Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Justin Clardy.
Hi Dr. Justin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The story of how PAGES the Reading Group got its start is also kind of a story about I how I became a Philosopher and so I will do my best to tell them in a way that makes sense.
Pages the Reading Group was established in 2014. At the time, I was in the 4th year of my PhD Program at the University of Arkansas, specializing in Ethics, Philosophy of Sex & Love, and Social & Political Philosophy and was starting to write my dissertation. Like anyone who’s ever had to write a dissertation will tell you, this was a pretty isolated time for me and a lot of the work at that point was independent. I was working on a concept so specific that I was often the only person reading a particular book or text for my research and didn’t really have a community of folks to talk to about all the dope shit I was learning.
Just about every summer while I was in graduate school, I would come home to LA–Gardena to be specific (what up Dena?). And in 2014, I got the idea to start a bookclub with some of the homies just so I could have some folks not only to share the stuff I was reading with, but that would also keep me accountable for actually doing the reading I was needing to do to finish my damn dissertation. My time in Los Angeles would be a lot more divided than it was during the academic year in Arkansas. When I was in Arkansas, I was the Philosopher, and indeed @Urfavfilosopher. At home in LA, I was a father, a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a friend, a lover, and an anti-social social butterfly (Yeah, you prolly seen me ducked off at a day party or Brunch or at Tha Juice Joint getting my live music vibes off). I needed folks to help keep me focused.
So, PAGES the Reading Group was formed. Originally, I called it PAGESLA and so folks that been rocking with us since day one will have noticed the change in branding. I had to change our direction because once I started the group, it became clearer to me what the group could become. I wanted to create 106 & Park mixed with Mr. Rodgers vibes. I wanted to create the dopest bookclub ever–we wouldn’t just read and discuss books, we’d publish playlists that compliment your reading experience, we’d discuss texts that weren’t really available to the public at large, we’d write reviews that ignited critical thought it folks, we’d talk with authors and interrogate them, we’d read good books, but we’d have better dialogue (hence our motto ‘Good Books, Better Dialogue’).
Sounds like a lot, right? It was. In the earlier stages of running Pages the Reading Group, I really struggled with managing the brand and focusing on my academic career. The reading was the easy part. I’ve always loved reading since my earliest days with my Grandmother in Gardena. I would sit in her den or her living room and lose myself in worlds that only authors could depict. I’d read the autobiographies and biographies of radical black thinkers like Kwame Ture, Huey P. Newton, and Malcolm X. But when it came to managing the brand, I was challenged by sustaining a community in digital and real-life space because of my preoccupation with graduate school.
I graduated with my PhD in 2017 and accepted an appointment at Stanford University in the same year. As I approached graduation, I thought, “Bro, I can’t wait to get through my dissertation defense and graduation so that I can really double down with my focus on PAGES.” and when the Stanford job offer came through, it was like “Well, damn, I’m finna be a Stanford so I REALLY can’t let my academic shit slip!” (Imposter syndrome was real af and hitting all kinds of different. PAGES took yet another backseat.
For three years, I struggled with balancing my academic life at Stanford with trying to not only sustain the bookclub but to GROW it. It was time for PAGES to really start taking off and we still didn’t have a website. We still didn’t have a strong enough social media following (Follow @PagesTRG across all socials), and I was losing more money investing in it than I was making from it. I thought about saying f-it and just letting the brad fade away all together.
But what kept me from that was thinking about all of the people I had met through PAGES and all the conversations that have been had. Really thinking about the true community of readers that we had and what PAGES meant to them. So, now, as we have just recently celebrated our five year anniversary, We have re-branded in a way that gives our day ones the same experiences that they are used to from pages (#Betterdialogue) while also learning about new audiences and influencers in the book world that have helped us grow the brand further. All of which we are incredibly thankful for.
PAGES is a strong as it’s ever been. After Stanford, I was appointed to the faculty of Santa Clara University—which is also in the Bay Area. The Stanford and Santa Clara appointments can’t be understated. In addition to providing me with a livable income, it brought me into a lot closer proximity to my book community in Los Angles and also have been allowing me to create one in the Bay Area, California. Additionally, with the online formatting, we are able to connect with readers in different states and countries. To this day PAGES, participation spans all three continents. Its been this expansion in reach that has motivated our recent direction from PAGES LA to PAGES the Reading Group.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a Scholar and a Creative.
First: I am Dr. Justin Clardy and I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Santa Clara University and previously held a position at Stanford University. My research centers race, non-monogamy, emotions, and social justice. In addition to my research, I maintain a blog that critically discusses race and non-monogamy in popular culture including my popular piece “Bury Me an Honest Man: On the Politics of Black Non-Monogamy” and “Disclosures” online writing series. I’ve also appeared on various media outlets including the nationally syndicated talk show The Tameron Hall Show, as an expert on non-monogamy and I tweets @urfavfilosopher.
And: I also am a creative and entrepreneur that runs PAGES the Reading Group, an online and in-real-life reading group aimed at igniting critical public dialogue over a range of literary texts. The PAGES enterprise includes the #TurningPAGES Playlist series, PAGES the Reading Group online Bookshop, PAGES Pod podcast, and Monthly discussions over books and articles. You can find us on Instagram, Twitter @PAGESTRG or on Facebook at “PAGES the Reading Group”. And visit our website, PAGEStrg.com.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up in LA, I was a pretty active kid. I played basketball from the age of 5 all the way through NCAA Basketball, winning a CIF Championship at Serra High School in 2006.
While being an athlete contributed to my popularity and social influence, I was always kinda a nerdy-jock, you know? I’ve always been an avid reader and I always did pretty well in school… and by pretty well, I mean, I was able to at least pass all my classes… Lol.
My interests were hooping, reading, and women. This last interest has led to its own sort of coming of age story of how I became polyamorous… but perhaps that’s a story for a different day.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: JustinClardy.com and PagesTrg.com
- Instagram: @Urfavfilosopher and @PAGESTRG
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PAGESTRG
- Twitter: @Urfavfilosopher and @PAGESTRG
