The Community Literacies Collaboratory, a center and signature program of the Brown Chair in English Literacy, recently held its first book-club-style edition of its Possibilities Hub program, titled “Possibilities Hub Reads: Holler, Child by Latoya Watkins.” Stephanie Keene, a Philadelphia-based educator and organizer, facilitated the free and virtual Hub, which ran for six weeks between October and November.
Each week, participants from across the United States gathered virtually to discuss themes of race, gender and place literacies in Watkins’ short story collection, which was longlisted for the 2023 National Book Awards for fiction. As with every Possibilities Hub, the CLC provided participants with free copies of the book.
The Possibilities Hub, one of the CLC’s programs, presents seminars, talks and reading groups that explore topics in or through literacy. As part of the CLC’s commitment to accessibility, Possibilities Hubs provide Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) captioning, American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Hub materials, including books and additional supplies, and access accommodations free of charge to all participants. Previous Possibilities Hubs include the spring 2023 “Coalitional Literacies: Strategies for Building Social Justice Initiatives Across Institutions,” co-facilitated by Natasha N. Jones of Michigan State University and Laura Gonzales (a member of the CLC Advisory Board) and Victor Del Hierro of the University of Florida; and the spring 2022 “Abolitionist Study Group,” co-facilitated by Dustin P. Gibson and Stephanie Keene. All Possibilities Hubs are free and open to the public across the United States and globe.
“Possibilities Hub Reads: Holler, Child by Latoya Watkins” was the first book-club-style rendition of Possibilities Hub. Participants, for many of whom this was their first book club, met each week to discuss stories in the collection. Discussions ranged from craft-based explorations, such as why a story was split up into numbered sections, to topics centered on race and gender, including societal expectations for Black men and women and the ways those pressures manifest in character relationships and decisions. Participants grappled with unreliable narrators and character motivations, often drawing connections between the book and lived experiences. By centering a collection of short stories, the Hub emphasized that literacy work can also entail the study and discussion of creative works. Pearl’s Books, an independent bookseller in Fayetteville, supplied texts to the facilitator and all participants.
“It has inspired me to do more [book clubs]. It has reactivated my desire to read,” responded Jerrod Lockhart, one of the Possibilities Hub Reads participants.
In addition to “Possibilities Hub Reads” serving as the first book club experience for several participants, it also provided a space for book lovers of all backgrounds to gather and hear from a diversity of perspectives. Another participant, Dawn An, noted that the community formed through the book club was one of their greatest takeaways.
The CLC is currently accepting proposals for its summer and fall 2025 Possibilities Hub. To submit your own Possibilities Hub idea, you can do so via the CLC website or email the CLC team at [email protected] before the Dec. 31, 2024, deadline. Please include in your proposal:
- Facilitator bio(s) and CV/resume
- Your Hub title
- 500 – 1,000 word description of your topic and its timeliness/importance
- Breakdown of each week’s focus
- List of all required materials (books, films, etc.)
- Names and bios of guest speakers. We support up to $1,500 in honorarium for guest speakers to enrich the Hub conversations, dispersed however the facilitator chooses (guests are not required, but welcome).
If you have questions about the Possibilities Hub or proposal, you can email the CLC team at the same Gmail address.
To keep up to date with future CLC announcements, including Possibilities Hubs registration, sign up for the CLC newsletter at bottom of the CLC website.
Press Contact
Jackie Chicalese, graduate assistant to the Brown Chair in English Literacy
Department of English
570-578-9112, [email protected]