Patti Smith, who merged poetry and punk rock in the 1970s to create hit albums and a National Book Award-winning memoir, will appear in conversation with WNPR personality Colin McEnroe in a Mark My Words event Oct. 13 at 7 p.m., at Immanuel Congregational Church, 10 Woodland St., Hartford.
The Mark Twain House & Museum will present the program, which will focus on Smith’s second memoir, “M Train,” which follows her 2010 prize-winning memoir, “Just Kids.”
Tickets are $25, which includes a copy of “M Train.” Tickets and information: 860-280-3112 or marktwainhouse.org.
On Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., the Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford, will present a free Book/Mark Event with editor, journalist, novelist and poet Terry McDonell, whose memoir is “The Accidental Life: An Editor’s Notes on Writing and Writers” (Knopf, $26.95). It traces his experiences as a magazine editor at Outside, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Sports Illustrated and his work and friendships with writers P.J. O’Rourke, Tom McGuane, Jim Harrison, Richard Ford, James Salter, Rick Reilly and Hunter S. Thompson. Reservations: 860-247-0998 or marktwainhouse.org.
Reading Wright
The Avon Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, will sponsor a free Avon Reads One Book community reading project centering on “The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster, $17.99), with events in October, November and December. Attendees are urged to read the book. To reserve a copy from the library, call 860-673-9712.
The kickoff talk, on “The Wright Brothers: From the Family Circle to the World” will be Oct. 29, at 1 p.m., by Tom Crouch, senior curator of the Smithsonian National and Air Museum. Other events include a bus trip to the New England Air Museum, talks on aviation and bicycle history, birds, and the aerial age, and exhibits and a project to build a quarter-scale model of the 1903 Wright Flyer. Information: avonctlibrary.info.
Bradford At Welles Library
Lucy Robbins Welles Library, 95 Cedar St. Newington, will host a free author talk Oct. 13 at 1 p.m., by Laura Bradford, who writes “cozy” mysteries. Bradford is a best-selling and award-winning author whose books include the Emergency Dessert Squad and Amish Mysteries series. Registration is required: 860-665-8707.
One Book One Bloomfield
The Bloomfield Public Libraries’ fifth annual One Book One Bloomfield program, a community discussion centering on “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates” (Spiegel & Grau, $26), will continue with free events.
The book, by Wes Moore, is the true story of two boys in Baltimore with the same name. Both were fatherless and had early run-ins with the law, but while the author became a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow and business leader, the other became a murderer serving a life sentence.
A program of personal stories about being mentored will be held Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m., at Prosser Library, 1 Tunxis Ave., Bloomfield. Book discussions led by law librarian Catherine Capuano will follow on Oct. 13 and 19, at 6:30 p.m, at McMahon Winterbury and Prosser libraries respectively, and a finale will take place Oct. 25 at Prosser Library.
Information: 860-243-9721 or prosserlibrary.info.
Poetry Read-In
Connecticut poets Ginny Lowe Connors and Joan Hofmann will present poetry readings and an open mic Oct. 14, at 6 p.m., at the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, 227 S. Main St., West Hartford. Former West Hartford Poet Laureate Maria Sassi will host.
Connors is also a former West Hartford poet laureate and has published three poetry collections. She won a Sunken Garden Poetry Prize for her chapbook, “Under the Porch.” Hofmann, poet laureate of Canton, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Saint Joseph. Her collection, “Coming Back,” was published in 2014. Sassi is a a prize-winning poet and playwright.
Open mike sign-up will begin at 5:30 p.m. The event is free, but donations will be accepted.
Information: noahwebsterhouse.org or 860-521-5362.
‘Witness Chair’
Sherry Horton, widow of artist and Hartford Art School faculty member Chris Horton, will sign copies of her memoir about his work and their life at a reception for an art sale and exhibit to benefit the Chris Horton Scholarship Fund Oct. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school’s Silpe Gallery at the University of Hartford,, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford.
The Chris Horton Legacy exhibition will run through Oct. 30.
“Witness Chair: A Memoir of Art, Marriage, and Loss” (Shanti Arts, $21.95), is her memoir of their 40 years together and his last project before he died of leukemia, the preparation of an art installation to commemorate the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Information: 860-768-4393.
