Author Visits & Talks

Paula J. Johnson, The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us, Tuesday, April 2nd   Virtually step into the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History with Curator Paula Johnson as she discusses the book Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us.   American Table is a sweeping history of food and culture that summons everyone to the table for a fresh look at some of the people, ingredients, events, and movements that have shaped how and what we eat. Johnson, curator and project director of the American Food History Project, will discuss several stories featured in the volume, with an emphasis on those that intersect most directly with the Smithsonian’s research, collecting, and programming around food history.   After this enlightening, enriching, and entertaining webinar, you can cook your way through the recipes that are featured in the volume that reflect American history and culture. Hungry for more? Register now: libraryc.org/tiltonlibrary/44621   Funded by the Friends of Tilton Library

As part of the Library Speakers Consortium, join us for a one-of-a-kind conversation with National Book Award-winner Colum McCann as he is joined by Diane Foley, the inspiration behind the heartrending book American Mother, the story of a mother who, in the course of confronting her son’s killer, gets to the elemental heart of violence and forgiveness. Diane Foley is the mother of Jim, a freelance journalist captured and beheaded by ISIS in 2014, an image that became one of the most iconic of the 21st century. Seven years later, Diane gets the chance to spend three days with the murderer of her son in a Virginia courthouse, inspiring her to tell her life story. https://libraryc.org/tiltonlibrary/45026 Funded by The Friends of Tilton Library

As part of the Library Speakers Consortium, join us as we chat with award-winning and bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez about her newest novel Anita de Monte Laughs Last. In 1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name had been all but forgotten―certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student was preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist. https://libraryc.org/tiltonlibrary/45431 Funded by The Friends of Tilton Library