Debates over what obligations fiction writers have to engage with contemporary issues in their work probably go back to the invention of fiction. In recent years that argument has taken on more eschatological tones when it comes to climate change, which has been called the “largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world has ever experienced.” The climate crisis and mental health have figured into the novels or stories of Akil Kumarasamy, Sam J. Miller, and Nathaniel Rich.

Speaking with Mary Annaïse Heglar, they will discuss the responsibilities that storytellers do or don’t have to center our most dire global challenge, and how they respect both the big picture narratives of climate change and the individual stories of mental and physical health within them—and what kind of change can we reasonably expect their work to help induce.

Presented as part of Mindscapes, Wellcome's international cultural program about mental health, in partnership with the Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center.

476 5th Avenue Map
212-930-0909