Was Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century New England philosopher and essayist, more a boatman than a woodsman?
Robert M. Thorson, a geology professor at UConn’s Center for Integrative Geosciences and a columnist for The Courant, tackles that question in his second book about Thoreau, whose bicentennial is being celebrated this year. The book will be launched Tuesday, April 18, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the Barnes & Noble UConn Bookstore, 1 Royce Circle, Storrs. Pro tip: Thorson says “boatman” is correct.
“The Boatman: Henry David Thoreau’s River Years” (Harvard University Press, $29.95) explores Thoreau’s work as a naturalist, scientist and authority on rivers, based on Thorson’s research into Thoreau’s journal observations about Walden Pond and travels in the Concord River Valley. Information: 860-486-8525 or facebook.com.
‘The Bridge Ladies’
Author Betsy Lerner will discuss her memoir, “The Bridge Ladies” (Harper Wave, $25.99), on Thursday, April 20, at 7 p.m. ,at Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford. The book tells how Lerner joined her mother’s 50-year-old bridge club, which helped repair their relationship and taught her a lot about life. The talk is presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford and the synagogue. Reservations: lnewman@jewishhartford.org or 860-727-6170.
Poetry Month Events
April is National Poetry Month. Here are some events:
An Earth Day program combining poetry with a trail hike will take place Saturday, April 22, at 10 a.m. David Leff, the New England Trail poet-in-residence, will lead the moderate hike of up to 4.5 miles through Penwood State Park in Bloomfield, starting from the parking lot on Route 185. Nature poets Amy Nawrocki and Virginia Shreve will take part. Participants will learn about the area’s cultural and natural history, have a brown bag lunch and read poems. Information and registration: 860-346-8733 or ctwoodlands.org.
The Book Club Bookstore & More will celebrate National Poetry Month at a free Poets in Person event Friday, April 21, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at its new location, 869 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor. Folk singer-songwriter Bill Benson will perform and poets Donna Marie Merritt, Joe Adomavicia and David Garnes will read. 860-432-7411 or bookclubct.com.
Katha Pollitt, winner of a National Book Critics Circle award for poetry, and the Mike Casey Trio will be the guests on Friday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m., at Mystic Museum of Art, 9 Water St., Mystic, presented by Arts Cafe Mystic. Admission is $10; free for students. 860-912-2444.
The Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series resumes Thursday, April 20, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., at Manchester Community College’s performance space, MCC on Main, 903 Main St., Manchester. Poet and translator Patrick Barron, of the University of Massachusetts, will read, followed by the jazz trio MX = Trio Data at 8 p.m. manchestercc.edu/mmg or 860-512-2824.
The Wintonbury Poetry Series will end its 20th anniversary year with a free program on Thursday, April 20, at 7 p.m., at the McMahon Wintonbury Library, 1015 Blue Hills Ave., Bloomfield. “An Evening with the Laureates” will present state poet laureate Rennie Mcquilkin and West Hartford’s first poet laureate, Maria Sassi, followed by an open mike. Information: 860-242-0041 or prosserlibrary.info.
A Senior Voices At Village Gate free poetry showcase will be held Saturday, April 22, at 2 p.m., at 88 Scott Swamp Road. Farmington. The Village Gate Poets have worked with local performance poet Andy Weil for seven years and some have been published. Information: 860-676-8626.
“Inside Emily Dickinson: Her Poetry and Her Life,” an interactive performance by actress Ginger Grace, will take place Saturday, April 22, at 2 p.m., at Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St., East Haven. The performance is based on Dickinson’s letters and her work. Registration: 203-468-3890 or cgwiazda@hagamanlibrary.org.
A free poetry reading and jazz standards will be offered by poet Geri Radasci Tuesday, April 18, at 2 p.m., at Barney Library, 71 Main St., Farmington. Radacsi, author of four collections, will read jazz-inspired poems followed by musical excerpts from great musicians. 860-673-6791.
Together We Rise CT will host a free Earth Day Poetry Read-In Saturday, April 22, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Two Wrasslin’ Cats Coffee House, 374 Town St., East Haddam. Participants may read their own poems or poetry by others that celebrate the earth or explore threats to our planet. Information: 860-873-1472 or togetherwerisect.com.
Delicious Discussions Luncheon
Otis Library in Norwich and Bank Square Books of Mystic will present a Women’s History Month Delicious Discussions Luncheon with Harry Haskell on Thursday, April 20, at noon, at Mohegan Sun Casino, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville.
