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Arts & Entertainment

Author, Author

Two author readings coming up next week, plus an agricultural art reception at the library.

 

Have I got a deal for you! Today I’m here to let you know about not one but TWO author talks, since we’re heading into that time of year when the chill in the air makes you want to just curl up with a blanket and a good book. And we certainly live in the right, literary town for that.

The first one is part of the library’s ongoing Thursday Author Talk series, and features distinguished author Margot Livesey, currently a fellow at the Radcliffe Writers’ Institute as well as a writer-in-residence at Emerson College in Boston. She will be reading from her newest book, published this year, “The Flight of Gemma Hardy,” which won the New England Independent Booksellers Award. I happened to pick it up over the summer – from our local library, of course – and found it an interesting and compelling read.

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Livesey currently lives in Cambridge, but she was born and raised on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has written a slew of books, including a collection of stories as well as six novels, among them “Eva Moves the Furniture” and “The House on Fortune Street” which won the L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award. She also has an impressive teaching resume, having taught in a number of writing programs including the well-known Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Boston University, and the Warren Wilson MFA program.

The reading takes place next Thursday, October 11, at 7:30 in the Periodical Room of the library – that’s up on the second floor. Not only will she read from the book, but will answer questions afterward. She’ll also have books for sale, both the paperback version of “Gemma” and hardcover versions of her earlier books, all for $15 each. The event, as always, is free and open to the public, courtesy of the Friends of the Library. Gotta love having friends like those!

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Take two

The second author event takes place on the same day, October 11, but it’s from 4 to 6 pm – so you can hit both and even grab a bite in between – and it’s at a private home. Di and Jack Clymer, who live at 13 River Street, are hosting a reception for David Marquet, who just published a book called “Turn the Ship Around: How to Create Leadership at Every Level.”

I haven’t had a chance to read this book, but just from reading the description at Amazon, I’m completely intrigued. The book is based on David’s experience as captain of the nuclear submarine, USS Santa Fe, which is impressive enough. But he was able to turn around a really difficult situation while on the ship by shifting the paradigm around leadership and empowering the people around him. Stephen Covey, the man who developed the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” had nothing but high praise for David’s approach, and in fact wrote the foreword for the book. That’s saying something.

Even cooler, David is a Concord Carlisle graduate, proof that people can leave here, do something amazing, and then come back to tell us all about it. Di and Jack are very generous to open their home to honor David; feel free to drop by next Thursday between 4 and 6 and chat with David about his experience, and his ideas on reengineering leadership. And read his book!

One last thing

In case you don’t know, the library has an art gallery upstairs, and the collection up there changes regularly. Starting tomorrow, October 5, it will be featuring images, documents, maps, aerial photographs and ephemera on “This Garden Spot of Concord, Mass.: Farming at Nine Acre Corner,” from the library’s Special Collections. To kick this off, the library is hosting an opening reception tomorrow night from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Main Library Lobby – for free and with light refreshments.

They will also have a speaker, Kristin (Anderson) Emerson, who will reminisce about her grandmother, Esther Wheeler Anderson, and life at the Wheeler family farm at Nine Acre Corner, a very cool way to connect the past to the present.

This exhibit is offered in collaboration with the Concord Museum’s upcoming exhibit, The Greatest Source of Wealth: Agriculture in Concord, which opens October 12.

 

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at stefanieac@comcast.net and I will be happy to help you spread the good news. And follow me on Twitter: @stefanie3131.

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