The Bookshelf
October 2026
ON THE SHELF
Gordon Parks
October 2026 · Arriving October 12
Gordon Parks made stories with a camera and a pen. He paid attention to the lives a passing glance could miss—the work, tenderness, and daily realities behind a public assumption. This October, we consider how his photographs and words changed the conversation by changing what people could see.
Look Again
Sometimes a photograph tells us something a book cannot. Sometimes a book reveals everything a photograph leaves outside the frame. In Look Again, we return to Gordon Parks through his memoirs, fiction, photography, and enduring influence, exploring what happens when we look beyond the first impression.
Gordon Parks and the Stories We Choose to See
CURATOR’S CORNER 004
Gordon Parks believed in the power of stories to challenge how we see the world. Through his camera and his words, he captured the struggles, dignity, joy, and everyday experiences of Black Americans. In this month's Curator's Corner, L'aurelei D. reflects on his legacy, the importance of seeing people beyond their circumstances, and how the stories we tell—or leave untold—shape our understanding of one another.
The Fourth Seat: Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks used his camera to challenge injustice and reveal the humanity behind the headlines. From Harlem streets to segregated communities, his photographs asked the world to look beyond what it thought it knew. For our Fourth Seat, we explore the stories he chose to tell, the lives he made visible, and what his legacy teaches us about the responsibility of storytelling.
Where to Begin with Maya Angelou
OFF THE SHELF 003
A guided reading path through Maya Angelou’s work on voice, resilience, womanhood, memory, and becoming.
We Are Allowed to Have Many Chapters
CURATOR’S CORNER 003
On giving ourselves permission to become more than one version of who we are—and honoring every chapter that helped shape us.
The Third Seat: Maya Angelou
A SEAT ON THE SHELF 003
On Maya Angelou, voice, resilience, womanhood, and the work of becoming fully ourselves.
Where to Begin with bell hooks
OFF THE SHELF 002
A guided reading path through bell hooks’ work on love, belonging, home, identity, and liberation.
The Work That Finds You When You Need It
CURATOR’S CORNER 002
On encountering bell hooks at the right moment—and the books that give language to something we were already trying to understand.
The Second Seat: bell hooks
A SEAT ON THE SHELF 002
On bell hooks, homeplace, belonging, and the work of becoming fully ourselves.
Where to Begin with Toni Morrison
OFF THE SHELF 001
A guided reading path through Toni Morrison’s work on memory, identity, family, history, love, and belonging.
The Stories That Change How We See
CURATOR’S CORNER 001 · L’AURELEI D.
On growing up with Toni Morrison’s work and the stories that challenge us to examine what we think we know.
The First Seat: Toni Morrison
A SEAT ON THE SHELF 001
On Toni Morrison, the power of Black storytelling, and why her words belong at the foundation of The Bookshelf.
The Living Room
CONTINUE THROUGH THE HOUSE
Move from the books that shaped the conversation to the people and stories carrying it forward.