, July · The Inner Loop

A virtual reading featuring Tope, Megan Alpert, and other local writers, recorded July 20, 2021.

Selected

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Tope Folarin · Whiting Award Reading

A reading from A Particular Kind of Black Man as a recipient of the 2021 Whiting Award for Fiction.

Selected

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Literary Conversations: Intersections

A PEN/Faulkner conversation about identity in fiction with Min Jin Lee and Douglas Stuart, moderated by Bethanne Patrick and co-presented with the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

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Craft Happy Hour with Tope Folarin

A virtual conversation with Zach Powers about writing a debut novel and creating characters, presented by The Writer’s Center.

Tope Folarin · Greenlight Bookstore Reading

A Particular Kind of Black Man · Reading and conversation with Rebecca Carroll at Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn · C-SPAN Book TV

Selected

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Tope Folarin: A Particular Kind of Black Man

A book talk about A Particular Kind of Black Man, exploring identity, exile, and belonging. Recorded at Politics and Prose.

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Tope Folarin on A Particular Kind of Black Man

Tope discusses his debut novel, identity, and belonging in an interview with Simon & Schuster Books.

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Decolonizing the Mind | 2019 Lannan Symposium

A panel on Rhodes Must Fall, decolonizing education, and the African literary canon, with Mukoma Wa Ngugi and April Sizemore-Barber. Moderated by Cóilín Parsons at Georgetown’s Lannan Symposium.

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African Futures | 2019 Lannan Symposium

Readings from forthcoming work with Maaza Mengiste, Mukoma Wa Ngugi, and Makena Onjerika, introduced by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey at Georgetown’s Lannan Symposium.

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Caine Prize for African Fiction Recipient

A Voice of America report on the Caine Prize and the challenges facing African writers, featuring interviews with Tope and prize trustee Alicia Adams.

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Conversations with African Poets & Writers: Tope Folarin

A reading from “Miracle” and a conversation with Angel Batiste about Tope’s work and contemporary African literature, recorded at the Library of Congress.

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Writing Precarity | 2014 Lannan Symposium

A conversation with Dinaw Mengestu and Eileen Myles on writing and economic precarity, moderated by Mark McMorris at Georgetown’s Lannan Symposium.

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Tope Folarin | 2013–2014 Lannan Readings and Talks

A reading at Georgetown’s Copley Formal Lounge, with introductions by Carolyn Forché and Nathan Hensley, as part of the Lannan Readings and Talks series.

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The Scholars: Tope Folarin

An interview with E. Ethelbert Miller for UDC-TV’s The Scholars, featuring Tope as the Caine Prize–winning author of “Miracle.”

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Channels Bookclub · Interview with Tope Folarin

An interview about Tope’s writing, Miracle, and the Caine Prize · Channels Television.

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What Is African Literature? · AfriLit 2013

Tope contributes to an AfriLit discussion with Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, Ayesha Harruna Attah, and Chinelo Okparanta. Recorded November 16, 2013 by AALBC.