Watch Bridge Culture Club discussion of ‘Know the Mother’ with author Desiree Cooper
- On Wednesday, Bridge Michigan hosted its latest Culture Club, a discussion of ‘Know the Mother,’ a collection of short stories centered on the experiences of mothers
- Author Desiree Cooper spoke about the book and answered readers’ questions
- Watch a recording of the event below
Bridge Culture Club, Bridge Michigan’s bimonthly Michigan-focused media discussion series, resumed Wednesday with a discussion of “Know the Mother” with author Desiree Cooper.
Nearly 40 participants joined Bridge and Cooper for a discussion of the book.
“Know the Mother” is a short story collection and part of the Made in Michigan Writers Series. In the book, Cooper explores the archetype of the mother in all of her incarnations. In a collage of stories, women find themselves wedged between their own goals and desires and their roles as daughters, sisters, grandmothers and wives. It was the winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award in 2017.
During the event, Cooper discussed the process of writing the stories that formed the collection, how her skills and career as a journalist help her as an author, the importance of fiction in understanding and exploring difficult subjects, what she’s working on now and much more.
Watch the video here:
Bridge Michigan hosts bimonthly discussions on books with ties to Michigan. Previous sessions have featured "The World According to Fannie Davis," by Bridgett M. Davis, “Arc of Justice,” by Kevin Boyle, “The Women of the Copper Country,” by Mary Doria Russell, “Black Bottom Saints,” by Alice Randall, “Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret,” by Steve Luxenberg, “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” by Dan Egan, “Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley, “Wounds” by Razel Jones and Daniel Abbott, “The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls” by Anissa Gray, “The Other Me” by Sarah Zachrich Jeng, “The Dockporter” by Dave McVeigh and Jim Bolone, “You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair is in Braids” by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang “The King of Confidence” by Miles Harvey, “What the Eyes Don’t See” by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, “American Salvage” by Bonnie Jo Campbell, “We Kept Our Towns Going” by Phyllis Michael Wong, the film “Bad Axe,” directed by David Siev, “Once We Were Here” by Christopher Cosmos, “August Snow” by Stephen Mack Jones, “Tin Camp Road” by Ellen Airgood, “Dearborn” by Ghassan Zeineddine, the film “Pelkie,” directed by Michael Loukinen and “Impermanence” by Sue Leaf.
Related:
- Watch Bridge Culture Club discussion of ‘Impermanence’ with author Sue Leaf
- Watch Bridge Culture Club discussion of ‘Pelkie’ documentary
- Watch Bridge Culture Club discussion of ‘Dearborn’ short story collection
This was our final Culture Club event of 2024. If you have suggestions for future books, films or podcasts with connections to Michigan, please share them with us on this form.
More than 300 Bridge members received a free copy of “Know the Mother” so they could take part in our October Culture Club. If you would like free electronic copies of future selections, join Bridge Club today.
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