READS is a seminar series focused on influential works from the African diaspora. READS aims to prepare Classicists to incorporate these works into their course curricula and scholarship. Each READS session features one work or set of related texts. To foster productive and engaged conversations, participants in a READS session prepare the readings in advance, using discussion questions provided by the facilitators. Previous offerings are listed below.

Interested in proposing a READS session? Let us know who you are, which text(s) you want to focus on, and where you plan to facilitate the session (e.g., CAAS, your campus). Proposers are responsible for preparing study guides and for recruiting and communicating with participants as needed. We also invite proposers to consider sharing their materials with other facilitators for repeat sessions at other venues.

2026: Rita Dove, Mother Love

READS returns to the Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in 2026 but with a special twist! This year’s workshop will cap off the 30th anniversary of the publication of Rita Dove’s Mother Love (1995). The session will be facilitated by poet-scholar Bhion Achimba (Utah), alongside Sasha-Mae Eccleston (Brown), as part of an academic year-long collaboration.

In Mother Love, the former U.S. Poet Laureate evokes and contemporizes ancient myths about Demeter and Persephone: we will explore the distinguishing premises of Black Bildungsroman and the affective politics binding the collection to ancient choral practices.

Keen to prepare for the session? Read Mother Love and review the session materials.

All materials will also be available on-site. All conference participants are welcome to join!

Eos: Africana Receptions of Ancient Greece and RomeDecember 4, 2025