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First Wednesdays 2009-10 |
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“Sharing Our Past — Shaping Our Future” Since 1974 |
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Burlington, Fletcher Free Library, 235 College Street, 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month. Library phone: 802.865.7211
October 7 ~ Lincoln on the Causes of the Civil War. Middlebury College President Emeritus and historian John McCardell explores how, in the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln infused the battle’s casualties with transcendent meaning, reshaped history, and sought to reshape historical memory. Sponsor: Community Financial Services Group
November 4 ~ A Conservationist Manifesto. Amidst ecological calamity and widespread human suffering, how should we imagine a good life? What would a truly sustainable economy look like? Author Scott Russell Sanders considers the need to shift from a culture of consumption to a culture of caretaking, from material extravagance to spiritual richness.
December 2 ~ The History of Herbal Medicine in America. Expert herbalist Rosemary Gladstar examines the early history of herbalism in America and how herbs play a role in health care today.
January 6 ~ The Two Vermonts: Then and Now. Professor and author Paul Searls examines the cultural and political perspectives that have long existed between Vermont’s “uphill” farmers married to tradition, and “downhill” villagers working for reform. Sponsor: Paul Frank + Collins
February 3 ~ Hildegard of Bingen in her Twelfth-Century World. UVM professor Anne Clark examines how the practices of medieval monasticism enabled Hildegard—visionary, mystic, nun, poet, composer, dramatist, and naturalist—to craft a life of extraordinary achievement.
March 3 ~ Why Stephen King Still Matters. UVM English Department Chair Tony Magistrate examines Stephen King within the tradition of the American Gothic, which included writers such as Poe, Hawthorne, and Twain, and considers King’s faith in individualism.
April 7 ~ Stark Decency: German POWs in a New England Village. Dartmouth professor Allen Koop tells the story of New Hampshire’s only World War II prisoner-of-war camp. He describes how ordinary people in Stark turned bitter division into camaraderie.
May 5 ~ The Intimate Privilege of Being with the Dying. Being present through the final days and at the moment of a loved one’s death can be one of the most profound experiences we have. Author Marjorie Ryerson shares compelling stories she gathered for her recent book. Program Sponsors: Community Financial Services Group
Library Sponsor: Friends of the Fletcher Free Library
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Burlington |
