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AN EVENING with AMERICAN AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, and PROFESSOR PAUL HENDRICKSON- JUNE 20, 2024

PAUL HENDRICKSON – A BENEFIT FOR GRAVES LIBRARY – JUNE 20, 2024

 

We are thrilled to welcome celebrated author Paul Hendrickson to our 13th annual Author Event on June 20 at 5:00 PM at the historic Kennebunk River Club Casino, 116 Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport.

Paul Hendrickson is an American author, journalist, and professor. His eighth book, Fighting the Night, will be published on May 7, 2024. It is an account of his father flying Black Widow night fighters on Iwo Jima in the last part of World War II. The book will come out on the twenty-first anniversary of his father’s death.

He is the author of the 2011 New York Times best seller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost. For the 2004 book Bound for Glory: America in Color 1939-43, Hendrickson wrote the introduction and accompanying text. In 2003, he won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy. His 1996 work about Vietnam, The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War, was a finalist for the National Book Award. He is the recipient of writing fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lyndhurst Foundation, and the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, Hendrickson was a staff feature writer at the Washington Post from 1977 to 2001.

Hendrickson was born in California but grew up in the Midwest and in a Catholic seminary in the Deep South, where he studied for seven years for the missionary priesthood. This became the subject of his first book, published in 1983: Seminary: A Search. He is also the author of Looking for the Light: The Hidden Life and Art of Marion Post Wolcott, a finalist for the 1992 National Book Critics Circle Award.

In 2009, Hendrickson was a joint visiting professor of documentary practice at Duke University and of American studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Hendrickson has degrees in English from St. Louis University and Pennsylvania State University. He is married and has two grown sons and lives with his wife, Cecilia, outside Philadelphia.

“We are honored to have Mr. Hendrickson join us this year,” said Graves Library Executive Director Mary-Lou Boucouvalas. “We are also extremely grateful for the wonderful community support provided by our event sponsors. One hundred percent of the funds raised will support the ongoing operations of the Library.”

This special fundraiser is being underwritten by Spinnaker Trust, along with the Kennebunk River Club, Lupine Books, Allyn and Norma Lamb, Mike and Denise Iafolla, Robert and Marjie Dennis, Mutasia, Billy and Rosemary Shore, Tom and Sarah Vander Schaaff, Kitchen Chicks Catering, the Colony Hotel, Edison Press, Hurlbutt Designs, Schooner Eleanor, SoPo Wine Company, Maine & Vine, and The Wine House on Main.

The ticket price of $75 includes an autographed copy of Fighting the Night. Tickets can be purchased at Graves Library and online through Eventbrite. Call (207) 967-2778 or visit our website at www.graveslibrary.org for more information. Seating is limited.

PROGRAM FOR THE EVENING

5:00 PM – 5:45 PM                       DOORS OPEN PROMPTLY AT 5:00 PM.   RECEPTION WITH WINE AND LIGHT REFRESHMENT

5:50 PM – 6:00 PM                       WELCOME and THANK YOU TO SPONSORS

6:00 PM – 6:10 PM                       ANNOUNCEMENT OF JOYCE BUTLER STUDENT HISTORY AWARD

6:10 PM – 6:15 PM                       INTRODUCTION OF PAUL HENDRICKSON

6:15 PM – 7:00 PM                       INTERVIEW WITH PAUL HENDRICKSON

7:00 PM – 7:30 PM                       BOOK SIGNING

POETRY BASH – APRIL 14 @ 2 PM

Annual Poetry Bash

Sunday, April 14 @ 2 PM

Please join Graves Library for National Poetry Month and get back in touch with your inner poet. The former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins once wrote: “All babies are born with a knowledge of poetry because the lub-dub of the mother’s heart is in iambic meter.” Bring a poem to read that you have written, share a favorite poem by another author, or just hunker down and listen. Inaugurated in April 1996, National Poetry Month brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Be part of the celebration! Light refreshments will be served.

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is located at 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport. For further information, please call 967-2778 or visit our website at www.graveslibrary.org.

