Real Lit[erature] is grounded on community building through conversation. Its goal is to create a greater awareness and discussion of the experiences that are being had by our students, staff, and community members. By interacting with fiction narratives that reflect different experiences, it provides opportunities to dialogue with peers about shared and disparate experiences. Additional benefits include creating community by reducing isolation and enhancing campus education through peer-based discussion groups.

Real Lit was started Fall 2018 by the UW Tacoma Library and the UW Tacoma Center for Equity and Inclusion, and has been active most quarters, including summer, since then. The COVID-19 pandemic moved the club to zoom, and we have continued to run the club in the virtual environment.  It has transformed to a more robust peer-to-peer facilitation model since Summer 2022.

On March 7th, Real Lit had the honor of hosting Hugo Award Winner Sarah Gailey for a conversation about their book, When We Were Magic. The book explores what friendship at the cusp of adulthood means, amidst a backdrop brimming with queer romance, fantasy, and humor. The stellar conversation ranged from a discussion of the text, to an examination of the cover art and its creation, to a deep dive into intellectual freedom and book banning. Gailey’s advocacy work around supporting the right to read is exemplary, and highlighted the work done by the group Authors Against Book Bans.  (See this blog for recent work at the UW Tacoma Library around intellectual freedom).

Next quarter, Real Lit is reading Icarus by K. Ancrum. Sign-up links will be forthcoming soon. Please join us!