Books published one hundred years ago include Emily Post’s “Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home,” James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” and Claude McKay’s “Harlem Shadows.” The Boston Public Library is hosting a Hundred Year Retroactive Book Award, with three local writers debating the merits of each book and making a case for why theirs should take the prize. Joseph Nugent, a professor at Boston College, who specializes in Irish studies, Joyce studies, and digital humanities, will defend “Ulysses.” Boston Poet Laureate, performer, educator, MFA candidate at Emerson, and author of “i shimmer sometimes, too,” Porsha Olayiwola, will speak for McKay’s collection of poetry. And Meredith Goldstein, author of the Globe’s long-running “Love Letters” column, as well as two novels and a memoir, will make a case for Emily Post’s book of manners. The hybrid debate, which will take place in person and online via zoom, will be moderated by Kennedy Elsey, and the winner of the best book of 1921 — Yevgeny Zamyatin’s “We,” Ludwig Wittgenstein’s “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus,” and Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” will be announced. The free event takes place Thursday at 6:30 pm at Rabb Hall at the BPL and on Zoom. To register, visit bookaward1922.eventbrite.com.
