Lissa Jones
Host of Black Market Reads
For the smart and free-thinking, Black Market Reads is a podcast featuring conversations with today's most exciting Black literary voices. We are a podcast for any one who loves to read, write, and engage. Black Market Reads is a project of The Givens Foundation for African American Literature. Hosted by Lissa Jones who is dubbed a ‘public intellectual’ by Chair Emeritus of American History at Macalester College, Mahmoud El-Kati, reluctantly takes on the moniker, but readily embraces the opportunity to bring thoughtful examination of African American life and culture into the public discourse on radio, through podcasting, and for a time, through a newspaper column. Her work keeps her grounded in the community she teaches about and the culture from which she emerged. A lover of reading, learning, teaching, and use of voice, Lissa is a highly sought after speaker, interviewer, facilitator, moderator, and mistress of ceremonies.
Lissa serves as board member and co-chair of the nominations committee of the University of Minnesota Friends of the Libraries, and she also serves on the board for Rain Taxi, sponsor of the Twin Cities Book Festival. Lissa’s pronouns are She/Her.
