Author Visits and Big Read Programs Highlight Insects and Illness
Crawly bugs and flu bugs made for a bad winter, but they make for a great story lineup at the library this week.
On Tuesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. in the Library Center auditorium, it’s “Crawly School for Bugs…An Evening with David Harrison” for all ages. The Springfield award-winning author and poet will introduce his latest books including the Crawly School, where insects go to learn their trades. He’ll do readings, talk about writing children’s literature, take questions and have a drawing for four autographed books.
Then it’s on to “Station Eleven,” the Big Read title that has inspired lots of April programs including the 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, visit in the Library Center auditorium by international best-selling author Emily St. John Mandel. After an onstage, interview-style program and Q&A, her books will be available for purchase and signing.
The story occurs 20 years after a flu pandemic has killed most of the world’s population, and follows several characters including the Traveling Symphony – a group of musicians and actors who perform for survivor settlements to keep art alive, because “Survival is Insufficient.”
Mandel says her novel combines her interest in theater and its devoted actors; her appreciation for the everyday conveniences of modern life and the question: What would we do in their absence?
Before she takes the stage on Thursday, April 12, the Ozarks Technical Community College Fine Arts Department will bring The Traveling Symphony Showcase at 6 p.m. in the auditorium. This theater project, directed by Jonathan Herbert, will perform excerpts from the book’s Traveling Symphony repertoire.
From 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 14, in the Library Center auditorium, hear Pandemics: The Big Picture. Inspired by “Station Eleven,” Deborah Corcoran, instructor from Missouri State University’s Department of Geography, Geology and Planning, will talk about historic attempts to cope with pandemics including the persecution of immigrant and minority populations and nursery rhymes. Russell Conroy, director of Safety and Emergency Preparedness at Mercy Hospital-Springfield, will explain how local hospitals would respond to a pandemic.
See more Big Read events at thelibrary.org/bigread or call 882-0714.
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