Haskell, of Guilford, will talk about “Maiden Flight” (Chicago Review Press, $15.99), about international celebrity Katherine Wright Haskell, the sister of the aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers. She broke with her possessive brother Orville in 1926 to marry Henry J. Haskell, a newspaper editor and the author’s grandfather. Harry Haskell is a prize-winning author, editor and cultural commentator.
Tickets are $40 and include his talk, a copy of the book and a buffet lunch at Michael Jordan’s Steak House at Mohegan Sun. Reservations: Kate McDonald at Otis Library: 860-889-2365 x 127 or kmcdonald@otis.lioninc.org.
Where Angels Live
Bank Square Books, 53 W Main St., Mystic, will host firefighter and humanitarian Bill Lavin, the author of “Where Angels Live, Work and Play” (Where Angels Play Foundation, $26), on Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m.
The book tells how firefighters and other volunteers worked with the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims in Newtown to build playgrounds in 26 communities in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York that were hit by Hurricane Sandy. Each playground is dedicated in memory of one of the victims. 860-536-3795 and banksquarebooks.com.
Authors At R.J. Julia
R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, will present a free talk Saturday, April 22, at 5 p.m, by Denver journalist and lawyer Johanna Garton on “Awakening East: Moving Our Adopted Children Back to China” (Marcinson Press, $17.99). The book tells how she and her husband took their adopted son and daughter to China, their native land, for a year’s visit.
The bookstore will host a free talk by Jennifer Ackerman, author of “The Genius of Birds” (Penguin Books, $17), on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 7 p.m.. The book explores the intelligence and social behaviors of birds worldwide. Ackerman has published many books and articles about science, nature and biology.
All R.J. Julia events require registration: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
On Wednesday, April 19, Ackerman will give a talk at 6 p.m., following an optional nature walk at 5 p.m., at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, 109 Pequotsepos Road, Mystic. A $10 donation is suggested. 860-536-1216.
Dinosaurs And Mud Balls
Richard Little, author of “Dinosaurs, Dunes, and Drifting Continents — Geology of the Connecticut River Valley” (Earth View, $15), will give a free talk at the Kent Memorial Library, in Suffield, on Saturday, April 22 , at 1 p.m., at Suffield Senior Center, 145 Bridge St. Little will discuss the half-billion years of geologic history of the Suffield area and display samples of rare Mesozoic armored mud balls. Registration: 860-668-3896 or suffield-library.org.
‘Notes On A Banana’
David Leite will discuss “Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic Depression” (Dey Street Books, $26.99) at the Hickory Stick Bookshop on Saturday, April 22, at 4 p.m. Light refreshments made from recipes in his award-winning cookbook, “The New Portuguese Table,” will be served.
Leite founded the James Beard Award-winning website leitesculinaria.com, and his book is a candid and often comic memoir of his family, food, sexual identity and manic depressive illness. 860-868-0525 or hickorystickbookshop.com.
History Of Abolition
Manisha Sinha will visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford, on Wednesday, April 19, for a free talk from 7 to 8:30 p.m. about “The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition” (Yale University Press, $26). Her book describes the often ignored role of African Americans in the abolition of slavery from the American Revolution through the Civil War. She is a professor of early American history at UConn. Reservations: HarrietBeecherStowe.org/Calendar or 860-522-9258.
Japan Book Talk
The Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, continues its free series on books with Japan as a setting on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m., with a discussion of “The Commoner” by John Burnham Schwartz. 860-673-9712 or avonctlibrary.info.
The Author’s Table
The Author’s Table, a free showcase for local authors hosted by Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., continues on Tuesday, April 18, from 3 to 6 p.m., with Laura Woolett, author of “Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth” (Chicago Review Press, $18.95). The book is an exploration of the 1944 circus fire in Hartford. 860-695-6300 or hplct.org.
Gamboa At Trinity
Santiago Gamboa, a novelist and short-story writer from Bogotá, Colombia, will give a free lecture on “The Art of Narration and Travel Writing (a Latin American Writer in India)” on Wednesday, April 19, at 4:30 p.m., at McCook Auditorium at Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford.
Gamboa’s talk will be in Spanish, with an English translation projected on a screen and a question and answer session in English, followed by a reception. He has published eight novels and other literary works and has served as a diplomat. 860-297-2140 or trincoll.edu.
Why You Do It
Richard H. Pfau, an author, professor and researcher into human behavior, will give a free talk titled “Your Behavior: Why You Do the Things You Do,” at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 20, at Mansfield Public Library, 54 Warrenville Road, Mansfield Center. His new book, which challenges older psychological theories, is “Your Behavior: Understanding and Changing the Things You Do” (Paragon House, $24.95). 860-423-2501 or MansfieldLibrary@MansfieldCT.org.
