Princeton Library Begins 'Authors of Autumn' Series

Candace Braun

Facing a new school year in the coming weeks, the Princeton Public Library will hold some new programs and have some new guest speakers this fall, including a month-long feature on Isaac Bashevis Singer, a visit from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, and a "Meet the Authors" series for children.

The extent of programs the library is now able to offer is in large part due to its new, larger facility, said Readers Services Coordinator Susan Roth.

"We now have a community room that is a good size and can accommodate so many people," she said.

But while the library is looking forward to a late October opening for its new plaza, it has no programs currently scheduled for the outdoor area. Ms. Roth said that library staff wants to wait until the plaza is open and the weather is ideal for an outdoor event: "We definitely will be planning programs for the plaza ... by the spring."

She added that the location would be ideal for some of the library's Unquiet Friday events: "They would be great in an open air venue."

The first of this fall's new programs will be on September 11, when the New Jersey Libraries September Project sponsors a day of discussions on voting and democracy at the library. Edward W. Felten, professor of computer science at Princeton University, will be the featured speaker in a 3 p.m. forum on the 2004 elections. The library will also provide a voter registration table from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day and for the following week.

Not to be confused with the artists' garden on Paul Robeson Place, another new series the library will be starting this fall is called the Princeton Writers' Block. A group of local playwrights and actors will present a series of readings of classic and contemporary plays, followed by a discussion with the actors.

The first Writers' Block will take place on September 30, when Elective Behaviors will be the topic of discussion. The play's examination of sexual and political behaviors during an election year will be discussed by several actors, as well as the playwright and co-founder of Writers' Block, Alan Kitty.

The series will continue on November 4 with a discussion on Shakespeare's works that will feature monologues and scenes acted out by Julia Poulos, John Werren, Mary Greenberg, and Alan Kitty.

Another new series at the library this fall is McCarter Live, where the actors and producers of forthcoming plays at McCarter Theatre will hold a discussion of the play with interested library patrons. The program, which kicked off on Monday with The Last of the Boys, will continue on September 23, with a discussion on Zora Neale Hurston's Polk County: A Play With Music, which "charts the passions and poetry of sawmill camp workers deep in the woods of central Florida," according to the library's fall newsletter.

The library will host four programs throughout October dedicated to Isaac Bashevis Singer, as part of a nationwide library program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Titled, "Becoming An American Writer: The Life and Works of Isaac Bashevis Singer," the program will include an introduction by Esther H. Schor, a professor of English at Princeton University, on October 7; a discussion of Gimpel The Fool and Other Stories with Princeton-area teacher and filmmaker Gertrude Dubrovsky on October 14; a discussion on how to adapt Mr. Singer's Meshugah for the stage by McCarter Theatre Director Emily Mann on October 21; and an October 28 discussion of the impact Mr. Singer's contributions have had on the Jewish immigrant community led by Alana Newhouse, arts and culture editor for The Forward.

Children will have the opportunity to meet non-fiction authors in the story room this fall as part of a children's Meet the Author series. One author will be featured each month, beginning on September 18 with Betty Tatham, author of How Animals Shed Their Skin and Penguin Chick; followed on October 9 by Deborah Heiligman, author of From Caterpillar to Butterfly and Honeybees; and concluding on November 13 with Wendy Pfeffer, author of Dolphin Talk; Whistles, Clicks, and Clapping Jaws and A Log's Life.

Returning Programs

Writers for this fall's Writers Talking Series will include Landon Y. Jones, author of William Clark and the Shaping of the West on September 29, and A. Lloyd and Dorothy C. Moote, authors of The Great Plague: The Story of London's Most Deadly Year on November 16.

A large turnout is expected for the October 19 talk by Paul Krugman. Those who wish to attend the talk must obtain a ticket from the library prior to the event, said Ms. Roth. Library cardholders will have first priority, and may obtain up to two tickets per person beginning October 1. Those without library cards will be put on a wait list and notified on the morning of the talk if there are tickets remaining.

"We anticipate a large audience for that event," said Ms. Roth.

Jacqueline Woodson will be the library's 2004 Writer in Residence. Author of more than a dozen books for young adults, she will visit students at John Witherspoon Middle School and Princeton High School during the day, and will offer a program for youths and adults at the library on November 18.

Between the Lines, the library's contemporary book discussions led by Ms. Roth, will feature The Known World, by Edward P. Jones on September 23, Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer on October 14, and Clara, by Janice Galloway on November 18.

The U.S. 1 Poets Invite, a cooperative with the Arts Council that began after the library opened its new facility in May, will continue this fall with readings from invited poets, followed by an "open mic night" for residents who would like to share their own poetry. James Richardson and Winifred Hughes will read on September 22, Alicia Ostriker and Elizabeth Anne Socolow on October 27, and Jane Rawlings on November 17.

Children's story times in Japanese, French, and Spanish will also be held this fall at the library.

Copies of the library's fall newsletter will soon be available to Princeton residents and library patrons. For more information, call (609) 924-9529, or visit www.princetonlibrary.org.