Author Talk: The Ugly History of Beautiful Things

Porter Square Books is delighted to welcome Katy Kelleher, author of The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Essays on Desire and Consumption! Angelica Frey will join her in conversation. This event will take place on Tuesday, April 25 at 7pm at Porter Square Books (25 White St. Cambridge, Ma 02140).

In these dazzling and deeply researched essays, Katy Kelleher blends science, history, and memoir to uncover the dark underbellies of our favorite goods. She reveals the crushed beetle shells in our lipstick, the musk of rodents in our perfume, and the burnt cow bones baked into our dishware. She untangles the secret history of silk and muses on her problematic prom dress. She tells the story of countless workers dying in their efforts to bring us shiny rocks from unsafe mines that shatter and wound the earth, all because a diamond company created a compelling ad. She examines the enduring appeal of the beautiful dead girl and the sad fate of the ugly mollusk. With prose as stunning as the objects she describes, Kelleher invites readers to examine their own relationships with the beautiful objects that adorn their body and grace their homes.

And yet, Kelleher argues that while we have a moral imperative to understand our relationship to desire, we are not evil or weak for desiring beauty. The Ugly History of Beautiful Things opens our eyes to beauty that surrounds us, helps us understand how that beauty came to be, what price was paid and by whom, and how we can most ethically partake in the beauty of the world.

• 
  Sponsored

  WBUR Earth Week Events

  Tuesday, Apr 23, 2024 goes until 04/26

  WBUR CitySpace at The Lavine Broadcast Center
• 
  Sponsored

  Affordable Spanish Classes in Boston (in-person and online courses) | BASE

  Monday, May 06, 2024 goes until 05/25

  Boston Area Spanish Exchange (BASE)

Sesh by The Boston Calendar | Advertise Terms | Privacy Policy | About