Writing Professor Tahneer Oksman to Moderate Conversation on Graphic Novels
On Wednesday, September 17, Associate Professor of Writing, Literature, and Language and Communication and Media Arts Tahneer Oksman, Ph.D., will moderate a conversation at the Czech Center between Czech graphic novelist Štěpánka Jislová and author and cartoonist Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos.
This event will serve as the English-language launch for Jislová’s 2023 graphic novel, Heartcore, which was originally published in Czech.
From the Czech Center’s website:
How does falling in love really work—and who (or what) is behind it? Is love written in our DNA, shaped by the relationships we witnessed growing up, or is it an unpredictable force entirely outside our control? Join us for a provocative conversation exploring gender, identity, and intimacy through the lens of comics autobiography. This Bookend Event of the Brooklyn Book Festival features graphic novelists Štěpánka Jislová and Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos in a discussion moderated by scholar and critic Tahneer Oksman.
This evening also celebrates the English-language launch of Heartcore (Graphic Mundi, 2025), the acclaimed new graphic novel by Štěpánka Jislová, originally published in Czech as Srdcovka (Paseka, 2023).
In Heartcore, Jislová takes readers on a raw and intimate journey through memories and relationships, navigating the messy intersections of love, loneliness, gender expectations, and sexual violence. From childhood to adulthood, through college parties, online dating, hookup culture, and toxic entanglements, her characters struggle to understand what it means to connect, to desire, and to be seen. The result is a powerful reflection on contemporary relationships and identity.
An RSVP is required to attend this event, but registration is free! Reserve your spot by clicking here.
Dr. Oksman teaches several classes at MMC, including Women’s Literary Traditions and Reporting on Tech & Social Media. This Fall, she will teach EWL-369- Graphic Storytelling: Exploring Contemporary Comics.
Published: August 26, 2025
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