Harriet Beecher Stowe, Beatrice Fox Auerbach and Ella Grasso are among 12 women profiled in “Remarkable Women of Hartford” (The History Press, $19.99), a book whose author will give a free talk Wednesday, March 25, at 2 p.m. at the Community Services Building, 333 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford.
Cindy Wolfe Boynton will speak about these women, who include Revolutionary War-era Courant publisher Hannah Bunce Watson and Mary Townsend Seymour, who helped organize the first union for women and to establish the NAACP locally. Her talk is presented by The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford and Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation.
Boynton is a journalist, playwright, poet and freelance writer who has written for The New York Times and the Boston Globe and is an English and communications instructor at the Yale School of Medicine and Housatonic Community College. Information: jhsgh.org or 860-727-6170.
Shakespeare: A Festivus For The Rest Of Us
“Shakespeare: A Festivus for the Rest of Us”, a free literature, film and performance series presented by the Avon Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, will focus on the incomparable playwright and poet, William Shakespeare.
The series begins Saturday, March 28, at 2 p.m. with a talk by Robert Davis, professor of Theater at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, accompanied by Hartt students who will perform vignettes from the plays. The series continues into May. Information: 860-673-9712, ext. 234 or view avonctlibrary.info.
Writing Political Poetry
The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford, will offer instruction in Writing Political Poetry with poet and professor Edwina Trentham. The six-week course will be held on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. The cost is $265.
It will tackle the challenge of writing poetry that expresses a belief but does not preach. Students will read modern and contemporary poets, write at least 12 poems and present a public reading. Registration: 860-280-3130 or marktwainhouse.org. Information: julia.pistell@marktwainhouse.org.
Also at the Twain House & Museum, a free Book/Talk event on Wednesday, March 25, at 8 p.m. will present author and Food Network star Simon Majumdar, whose latest “Fed White and Blue: Finding America With My Fork” (Hudson Street Press, $25.95) in conversation with Jamie McDonald, owner and chef at Bears Smokehouse BBQ in Hartford and Windsor and a competitive eater featured in the first chapter of the book that explores what it really means to become an American by examining what Americans eat. Majumdar is a frequent guest on Food Network shows and is a recurring judge on “Cutthroat Kitchen”. He also is the author of “Eat My Globe” and “Eating For Britain.” Reservations: 860-280-3130 or marktwainhouse.org .
Jess Row at Authors Live!
The Noah Webster Library, 20 S. Main St., West Hartford, will host a free Authors Live! talk by Jess Row on Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m. Row will read from his new novel, “Your Face in Mine” (Riverhead, $27.95). He also has published two story collections. Named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists in 2007, he has won two Pushcart Prizes and a PEN/O. Henry Prize. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Tin House, Ploughshare and Granta and his nonfiction and criticism often appears in The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum and other publications. Information: 860-561-6950.
Shepard At Wesleyan
Sadia Shepard, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and writer of fiction and nonfiction, will give two free talks at Wesleyan University in Middletown on Wednesday, March 25.
Shepard, will speak at 4:15 p.m. at the Center for Film Studies , 301 Washington Terrace, Middletown, and her documentary film series, “The Other Half of Tomorrow,” about dynamic women in Pakistan, will be shown. Her film credits include “The September Issue,” an inside look at Vogue, and “The Education of Mohammed Hussein,” about a traditional Islamic school in Detroit.
At 8 p.m. at Russell House, 350 High St., Middletown, Shepard, who teaches creative writing at Hunter College in New York City, she will offer “Remarks on Writing: Storytelling in Film and Fiction.” She is the author of “The Girl From Foreign” (Penguin, $16), a memoir and family history. Her parents are a white Protestant from Colorado and a Muslim from Pakistan and her grandmother’s ancestors were from the Bene Israel, small Jewish community shipwrecked in India 2,000 years ago. Information: 860-685-3448 or wesleyan.edu/writingevents.
Authors At R.J. Julia
Bruce Weber, the New York Times reporter and obituary writer, will give a free talk about his book, “Life Is a Wheel: Memoirs of a Bike-Riding Obituarist” (Scribner, $17) on Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. The book details his 2011 solo bicycle ride across the United States, from Oregon to the George Washington Bridge, which became a series in the Times and the subject of his blog. Weber was a fiction editor at Esquire and author of “As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires.”
On Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m., Lisa Reisman will give a free talk about her inspiring book, “5 Months 10 Years 2 Hours” (Outpost19, $16). It tells how she quit her job as a New York attorney, then developed a malignant brain tumor but survived and went on to run a triathlon 10 years later. She is a freelance writer and also manages a band
On Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m., Rachel Brathen, author of “Yoga Girl” (Touchstone, $19.99) will speak. A yoga instructor with more than 1 million followers on Instagram, Brathen was born in Sweden and now lives on a Caribbean island. She teaches SUP Yoga (Stand-Up Paddle board Yoga) in classes around the world. Her book combines memoir and self-help advice. All require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
Authors At UConn Co-op
Garth Stein, author of the international bestseller, “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” will discuss his latest novel, “A Sudden Light” (Simon & Schuster, $26.95) in which a teenage boy hoping to save his parents’ marriage uncovers troubling family secrets in a mansion in Seattle. He will speak Tuesday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at the UConn Co-op, One Royce Circle, 101 Storrs Center Storrs.
On Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m., the UConn Co-op will present a free talk by bestselling author Chris Bohjalian and Armen Marsoobian, a professor of philosophy at Southern Connecticut State University, on the Armenian Genocide in photography, literature, and film. Bohjalian is the award-winning author of 17 books, including ” Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands” (Doubleday, $25.95). The talk will be held in Konover Auditorium in the Dodd Center, 405 Babbidge Road, Storrs.
On Wednesday, Mar. 25, at 4 p.m., the Co-op will host the launch of “In Civil Rights Childhood: Picturing Liberation in African American Photobooks” (University of Minnesota Press, $29.95) by Katherine Capshaw. Information: 860-486-8525 or generalbooks.bookstore.uconn.edu
Poets on Poetry Series
The Hartford Public Library’s Hartford History Center, 500 Main St., Hartford, will launch “Poets on Poetry”, a series of free monthly moderated discussions of poetry collections, presented with the Connecticut Poetry Society.
Two talks will take place on Saturday, March 28. From 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., Professor and poet Ben Grossberg of the University of Hartford will discuss poems from “The Source” by Mark Doty. At 1 p.m., Sarah Rizzuto, president of the New Haven Chapter of the Connecticut Poetry Society, will discuss “The Uncharted Path from Fear to Freedom: A Glimpse into the Life and Work of Adrienne Rich” in a presentation marking In recognition of Women’s History Month and National Poetry Month. Information, connpoetry@comcast.net or 860-655-3263.
Albee At Hickory Stick
The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Road, Washington Depot, will present a free talk by Sarah Albee on “Why’d They Wear That? Fashion as the Mirror of History (National Geographic Society, $19.99) on Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. Her book traces fashions throughout the ages from the Neolithic era to current times, and explains the connections between clothing and culture, history, politics, class hierarchies, religion and economics of the times.
Albee was an editor at Children’s Television Workshop for nine years. She is an author of Sesame Street and Big Bag books and a writer for books from the series, “Blue’s Clues.” She also has written bestselling children’s books under a pen name. Information: 860-868-0525 or hickorystickbookshop.com.
Basch Reads In Newtown
Author Rachel Basch will read from her novel, “The Listener” on Sunday March 22, from 3 to 5 p.m. at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main St., Newtown. In the book, a college therapist becomes emotionally entangled with a student struggling to define his identity. Basch, who lives in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown, has published other novels, teaches in Fairfield University’s MFA Program and the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan University
All book sales will benefit the library. Information: 203-426-4533.
Authors At Bank Square Books
Bank Square Books, 53 W. Main St., Mystic, will host several authors.
On Thursday, March 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m., an author luncheon will feature a talk by Sasha Martin to celebrate the release of “Life From Scratch: A Memoir Of Food, Family, And Forgiveness.” Her memoir describes how Martin, a food writer and blogger, decided to cook and eat a meal from every country in the world and the memories her project unleashed. Tickets are $35 for the luncheon and copy of the book, $10 for lunch only or free for the talk. Luncheon reservations required: 860-536-3795.
On Saturday, March 28, at 1 p.m., Connecticut author, Nicholas Checker will discuss his novel “Scratch,” (Mystic Oaks, $16.95), set in the world of feral cats, and perform a theatrical reading from it. He will be accompanied by lyrical guitarist, Richard Zack. The event is free. Information: 860-536-3795 or 860-444-8711.
Transformed By Poetry
A free program titled “What the Great Poets Had to Say About the Great Tradition of Patriotism” will be held at Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St., East Haven, on Wednesday, March 25 at 2 p.m. The talk is for the WW II Veterans Discussion Group, but is open to the public. Peter J. O’Connell of Yale Graduate School, will read selected poems, and audience members can do a short writing exercise comparing their experiences to the poems. Information: 203-468-3890 or 203-468-3891.
