STAUNTON — Local author Kalela Williams will celebrate the release of her debut novel, "Tangleroot," during a free public event featuring poetry and shadow puppetry on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Staunton Augusta Art Center, 20 S. New St.
"Tangleroot" is a coming of age story of an 18-year-old woman, Noni Reid, who moves with her exacting mother, Dr. Radiance Castine, from Boston to Magnolia, a fictional central Virginia town. Noni has little regard that her new home was built by their enslaved ancestor, but she is fascinated by the former plantation’s 1850s gravesite of a young white woman.
As she researches the girl’s life, Noni uncovers secrets that change everything she thought she knew about herself, her family, and her town.
“'Tangleroot' asks the question: what happens when you inherit your family’s secrets?” Williams said. “Noni is forced to confront history that’s heartbreaking and hurtful. But she also has to challenge her own biases.”
Lighter ideas such as theater and fashion design are part of Noni’s world. But "Tangleroot" also speaks to the legacy of slavery in Virginia, the erasure of African American communities, book and curriculum bans, and the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
Williams says she drew from travels through various locations in Virginia to create the fictional town of Magnolia and other settings in "Tangleroot." The history of Staunton’s Uniontown originally inspired “The Gather,” a fictional community in the novel.
Deeply researched, the novel contains fictional diary entries, newspaper articles, as well as narratives from enslaved people, drawn from primary sources in historical archives collections like the Library of Virginia, as well as books and other resources.
The book launch of "Tangleroot" will take place at the Staunton Augusta Art Center during a free event that will showcase original poetry from students in Staunton High School’s poetry club, as well as shadow puppetry by the Staunton organization The Off Center. The night will feature Williams reading from her novel and answering audience questions.
Book sales will be held onsite by Stone Soup Books, with a book signing to take place. An RSVP is requested at kalelawilliams.com.
Williams directs a statewide book festival and other events for Virginia Humanities' Virginia Center for the Book. She has also held jobs creating and producing literary events for the Free Library of Philadelphia, Furious Flower Poetry Center, and other institutions for years.
Williams is a recipient of recipient of the Fine Arts Work Center’s Archie D. and Bertha H. Walker Scholarship, a Tin House residency, and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. She grew up in Atlanta, but now she calls Staunton home, where she and her partner Davey White run a community arts organization, The Off Center.
Williams will also be the guest speaker at Creative Mornings Shenandoah Valley on Oct. 25, and she will be reading at the Crozet Book Festival on Oct. 26 and Monticello’s Pursuits of Justice Series, in conversation with Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, on Oct. 29. On Nov. 21, the Staunton Public Library will host “Untangling the Publishing Process,” a free event during which Williams will detail her journey in publishing with a major imprint.
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and on Instagram @hitepatrick . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com .
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton author releasing novel about confronting a family's heartbreaking and hurtful secrets
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