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The Daily Mississippian
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    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    The reality of NIL

    The reality of NIL

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

  • Sports
    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

  • Arts & Culture
    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    The music venues that make Oxford

    Who’s coming to Oxford this spring

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    New movies light up the box office

    New movies light up the box office

  • Opinion

    The Black experience: something greater than just me

    Staff Editorial: Too much

    Cameras in the classroom and useless image politics

    A year 2 remember

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  • News
    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    The reality of NIL

    The reality of NIL

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

  • Sports
    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

  • Arts & Culture
    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    The music venues that make Oxford

    Who’s coming to Oxford this spring

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    New movies light up the box office

    New movies light up the box office

  • Opinion

    The Black experience: something greater than just me

    Staff Editorial: Too much

    Cameras in the classroom and useless image politics

    A year 2 remember

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Author brings unlikely heroes to Square Books through ‘The Talented Ribkins’

Hannah WillisbyHannah Willis
August 22, 2017
Reading Time: 3 mins read

Square Books will host author Ladee Hubbard this Tuesday for a reading of her first novel, “The Talented Ribkins.”

ladee hubbard
Photo courtesy: Square Books

In the age of the Avengers-style heroes, Hubbard has created her own family of superhumans, and perhaps the strongest thing about them is their flaws.

Hubbard spent her childhood summers in Florida with family and used her familiarity with the region to create a backdrop for the unconventional superhero novel. Her own family provided some inspiration, but the Ribkins family remains in a class of its own.

“The Talented Ribkins is about a middle-class black Southern family, but that’s saying a lot,” Hubbard said.

She said “The Talented Ribkins” serves as a reflection on W. E. B. Du Bois’ essay “The Talented Tenth” and how the 1903 essay has been interpreted in popular culture.

The parallels to Du Bois’ essay throughout the book aren’t always obvious, but Hubbard’s reaction to Du Bois’ ideas serves as a backbone throughout. 

Each member of the Ribkins family has a power unique to him or her, but it’s a power that might not have obvious practical value. The story’s leading player, Johnny Ribkins, can make perfect maps of any space he has walked through, and his half brother can climb any wall. With a father who can see perfectly in the dark and a cousin who can breathe fire, the Ribkinses’ powers aren’t like anything you’ve seen in a summer blockbuster.

We first meet Johnny in the modern day when, at 72 years old, the antique dealer is caught embezzling from his boss. With the clock ticking, Johnny must travel around Florida to find money he hid away decades earlier.

Throughout “The Talented Ribkins,” each character must accept his or her own special ability. Hubbard said the quirkiness of the Ribkinses’ powers forces them to figure out what it means to be the person they are.

“To find value and appreciate [ourselves] as a unique individual and that maybe there is worth to whatever your gift is,” Hubbard said.

Not a single family member has a stereotypical superpower, but they all have the opportunity to enact change in a way Hubbard described as doing the best with what they’ve got. The reader is shown that the beauty of this family lies not in its perfection but its continued quest to do good despite its past failures.

This book manages to tackle some pretty heavy material while never losing its lighthearted tone. The Ribkinses are simple, everyday people who can do some unusual things. Johnny is not a hero, but his continued pursuit of the greater good despite his repeated failings is quite heroic.

“Even if you can’t solve all problems,” Hubbard said. “All individuals are capable of affecting change.”

Johnny’s true power might just be that he keeps trying – no matter his past mistakes, no matter the challenges, he keeps trying.

Ladee Hubbard and “The Talented Ribkins” will be at 5 p.m. this Tuesday Off Square Books.

 

In Case You Missed It

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

14 hours ago
Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

14 hours ago
Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

14 hours ago
The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

14 hours ago
Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

2 days ago
Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

2 days ago

Author brings unlikely heroes to Square Books through ‘The Talented Ribkins’

Hannah WillisbyHannah Willis
August 22, 2017
Reading Time: 3 mins read

Square Books will host author Ladee Hubbard this Tuesday for a reading of her first novel, “The Talented Ribkins.”

ladee hubbard
Photo courtesy: Square Books

In the age of the Avengers-style heroes, Hubbard has created her own family of superhumans, and perhaps the strongest thing about them is their flaws.

Hubbard spent her childhood summers in Florida with family and used her familiarity with the region to create a backdrop for the unconventional superhero novel. Her own family provided some inspiration, but the Ribkins family remains in a class of its own.

“The Talented Ribkins is about a middle-class black Southern family, but that’s saying a lot,” Hubbard said.

She said “The Talented Ribkins” serves as a reflection on W. E. B. Du Bois’ essay “The Talented Tenth” and how the 1903 essay has been interpreted in popular culture.

The parallels to Du Bois’ essay throughout the book aren’t always obvious, but Hubbard’s reaction to Du Bois’ ideas serves as a backbone throughout. 

Each member of the Ribkins family has a power unique to him or her, but it’s a power that might not have obvious practical value. The story’s leading player, Johnny Ribkins, can make perfect maps of any space he has walked through, and his half brother can climb any wall. With a father who can see perfectly in the dark and a cousin who can breathe fire, the Ribkinses’ powers aren’t like anything you’ve seen in a summer blockbuster.

We first meet Johnny in the modern day when, at 72 years old, the antique dealer is caught embezzling from his boss. With the clock ticking, Johnny must travel around Florida to find money he hid away decades earlier.

Throughout “The Talented Ribkins,” each character must accept his or her own special ability. Hubbard said the quirkiness of the Ribkinses’ powers forces them to figure out what it means to be the person they are.

“To find value and appreciate [ourselves] as a unique individual and that maybe there is worth to whatever your gift is,” Hubbard said.

Not a single family member has a stereotypical superpower, but they all have the opportunity to enact change in a way Hubbard described as doing the best with what they’ve got. The reader is shown that the beauty of this family lies not in its perfection but its continued quest to do good despite its past failures.

This book manages to tackle some pretty heavy material while never losing its lighthearted tone. The Ribkinses are simple, everyday people who can do some unusual things. Johnny is not a hero, but his continued pursuit of the greater good despite his repeated failings is quite heroic.

“Even if you can’t solve all problems,” Hubbard said. “All individuals are capable of affecting change.”

Johnny’s true power might just be that he keeps trying – no matter his past mistakes, no matter the challenges, he keeps trying.

Ladee Hubbard and “The Talented Ribkins” will be at 5 p.m. this Tuesday Off Square Books.

 

In Case You Missed It

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

14 hours ago
Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

14 hours ago
Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

14 hours ago
The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

14 hours ago
Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

2 days ago
Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

2 days ago

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