Author Talk: Tending the Vines
About this Event
Author and educator Ashia S. Ajani will read excerpts from Tending the Vines: Black Abundance in Eight Plants and share reflections on creative process, archival research, and explore perspectives on the complex relationships between plants and the Black diaspora. This reading and lecture seeks to enliven curiosity about the natural world while engaging audiences in their own relationships with plants that are native, nonnative and invasive. There will be a Q&A that will lead up to a book signing to conclude the event.
Masks are REQUIRED for this event. If you do not have one available, that's ok! We will have them freely available for all attendees at the door.
We encourage everyone to prepurchase their books before the event as we cannot guarantee book availability without prepurchase.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This standout creative nonfiction debut explores the lives and histories of plants considered nonnative or invasive as metaphors for the Black experience in America. In Tending the Vines, Ashia S. Ajani illuminates how eight unique plants tell the story of the Black diaspora in America. Each chapter is a deep dive into one plant—including eucalyptus, passionflower, wild mustard, and kudzu—exploring their significance in African tradition, their role through the Middle Passage and Chattel Slavery, and their enduring importance in modern households and communities. Tending the Vines unpacks the complex rhetorical lives of these plants, most of which have been used as both ugly metaphors for Black incursion as well as powerful symbols for Black liberation. It also highlights the ethnobotanical uses that have sustained displaced populations for centuries. Throughout, Ajani complicates our notions of “invasive” and belonging, by contextualizing how plants move, are moved, and, of course, move us.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ashia S. Ajani is a sunshower, a glass bead, a carnivorous plant, an overripe nectarine. Hailing from Denver, CO, Queen City of the Plains and the unceded territory of the Cheyenne, Ute and Arapahoe peoples, Ajani now lives, teaches and researches in the Bay Area on Muwekma Ohlone land. Her writing has been featured in Adi Magazine, Sierra Magazine, Atmos Magazine and World Literature Today, among others. The author of one poetry collection, Heirloom (Write Bloody Publishing, 2023) and one nonfiction collection, Tending the Vines: Black Abundance in Eight Plants (Timber Press, 2026), Ajani's writing is a kaleidoscope of their craft as an eco-griot and abolitionist.
EVENT SCHEDULE
3:00pm Doors
3:15pm Welcome to MATTER
3:20pm Reading & talk
4:15pm Q&A
4:40pm Book signing and conversation
ACCESSIBILITY
Masks: Required for this event. Available for free upon entry, just ask if you need one!
Parking: Metered street parking is available (parallel parking) on Market St. Paid lots are available within a few blocks. The closest one is on 21st and Market St.
Entrance Access: Our front door is at street level and manually operated, accessible for wheelchairs and mobility aids. The rest of the block has sidewalks raised by five steps; however, the bike lane offers a step-free route down the block with minimal car traffic.
Restrooms: All-gender restrooms. Just like at home.
Communication: All staff on site speak English. There will be one Spanish speaking staff member. We welcome communication via translation apps (Google Translate is available). While we do not use ASL, we’re happy to communicate through apps or other tools that work for you.
Alcohol Policy: No alcohol will be served or permitted at this event.
Questions or Requests: Please contact us at [email protected] with any accessibility needs or questions.
We encourage everyone to prepurchase their books before the event as we cannot guarantee book availability without prepurchase.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 32.49
