Just how powerful are our memories? This is the central question of The Water Dancer, the first novel from Ta-Nehisi Coates, well-known for his Atlantic essays, and a National Book Award winner for Between the World and Me. The book follows Hiram Walker, a young slave in antebellum Virginia, as he explores the metaphorical and metaphysical boundaries of his world. A remarkable blend of historical fiction and fantasy, evocatively detailed, and constantly thought-provoking, The Water Dancer serves as a profound reminder of Coates's ongoing proposition: that we must remember and speak of our history in order to understand current challenges. Coates will be joined in conversation by Natalie Moore, South Side bureau reporter at WBEZ.