Possessing Harriet Book Talk with Kyle Bass

Join OHA in welcoming Kyle Bass, resident playwright of Syracuse Stage, and recent recipient of OHA’s Medal Award! Kyle‘s OHA commissioned play Possessing Harriet has been adapted into a book by Standing Stone Books.

This inspirational chapter of our location history imagines a conversation between an enslaved woman, Harriet Powell, and a young Elizabeth Cady, the fierce advocate for women’s rights.  The conversation takes place in an attic room in the Peterboro, New York, home of abolitionist Gerrit Smith. Harriet, having slipped away from a Syracuse hotel and the family who owns her, awaits her departure north on the Underground Railroad. This absorbing drama unfolds in real time, as danger nears and Harriet must make a life-altering decision.

Come listen to Kyle discuss his work, pick up a copy of Possessing Harriet, get it signed by the author, and enjoy refreshments at our downtown museum at 321 Montgomery Street on August 17th from 4-6pm. Please RSVP to ohamuseum@cnyhistory.org if you plan to attend!