Lisa Lucas, the director of the National Book Foundation, is profiled in the The New York Times Magazine this week.
In the article, Lucas, who took over the job earlier this year, discusses the organization’s role in inspiring people to read, the Oscars and the role of race in publishing. Here is an excerpt:
Look, I’m a black woman. I care a lot about racial inequity. But when I think about building a nation of readers, I don’t think it’s fair to leave anyone behind. If I say I’m going to focus only on racial inclusivity, and I don’t think about poverty or regional isolation, then I’m failing to connect people, which is what literature does. It’s not just about correcting the imbalance for a group of people to which I belong. It’s about improving the world we live in, and that means you have to look at everybody.