POP-UP VISIT WITH TV CELEBRITIES LISA LUCAS & DEBRIANNA MANSINI – APRIL 21 @ 2PM

A Pop-up Visit with Television Celebrities Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini

Sunday, April 21, 2 PM

The Stars of Corona Kitchen (Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini) will visit the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library on Sunday, April 21, at 2:00 PM. These ladies know that good food and good stories are like a warm, healing hug. Add seasoning with a dash of hilarious personal anecdotes, and the day’s troubles seem to fade. Outspoken television pros Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini shared their kitchens, hearts, anxieties, and good humor as they broadcast their culinary adventures during the pandemic lockdown and the following dark days. In the process, they connected with a hungry audience that spans the globe. In “That Time We Ate Our Feelings: 150 Recipes for Comfort Food from the Heart”, Lisa and Debrianna share their most beloved dishes along with never-before-shared creations and top-voted dishes by members of the Corona Kitchen community. The result is a colorful and cathartic read with warming, judgment-free, mouthwatering recipes that prove a good meal heals all. This quirky, hands-on cookbook features original recipes for all meals of the day, plus snacks, side dishes, cocktails, mocktails, and options for vegans, vegetarians, gluten-free, and dairy-free diets. It is guaranteed to meet you where you are, whether you are stressed, sad, thriving, or nostalgic.  All you must bring to the table is yourself! Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing after the event. The Graves Library Snack Team will provide light refreshments. Parking is available along Maine Street, the North Street Fire Station Parking Lot, and Consolidated School (Route 9). Please enter through the white door in the Parking Lot.

 

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is located at 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport. For further information, please call 967-2778 or visit our website at www.graveslibrary.org.

MAINE AUTHOR BARBARA WALSH – APRIL 25 @ 3:15PM

Maine Author Barbara Walsh

Thursday, April 25, 3:15 PM

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh will discuss her new book “Spencer: Boston’s Beloved Marathon Dog,” a story of hope, inspiration, and a dog who lit up the world with his love. With a heart as big as the Boston skyline, Spencer gained worldwide fame as the beloved Boston Marathon dog. For eight years, the golden retriever cheered for thousands of runners in the cold, freezing rain, even as he recovered from cancer. Spencer began rooting for Boston Marathon runners in 2015. At Mile 3, Spencer held his Boston Strong flags, inspiring athletes and fans to be brave and never give up. Honored as the marathon’s official race dog in 2022, Spencer grew so famous that runners lined up to hug and photograph their loyal fan.

 

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is located at 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport. For further information, please call 967-2778 or visit our website at www.graveslibrary.org.

AUTHOR GIGI GEORGES – MAY 11

Author Gigi Georges

Please join us for the next event in our 2024 Patsy Bray Mahoney Lecture Series Author Gigi Georges on Saturday, May 11, at 2 PM. Gigi Georges, Ph.D., turned to narrative non-fiction writing after an extensive career in politics, public service, and academia. A former White House Special Assistant to the President and U.S. Senate State Director, she has taught political science at Boston College, served as a Program Director for the Harvard Kennedy School, and been a Managing Director of The Glover Park Group—a leading national public affairs firm. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she lives with her husband and eleven-year-old daughter in New Hampshire and Downeast Maine. “Downeast” honors the lives of five remarkable young women and, through them, the paths of young women across rural America. It shines a light, too often obscured, on the indispensable role contemporary rural women play in their communities.

Copies of the book will also be available for sale and signing after the event. The Graves Library Snack Team will provide light refreshments. Parking is available along Maine Street, the North Street Fire Station Parking Lot, and Consolidated School (Route 9).  If the weather is bad, please check your local television stations for updates on our listings or email us at mlbgraves@gmail.com. Please enter through the white door in the Parking Lot. The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is at 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport. For further information, please call 967-2778 or visit our website at www.graveslibrary.org.

THE ARTISTS AT GRAVES: A COMMUNITY ART SHOW

 

Come celebrate our local talent and support our community artists.  Fifty percent of all proceeds benefit the Library.

 

The Artists at Graves Library exhibition will present a diverse range of artistic styles and mediums including acrylic abstractions, watercolor landscapes, mixed media, and photography. Please call (207) 967-2778 for more information.