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Emily Bowen Cohen
November 27 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Magic City Books is hosting a special afternoon event with Oklahoma native Emily Bowen Cohen in celebration of her graphic novel for young readers, Two Tribes on Wednesday, November 27 at 2:oo pm. This free event will take place in the Algonquin Room at Magic City Books, 221 E Archer Street in the Tulsa Arts District.
Emily’s debut graphic novel is a personal story about growing up in two different cultures. Like the main character, Mia, Emily grew up partially in a Native American community in Oklahoma and partially in a Jewish community in New Jersey.
Emily will be joined in conversation by Andrea Roberts, author of Man Made Monsters and The Art Thieves.
About Two Tribes
In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes.
Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn’t want to talk about him, but Mia can’t help but feel like she’s missing a part of herself without him in her life.
Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma–without telling her mom–to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side.
This graphic novel by Muscogee-Jewish writer and artist Emily Bowen Cohen is perfect for fans of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. It is published by Heartdrum, an imprint that centers stories about contemporary Indigenous young people.
Emily Bowen Cohen is a member of the Muscogee Nation. She spent her childhood in Okemah, OK, and her teen years in Montclair, NJ, before graduating from Harvard University. She and her husband live in Los Angeles. You can find her memoir-style comics at memberoftwotribes.com.
