This residency is hosted by Stanford Public Humanities and the Creative Writing Program with funding from the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning.
UPCOMING EVENTS
_____
WINTER
Behind the Author/Agent Process with Hanif Abdurraqib and Alia Hanna Abib
Oshman Hall
This event is at capacity
You have an idea for a book. Now how do you find a literary agent you can trust? And what will the process look like—from proposal writing to editing—to produce a book that will one day appear in your local bookstore?
Stanford Public Humanities invites you to hear from leading agent Alia Hanna Habib, the author of Take It from Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch, and one of her critically-acclaimed authors Hanif Abdurraqib as they share insights from both sides of the publishing relationship and process. They will be in conversation with Mark Greif, Stanford English professor, author, and cofounder of n+1.
Songs in the Key of Life with Hanif Abdurraqib and Nate Sloan
Friday, February 6, 2026, 7:30pm
Dinkelspiel Auditorium
RSVP
What are the songs on your life’s playlist, the sonic touchstones that transport you across time and space? Stanford Public Humanities, Department of Music, and Creative Writing Program invite you to an evening of deep listening and musical insights as award-winning author Hanif Abdurraqib discusses 12 tracks from across his life experience. He will be in conversation with Nate Sloan, musicologist, co-host of the podcast Switched on Pop, and Stanford PhD graduate. Book selling/signing to follow.
_____
SPRING
April 8, 2026, Evening
A poetry-focused event with writer Aracelis Girmay, Knight Family Professor of Creative Writing at Stanford.
_____
Past Events
_____
FALL
What is a Public Intellectual Today
Stanford Public Humanities' flagship speaker series, What Is a Public Intellectual Today, will feature an interview on craft and career with the 2025-26 Denning Visiting Artist Hanif Abdurraqib, hosted by Public Humanities and the Creative Writing Program. Book selling/signing to follow.
October 8, 2025, 6:30 - 8pm
Tresidder Union, Oak Lounge
Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. He will be joined in conversation by Matthew D. Morrison, an acclaimed musicologist and Associate Professor in Stanford's Department of African and African American Studies.
Stanford Public Humanities and the Creative Writing Program are tremendously grateful to the co-sponsors for this event: the Departments of English, Communication, African and African American Studies, and Music; the Institute for Diversity in the Arts; the Institute for Advancing Just Societies; the Journalism Program; the Program in Modern Thought and Literature; the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity; the Markaz Resource Center; and the Black Community Service Center.
_____
About the Artist
Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His newest release, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House, 2024) was a New York Times Bestseller and longlisted for the National Book Award in nonfiction and the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. His previous book, A Little Devil In America (Random House, 2021) was a winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and the Gordon Burn Prize. In 2021, Abdurraqib was named a MacArthur Fellow, and in 2024 was named a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient. He is a graduate of Beechcroft High School.
Denning Visiting Artist
As a writer whose panoramic view encompasses music, history, culture, race, and more across multiple genres, Hanif will connect deeply with faculty and students across departments and programs. Hanif’s artistry, storytelling, and talent at creating live shared experiences will benefit the vibrant range of thinkers and makers of Stanford. He looks forward to mixing his curiosities with the array of community interests to create collective experiences and meaningful collaborations.
Interested in learning more?
Sign up here to learn about Hanif's public events in winter and spring quarters.
For more information:
Natalie Jabbar
Associate Director of Stanford Public Humanities
njabbar@stanford.edu
Christina Ablaza
Administrative Director of Creative Writing
cablaza@stanford.edu
