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Why Don't We Claim Catherine Lacey As a Mississippi Writer?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com
I kicked off the first Bottom Reader Book Club of 2026 with friends! Rather than our usual author chat, I talked with Leslie Barker, a director and playwright, and Talamieka Brice, a visual artist and filmmaker, about the 2023 novel Biography of X by Tupelo native Catherine Lacey. It felt appropriate to talk with artist friends about this fictional biography of a “deified” multi-hyphenate artist. We talked about Lacey’s world building, in which she envisions an alternate history of the United States, and mused on why we think she isn’t widely recognized or celebrated as a Mississippi writer, despite Mississippians’ tendency to claim any celebrated figure with a connection to the state.
This was a fun and thought-provoking discussion—especially because we didn’t always agree. If you’ve read Biography of X or any of Lacey’s other books, let me know what you thought! Big thanks to Leslie and Talamieka—as well as all the readers who tuned in for the livestream.
You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify. Subscribe to the show on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers.
On Catherine Lacey’s love and critique of the South:
On why we both judge and pity X:
On how we’d view the book differently if X was a man:
Bottom Reader Book club is continuing in 2026…Read along with us!
February 24 at 7pm CT: When It’s Darkness on the Delta with author W. Ralph Eubanks and Talamieka Brice
March: Foxes for Everybody: Twenty-Four Hours of Early Motherhood with author Catherine Pierce
April: The Image They Had Painted with author Joesph Patri Brown
Rooted Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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By Lauren RhoadesThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com
I kicked off the first Bottom Reader Book Club of 2026 with friends! Rather than our usual author chat, I talked with Leslie Barker, a director and playwright, and Talamieka Brice, a visual artist and filmmaker, about the 2023 novel Biography of X by Tupelo native Catherine Lacey. It felt appropriate to talk with artist friends about this fictional biography of a “deified” multi-hyphenate artist. We talked about Lacey’s world building, in which she envisions an alternate history of the United States, and mused on why we think she isn’t widely recognized or celebrated as a Mississippi writer, despite Mississippians’ tendency to claim any celebrated figure with a connection to the state.
This was a fun and thought-provoking discussion—especially because we didn’t always agree. If you’ve read Biography of X or any of Lacey’s other books, let me know what you thought! Big thanks to Leslie and Talamieka—as well as all the readers who tuned in for the livestream.
You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify. Subscribe to the show on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers.
On Catherine Lacey’s love and critique of the South:
On why we both judge and pity X:
On how we’d view the book differently if X was a man:
Bottom Reader Book club is continuing in 2026…Read along with us!
February 24 at 7pm CT: When It’s Darkness on the Delta with author W. Ralph Eubanks and Talamieka Brice
March: Foxes for Everybody: Twenty-Four Hours of Early Motherhood with author Catherine Pierce
April: The Image They Had Painted with author Joesph Patri Brown
Rooted Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.