After a deployment in the Iraq War dually defined by threat and interminable mundanity, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student at The University, and an EMS worker at the hospital in North Philly, he encounters round-the-clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhile, he and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, are alternatingly bonding over and struggling with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in their own rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility. Balancing the joys and frustrations of single fatherhood, his studies, and ceaseless shifts at the hospital as he becomes closer than he ever imagined to his father, Joseph tries to articulate vernacular understandings of the sociopolitical struggles he recounts as participant-observer at home, against the assumptions of his friends and colleagues. God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is a powerful examination of everyday black life--of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics. Joseph Earl Thomas is a writer from Frankford whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in VQR, N+1, Gulf Coast, The Offing, and The Kenyon Review. He has an MFA in prose from The University of Notre Dame and is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Pennsylvania. An excerpt of his memoir, Sink, won the 2020 Chautauqua Janus Prize and he has received fellowships from Fulbright, VONA, Tin House, and Bread Loaf. He's writing the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, and a collection of stories, Leviathan Beach, among other oddities. This event is free with first come, first served seating. It will be held at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at 7:00 pm. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the author Joseph Earl Thomas about his powerful new work, God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, which offers a profound and nuanced exploration of everyday Black life. Thomas' writing has been widely acclaimed, and this event promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking experience for all who attend. Whether you're a fan of literary fiction, interested in issues of race and social justice, or simply seeking an evening of insightful and compelling storytelling, this event is not to be missed.