Tuesday, October 3, 2023 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Join us to discuss Joanne Ramos' novel The Farm...this was one of NYT's most anticipated books of 2019, and in their review, they said:
"Commercial surrogacy — the birthing of another woman’s baby in exchange for cash — is an act of benevolence, or of exploitation. It celebrates life. It commodifies life. It’s a moral outrage. A blessing, a gift. It pays women fairly for their hard work and altruism. It reduces women to vessels, turning their bodies, and babies, into merchandise.
So many factors — gender, race, religion, class — may determine where you come down on the surrogacy debate. So may your media diet. Perhaps you’ve heard disturbing tales about “baby factories” in India or Ukraine. Or maybe you’ve read uplifting profiles of women who call surrogacy the most meaningful job they’ve done. Joanne Ramos plays with many of these notions in her debut novel, “The Farm,” which imagines what might happen were surrogacy taken to its high-capitalist extreme."
This is the UNESCO City of Literature's pick for One Community One Book, and Ms. Ramos will be in Iowa City during the Book Festival, speaking on October 8 at the Pomerantz Center.
We will meet at Big Grove at 6:30, with Zoom as a back up if the weather looks unpleasant (in that case I will send out a link when the decision is made). Copies of the book will be available in the circulating collection, as well as on Overdrive in ebook and eaudio format.
Iowa City Public Library Iowa City Public Library America/Chicago publicOther
Join us to discuss Joanne Ramos' novel The Farm...this was one of NYT's most anticipated books of 2019, and in their review, they said:
"Commercial surrogacy — the birthing of another woman’s baby in exchange for cash — is an act of benevolence, or of exploitation. It celebrates life. It commodifies life. It’s a moral outrage. A blessing, a gift. It pays women fairly for their hard work and altruism. It reduces women to vessels, turning their bodies, and babies, into merchandise.
So many factors — gender, race, religion, class — may determine where you come down on the surrogacy debate. So may your media diet. Perhaps you’ve heard disturbing tales about “baby factories” in India or Ukraine. Or maybe you’ve read uplifting profiles of women who call surrogacy the most meaningful job they’ve done. Joanne Ramos plays with many of these notions in her debut novel, “The Farm,” which imagines what might happen were surrogacy taken to its high-capitalist extreme."
This is the UNESCO City of Literature's pick for One Community One Book, and Ms. Ramos will be in Iowa City during the Book Festival, speaking on October 8 at the Pomerantz Center.
We will meet at Big Grove at 6:30, with Zoom as a back up if the weather looks unpleasant (in that case I will send out a link when the decision is made). Copies of the book will be available in the circulating collection, as well as on Overdrive in ebook and eaudio format.
If you need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this event, please contact the Library.
This event is open to the public.
