“The Arithmetic of Color” Book Discussion

Author Bernadette Rule will discuss her latest book, The Arithmetic of Color, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 26, at the Graves County Public Library in Mayfield. The event is free and open to the public.

The Arithmetic of Color is the biography of Tom Johnson, a Graves County man of mixed race who lived from 1871 to 1929. Based on a true story meticulously researched, the book is written as a novel because of its dramatic character. Johnson’s life is at the center of the American experience, including poverty, middle class success, and the near promise of extreme wealth. Johnson returned to the woman he loved after serving 17 years of a life sentence in Leavenworth Prison. Published in 2024 by Ironing Board Press, The Arithmetic of Color captures the complexity of race, class, and love in America at the turn of the twentieth century.

The Arithmetic of Color has been praised by writers and academists alike. “These stories of past generations in Mayfield seem especially valuable now that so much has been lost because of the tornado,” novelist Bobbie Ann Mason stated. Dr Aaron Hughey of Western Kentucky University wrote that “Rule has that rare ability to transport you to a different time and place in such a visceral manner that you will swear you are actually there.”

Rule, who will sign books after her presentation, grew up in Kentucky and has spent her adult life in Canada. She is the author of seven collections of poetry. Her first novel, Dark Fire, was published in 2021, and shortlisted for the 2022 Hamilton Literary Award and the Whistler Independent Book Award. Rule serves on the executive committee of the Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Literature, Science & Art, one of the oldest cultural institutions in North America.

The program is cosponsored by the Graves County Public Library and the Jackson Purchase Historical Society.