‘Orange is the New Black’ author to visit campus as distinguished speaker

A best-selling author is scheduled to visit campus this month as part of the Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker Series.

Piper Kerman, author of the memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, will have two lectures on campus. The same memoir also was adapted into a Netflix series, running six seasons. 

This is the second lecture taking place on campus since the Distinguished Speaker Series was brought back last year. The series returned thanks to a donation from the Lemon family. The first lecture was technology writer Clive Thompson.

Kerman will be featured in a mid-afternoon discussion, moderated by Dr. Tracy Floreani, professor of English and the director of the Center for Interpersonal Studies through Film and Literature. 

The discussion will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 25 in Room 100 in Sarkeys Science and Math Center. The afternoon session is open to students only on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Since writing her memoir, Kerman gives lectures in classrooms and bookstores. She also works with a variety of organizations, according to her website, piperkerman.com.

“Piper collaborates with nonprofits, philanthropies, and other organizations working in the public interest and serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Prison Association and the advisory boards of the PEN America Writing For Justice Fellowship, InsideOUT Writers, Healing Broken Circles and JustLeadershipUSA,” her website reads.

There also will be an evening lecture that’s open to the campus community, as well as Oklahoma City.

The evening lecture will focus mostly on issues of women’s incarceration and prison reform, Floreani said. The student session in the afternoon will cover many of the same themes, she said.

“The characters in her story and her own experience tell us something about the world we’re living in,” Floreani said.  

She encouraged students not to spend too much time focusing on differences between the book and the show. 

“What matters is whether the adaptation does justice to what the book wants, the cultural work the book wants. That’s what I’m hoping the conversation will focus on at the student session,” Floreani said. 

Natalia Botello, music junior, said she has watched the Netflix series. 

“I honestly did not know there was a book,” Botello said. 

But she said she enjoys watching the show because all of the characters are different. 

“They all ended up in that space. They all have different stories,” Botello said. 

The evening lecture will be at 7 p.m. in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. Admission is free, but requires a ticket through the Eventbrite page at okcu.edu/piper.