History remembers famous artists as geniuses, rebels, martyrs, and models of creative courage. Author Ryan T. Pozzi will take us on a visual journey exploring what gets lost when difficult lives are turned into oversimplified legends. We’ll delve into the lives of Mary Shelley, James Baldwin, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Yayoi Kusama, and others.

Ryan T. Pozzi is an Iowa writer and essayist whose work interrogates legacy, myth, and reputation, with particular attention to who shapes our understanding of history.

His debut work, The Mess That Made Them: How History’s Greatest Artists Failed, Floundered, and Made Something Brilliant Anyway, invites readers to step closer, past the legends and into the real lives behind the masterpieces.

Pozzi will be available to sign books after the presentation. Books can be purchased online from Dog-Eared Books ahead of time at: https://dogearedbooksames.com. Books will also be available for purchase at the event.