Katherine van Wormer and Charletta Sudduth will read from their new book (also by David W. Jackson III), The Maid Narratives: Black Domestics and White Families in the Jim Crow South, at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

The Maid Narratives shares the memories of African-American housekeepers, caretakers, sharecroppers, and cooks, and the white families they served, uncovering the complex relationships between maid and mistress. Based on interviews with more than 50 people—both white and African-American—these stories deliver a personal and powerful message about resilience and resistance in the face of oppression.

Van Wormer is a sociologist and professor of social work at the University of Northern Iowa. Sudduth is an early-childhood consultant for the Waterloo Community School District in Iowa; she has a doctorate in education, curriculum, and instruction from the University of Northern Iowa.

For more information or special accommodations to attend this reading, call Jan Weissmiller at Prairie Lights, 319-337-2681. For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the new Arts Iowa website.