Authors At R.J. Julia
Books about driving in Italy, enjoying the empty nest, the sister of the Wright brothers, a pop-up history of LEGOs and a haunted life will be discussed in free events at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. Reservations are required: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
On Oct. 9, at 3 p.m., two authors will speak. John Tabellione, an award-winning freelance writer, will talk about the thrills and troubles of driving a car in Italy, as he describes in his unusual travel book, “Pit Stops, Pitfalls and Olive Pits” (Gemelli Press, $14.95). Diane Stolz will discuss her humorous and empathetic book on how parents’ lives change when their kids grow up and move out, in “Empty Nesters: … Lose the Guilt!” (CreateSpace, $12.99).
On Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., Suzanne Palmieri, of North Branford, who also writes as Suzanne Hayes, will discuss her latest novel, “The Witch House of Persimmon Point” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $16.99). The story traces a family whose history includes hauntings, magical powers and a woman who overcomes tremendous odds to build a new life.
On Oct. 13, at 5:30 p.m., best-selling paper engineer and children’s book author Matthew Reinhart will talk about “LEGO Pop-Up” (Scholastic Inc., $29.99), which tells the story of the famous toy company with pop-ups, pull tabs, turning wheels and other interactive devices. Kids ages 7 or older are welcome.
On Oct. 13, at 7 p.m., Harry Haskell, of Guilford, will talk about his biography, “Maiden Flight” (Chicago Review Press, $15.99), the story of international celebrity Katherine Wright Haskell, the sister of the famous aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers, who broke with her possessive brother in 1026 to marry Harry Haskell, a newspaper editor. The author is Haskell’s grandson.
Riverwood Poetry Series
On Oct. 13, at 7 p.m., poet Joy Ladin will give a free reading and speak at a Riverwood Poetry Series event at Universalist Church of West Hartford, 433 Fern St., West Hartford.
Ladin will speak about “Recognizing Ourselves: Poetry of Gender, Identity, and Acceptance.” She has published seven poetry collections and a memoir of gender transition, “Through the Door of Life.” She is a professor of English at Yeshiva University.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with an open mike (poems about “Gender, Identity, and Acceptance” are encouraged but not required) at 7 p.m., followed by her talk. Information: riverwoodpoetry.org.
Bookstore & More
Book Club Bookstore & More, 100 Main St. in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor, will present a free talk Oct. 15 at 10:30 a.m., by Martin Henley, author of “Scoundrels Who Made America Great”(Abbott Press, 17.99), which tells true stories of men labeled “disreputable” who did heroic things. Henley is a professor emeritus from Westfield State University in Massachusetts who has published four books. Information: 860-623-5100 or bookclubct.com.
Bob Backlund In Suffield
Bob Backlund, former world champion and longtime professional with the World Wrestling Federation, will give a free talk about his autobiography, “Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling’s World Champion” (Sports Publishing, $26.99) Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at Suffield Senior Center, 145 Bridge St., Suffield, in a program presented by The Friends of Kent Memorial Library. Backlund was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame in 2013. Registration: suffield-library.org or 860-668-3896.
Mystery Book Discussions
Carole Shmurak, of Farmington, who writes the Susan Lombardi mystery novels, will lead two free discussions:
On Oct. 10, at noon, Shmurak will continue her Simsbury Mystery Group: Murder in the Windy City series, with “Hard Road” by Barbara D’Amato at Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury. Information: 860-658-7663.
On Oct. 13, at 3 p.m., she will lead a discussion of “Bones and Silence” by Reginald Hill for the Southington Mystery Group: An Inspector Calls series, Part 2, at Southington Public Library, 255 Main St., Southington. Information: 860-628-0947.
Central Authors
Central Authors, a free series featuring books by Central Connecticut State University faculty, staff members or alumni, will continue Oct. 12 at 12:15 p.m. in the CCSU Bookstore in the Student Center on the campus, 1615 Stanley St., New Britain.
Alumnus Dennis Quinn, author of “Macrophotography: Create Larger-Than-Life Photographs of Nature’s Smallest Subjects” (Amherst Media, $34.95) will speak. Quinn teaches General Zoology and Field Biology at Naugatuck Valley Community College, and his work has been exhibited and published widely. Information: 860-832-2759.
![Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405040611TMS_____FASTCOMP_19685_ctnfc_media.jpg?w=620 "Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]")