G'Ra Asim - 99 Problems Finding the 1
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"99 Problems Finding the 1 is a sublime illumination of what it means to be young, gifted, Black, and exasperatingly single...A virtuoso performance by a writer at the top of his game. Asim has written a timely manifesto on romantic love that will define a generation. Easily among the best books I've read in years." -- Jerald Walker, author of How to Make a Slave and Other Essays
Left Bank Books and the Left Bank Books Foundation are delighted to welcome St. Louis writer and musician G'Ra Asim to celebrate his new book 99 Problems Finding the 1: A Love Story (Sort Of) (2026).
Join us at the High Low Literary Arts Cafe to welcome G'Ra Asim for a presentation, musical performance, and book signing, free and open to the public.
RSVPs are appreciated.
https://forms.gle/8v6MgXPYp6cT4oKv9
Can't make it? Preorder now to receive an autographed and personalized copy of 99 Problems Finding the 1!
This event is possible thanks to the support of individual donations to the Left Bank Books Foundation. Donate today to help us keep literary community alive and accessible in St. Louis!
https://lbbfound.org/
99 Problems Finding the 1: A Love Story (Sort Of) is part cultural criticism, part roguish adventure. In 2004, Jay-Z released "99 Problems" and the song became an instant classic. The Grammy Award-winning rapper details the many problems in his life, except romantic love. Fast forward over 20 years, professor and punk musician G'Ra Asim is facing his own set of problems, except they all focus on modern romance. Contemplating his singledom and mishaps in dating, Asim takes the reader through a literary, speculative, and thoughtful meditation on chronic lovelessness.
Scenes from his life as an early-career black academic in an overwhelmingly white university environment display the challenge of finding someone to dote on in his dotage. On tour with his band, he ponders the relationship between stage banter and the seedy underbelly of social awkwardness. Along the way, he dishes arresting and acute takes on everything from 90s hip hop posse cuts to French absurdist theater to the Boltzmann Brain hypothesis. Each chapter invites readers into "discussions for another day." Reflecting on his own capacity to love, Asim argues that we'll have to abandon the posture of terminal cool and hazard a little earnestness. 99 Problems Finding the 1 is one heart's dreamwork unfurled as a blueprint, for shaping our intimate and broad interpersonal future.
"99 Problems Finding the 1 is the best book about love I've read in years. It's the 1, you might say, because, like a great relationship, it takes itself both very seriously and with a mischievous what-are-we-doing-here wink. That combination is irresistible. But to call G'Ra Asim's latest a book about looking for love is to shortchange it. It's a book about race, gender, politics, time, friendship, family, blind spots, projection, punk, basketball, French absurdist theater--and why playing it too cool is its own kind of heartbreak. It's a call to live ethically, earnestly, and joyfully. It's a triumph." -- Benoit Denizet-Lewis, New York Times Magazine contributing writer and author of You've Changed: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation
G'Ra Asim is a writer, musician, and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Washington University in St. Louis. His debut nonfiction book, Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother blends memoir, cultural criticism, and personal essays framed as letters to his younger brother, exploring blackness, masculinity, and punk culture. Asim's writing has appeared in publications like Slate, Salon, Guernica, The New Republic, and The Boston Globe. He previously served as a writing director at the African American Policy Forum and a graduate teaching fellow at Columbia University. As a musician, he sings, plays bass and writes lyrics for the DIY pop punk band Baby Got Back Talk, recognized by Alternative Press as one of the "rising Black alternative bands."
Left Bank Books and the Left Bank Books Foundation are delighted to welcome St. Louis writer and musician G'Ra Asim to celebrate his new book 99 Problems Finding the 1: A Love Story (Sort Of) (2026).
Join us at the High Low Literary Arts Cafe to welcome G'Ra Asim for a presentation, musical performance, and book signing, free and open to the public.
RSVPs are appreciated.
https://forms.gle/8v6MgXPYp6cT4oKv9
Can't make it? Preorder now to receive an autographed and personalized copy of 99 Problems Finding the 1!
This event is possible thanks to the support of individual donations to the Left Bank Books Foundation. Donate today to help us keep literary community alive and accessible in St. Louis!
https://lbbfound.org/
99 Problems Finding the 1: A Love Story (Sort Of) is part cultural criticism, part roguish adventure. In 2004, Jay-Z released "99 Problems" and the song became an instant classic. The Grammy Award-winning rapper details the many problems in his life, except romantic love. Fast forward over 20 years, professor and punk musician G'Ra Asim is facing his own set of problems, except they all focus on modern romance. Contemplating his singledom and mishaps in dating, Asim takes the reader through a literary, speculative, and thoughtful meditation on chronic lovelessness.
Scenes from his life as an early-career black academic in an overwhelmingly white university environment display the challenge of finding someone to dote on in his dotage. On tour with his band, he ponders the relationship between stage banter and the seedy underbelly of social awkwardness. Along the way, he dishes arresting and acute takes on everything from 90s hip hop posse cuts to French absurdist theater to the Boltzmann Brain hypothesis. Each chapter invites readers into "discussions for another day." Reflecting on his own capacity to love, Asim argues that we'll have to abandon the posture of terminal cool and hazard a little earnestness. 99 Problems Finding the 1 is one heart's dreamwork unfurled as a blueprint, for shaping our intimate and broad interpersonal future.
"99 Problems Finding the 1 is the best book about love I've read in years. It's the 1, you might say, because, like a great relationship, it takes itself both very seriously and with a mischievous what-are-we-doing-here wink. That combination is irresistible. But to call G'Ra Asim's latest a book about looking for love is to shortchange it. It's a book about race, gender, politics, time, friendship, family, blind spots, projection, punk, basketball, French absurdist theater--and why playing it too cool is its own kind of heartbreak. It's a call to live ethically, earnestly, and joyfully. It's a triumph." -- Benoit Denizet-Lewis, New York Times Magazine contributing writer and author of You've Changed: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation
G'Ra Asim is a writer, musician, and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Washington University in St. Louis. His debut nonfiction book, Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother blends memoir, cultural criticism, and personal essays framed as letters to his younger brother, exploring blackness, masculinity, and punk culture. Asim's writing has appeared in publications like Slate, Salon, Guernica, The New Republic, and The Boston Globe. He previously served as a writing director at the African American Policy Forum and a graduate teaching fellow at Columbia University. As a musician, he sings, plays bass and writes lyrics for the DIY pop punk band Baby Got Back Talk, recognized by Alternative Press as one of the "rising Black alternative bands."
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Where is it happening?
High Low, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherLeft Bank Books
