October 21 - November 8, 2009

"Two weeks of talks, readings, and discussion celebrating the written and the spoken word."

Most events are free and the Chef Fest at Verrill Farm, which was canceled last year due to the fire, will be held Saturday, October 24 at 12-2:00 pm. Howard Dean will be the opening day speaker and will address the health care debate. A print copy of the newspaper supplement detailing the Concord Festival of Authors events is available in the L-S Library.

Author of BLACK WALDEN to speak in Concord

A lecture by Dr. Elise Lemire, author of Black Walden (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009), will be held on Sat., Oct 17 at 5:00 p.m. in the main lobby of the Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main St., Concord, MA. It is free and open to the public. Dr. Lemire, who grew up in Lincoln, is an Associate Professor of Literature, School of Humanities, Purchase College, SUNY. Black Walden was designated a “We the People” project by the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Press release from actionunlimited.com)

A copy of Black Walden is available for check out at the L-S Library.

U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Glück @ Concord Public Library

U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Glück will kick off this year's Poetry Reading series on Saturday, September 26th at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord Library. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. Her new book, A Village Life, was reviewed in the New York Times. [Read review] Some of her award winning books include: The Wild Iris (Pulitzer Prize) Averno (National Book Award finalist) The Seven Ages (New Yorker's Book Award in Poetry) Ararat (Library of Congress Prize for Poetry) Triumph of Achilles (National Book Critics Award)

No More Books?

"Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine..."

This excerpt from today's Globe about the new Cushing Academy Learning Center, formerly known as the library, has generated 303 reader comments as of 3:20 PM. To read the entire article: Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books. - The Boston Globe