Helium
By: Rudy Francisco
Helium is the debut poetry collection by internet phenom Rudy Francisco, whose work has defined poetry for a generation of new readers. Rudy’s poems and quotes have been viewed and shared millions of times as he has traveled the country and the world performing for sell-out crowds. Helium is filled with work that is simultaneously personal and political, blending love poems, self-reflection, and biting cultural critique on class, race and gender into an unforgettable whole.
NOMA CTX Reading List
We intend to curate titles we believe are relevant to our membership and overall mission as a chapter. We hope to share in the joy, inspiration, sadness, and reflection that comes with a powerful read and ultimately spark conversations within our membership about the topics we are all passionate about.
If you have a book recommendation that deserves to be featured, please share below!
Summer 2024
Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto
By: Tricia Hersey
This book is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey’s lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action and manifesto for those who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.
Out in Architecture
By: A.L. Hu, Beau Frail, Sarah Nelson-Woynicz, Yiselle Santos Rivera, Amy Rosen (Editors)
Out in Architecture is a collection of reflections by LGBTQIA+ individuals within and adjacent to the field of architecture. Ranging from identity within and beyond practice, to reclaiming space and redefining systems, these essays offer a cache of struggle, celebration, hope, and wisdom - while aiming to propel conversation into action and institutional change.
Reading List Archive:
SUMMER 2023
As We Saw It
By: Gregory J. Vincent, Virginia A. Cumberbatch, Leslie A. Blair
The story of integration at UT against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South is complex and momentous—a story that necessitates understanding and sharing. Likewise, this narrative is inextricably linked to current conversations about students’ negotiations of identity and place in higher education.
We are Owed.
By: Ariana Brown
How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood
By: P.E. Moskowitz
You Are Your Best Thing
By: Tarana Burke & Brené Brown (Editors)
Student Reading Recommendations
Pre-School/Elementary Level Books:
Dream Builder : The Story of Architect Philip Freelon
Author : Kelly Starling Lyons
Maybe I'll be an Architect
Author : Tenille Bettenhausen
Dreaming Up
Author : Christy Hale
Look at That Building! : A First Book of Structures
Author : Scot Ritchie
Design Your World
Author : Maria VanDeman, Doug Shapiro
Who Made My Stuff? : Miles Learns About Design
Author : Aisha Densmore-Bey
Middle Level School Books:
Kid Architect Goes to Moody Nolan Architects
Kid Architect Goes to Columbus Indiana
Kid Architect Goes to Indiana
Author : Gary Vance
Architecture Around the World : Designing from A-Z!
Author : Xena Stryker
Architecture for Kids: Skill-Building Activities for Future Architects
Author : Mark Moreno, Siena Moreno
High School Level Books:
The Architecture Book : Big Ideas Simply Explained
Author : DK
Drawing Books:
Architectural Drafting For Beginners: A Primer For The Novice Drafter
Author : Michael O’Rourke