UCSB Arts & Lectures

Join celebrated author, filmmaker and performance artist Miranda July for a conversation spanning her groundbreaking work across multiple disciplines and media. Known for her singular blend of vulnerability, humor and imagination, July arrives on the heels of widespread acclaim for her 2024 novel "All Fours," a bold exploration of desire, identity and reinvention. Expect the unexpected as July revisits highlights from her groundbreaking films, installations and performances. Share this wild ride through the artist’s creative process, revealing her intimate relationship to risk and provocative take on the evolving role of the artist in contemporary life.

Bestselling novelist, award-winning poet and MacArthur “genius” grant recipient Ocean Vuong brings uncommon vigor and fearless conviction to his portraits of everyday life in 21st-century America. "On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous", Vuong’s 2019 fiction debut, was an immediate bestseller, a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award and longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction. His new novel, "The Emperor of Gladness" (2025), draws on his experience as a young Vietnamese American immigrant, navigating the randomness of service-industry jobs and discovering unexpected connections through work in elder care. Join Vuong for an evening of conversation about his writing process, his influences and the themes behind his groundbreaking works of poetry and prose.

Fresh off the release of Long Island, the long-awaited sequel to his bestselling novel Brooklyn, author Colm Tóibín sits down with Pico Iyer for a wide-ranging conversation about his remarkable career. The acclaimed author of 11 novels, two collections of short stories and several works of literary criticism, Tóibín served as the 2022-2024 Laureate for Irish Fiction, appointed by the Arts Council of Ireland. Don’t miss this rare chance to hear Pico Iyer in conversation with one of the defining voices of contemporary literature. Books will be available for purchase, courtesy of Chaucer’s Books, and a signing follows the event.

With her new book, Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama, journalist and New Yorker staff writer Alexis Okeowo, the child of Nigerian immigrants, brings a singular perspective to her home state. She immerses us in a landscape dominated today not by cotton fields but by Amazon warehouses, encountering powerful faith-based business leaders lobbying for tribal sovereignty and small-town women questioning conservative politics. Blending personal insight with investigative reporting, Okeowo explores where race, faith, politics, and power collide, revealing systemic inequities and unexpected stories of resilience and change. Books will be available for purchase, courtesy of Chaucer's Books, and a signing follows the event

Former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Howard Law School professor, Sherrilyn Ifill is one of the preeminent civil rights lawyers of our time. Named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2021, her transformational leadership and keen analysis have been instrumental in shaping the national conversation about race and civil rights in the U.S. Now, the “precise thinker, riveting speaker and fierce champion of civil rights” (Glamour) shares insights on the 14th Amendment and citizenship, the importance of local civic engagement and the role that colleges and universities play in carrying forward the democracy project.

New York Times columnist and policy analyst Ezra Klein explores how regulations, institutions and cultural caution have stalled progress, and how embracing abundance can help us tackle housing, climate, infrastructure and more by building smarter, faster and for the public good. Tue, Nov 4, 7:30 PM at Arlington Theatre