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Lynn Nottage honored by NY Library years after ‘painful’ incident

This library tribute was overdue.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage was honored at the New York Public Library’s Library Lions black-tie gala on Monday night — eight years after a “painful” incident in which the acclaimed New York-born writer was “rebuffed” by the institution based on the color of her skin.

Library president Anthony W. Marx revealed the “profoundly unsettling” incident during the awards ceremony — after medals were handed out to Nottage, as well as columnist Charles M. Blow, musician Laurie Anderson and others.

“I would like to conclude by thanking Lynn Nottage. Lynn and I first met in 2014, when she had a painful experience at this library. An experience we are not proud of, and one we know still happens too often in this country,” he said.

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The gala handed out medals to the 2022 Library Lions.
The gala handed out medals to the 2022 Library Lions.
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The gala handed out medals to the 2022 Library Lions.
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Marx elaborated that: “Lynn came to this building to inquire about fellowships and rooms to study. She was rebuffed; told that only serious writers should apply to those
fellowships. Lynn, a Black woman wearing overalls, did not appear to be a serious
writer. Lynn reached out to me after this occurred to discuss her experience. It
was painful for her, and profoundly unsettling.”

By 2014, Nottage, 58, had already won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, “Ruined.” She then won another Pulitzer in 2017 for her Broadway debut, “Sweat.”

Marx told the gala crowd that: “When Lynn and I spoke about this evening and these remarks, we wanted to ensure that she and our amazing Lions were given their due honor and celebrated… but to also make sure this difficult story was told.”

A six-piece brass band played pop hits to welcome guests.

He said of the library, “As an institution, we needed to reflect, and recommit to inclusion.”

And he added, “Since that time, and then further propelled during the pandemic, this library has recommitted itself vigorously, in its outreach and programs, and with our staff. We have implemented new training, revised protocols, increased the number of fellowships, and refocused our work around the principles of equity and access. This work around diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility is far from done and will continue far into the future.”

Unfortunately, the incident wasn’t an isolated one: In 2016, a Page Six reporter covering the same Library Lions event was racially profiled. Marx subsequently issued a public apology.

It doesn’t seem Brooklyn-born Nottage had previously publicly discussed the painful incident when she was discouraged from the library’s programs. Her reps did not return requests for comment.

Nottage has won two Pulitzers. Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via

Marx called Nottage a “celebrated playwright whose stories of the most vulnerable bring conversations of equity and access [to] American theater at a time of national reckoning.”

Also honored at the glittering affair were scholar Mary Beard and economist and philosopher Amartya Sen. The honorees, who were all in attendance, spoke at the gala in a pre-recorded video.

Speakers at the event also included Sen. Chuck Schumer, whose wife, Iris Weinshall, is the New York Public Library’s chief operating officer. Schumer — who encouraged the crowd to “make sure you vote tomorrow,” and went on to win a fifth term — recalled his time as a kid visiting Brooklyn’s Kings Highway library branch with his mom.

“Does anyone remember the ‘All About’ books?” he asked. “‘All About Dinosaurs, ‘All About Planets,’ ‘All About Airplanes.’ I read all 32 of the ‘All About’ books. And those trips to the library ignited a love for knowledge and reading within me.” He added, “I’m sure many of you in this room share the same memories,” and called libraries “sanctuaries of truth and understanding.”

The playwright doesn’t seem to have publicly addressed the library incident before. Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro

Mayor Eric Adams also recalled his experiences at his childhood library from the stage. “I think about as a child growing up in South Jamaica, Queens, struggling with dyslexia,” he said. “Our mom used to leave us there in the rows of the library, and just told me, ‘Baby, just stay focused and keep trying.'”

A six-piece brass band playing instrumental versions of pop hits led the crowd upstairs to the Rose Main Reading Room for dinner for the event.

Host chairs of the event included Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, Howard and Eleanor Morgan and James and Merryl Tisch, while co-chairs included Abby and Howard Milstein, Katharine Rayner, Steve and Christine Schwarzman and Nanar and Tony Yoseloff.

Also spotted at the library event and afterparty were Renata Adler, Steven Aronson, Barbara Fleischman, Thelma Golden, Kim Heirston, Jennifer Morrison, Deborah Roberts, Lauren Santo Domingo, Stefano Tonchi and Angela Yee.