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SUMMARY:Marlene M. Johnson: Rise to the Challenge
DESCRIPTION:Join us Tuesday\, June 17 at Middletown Public Library from 6:30 pm-7:30 pm for a special evening with former lieutenant governor Marlene M. Johnson to discuss her memoir Rise to the Challenge. As Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor\, Johnson experienced many challenges while working in government; however\, the new difficulties she also faced when her strong\, supportive husband suffered a traumatic brain injury taught her lessons she never expected. Johnson will discuss her work creating her memoir\, then answer questions and sign books. Copies of Rise to the Challenge will be available for purchase at the event.\n\n\nThis event is presented in partnership with Frederick County Public Libraries and is free and open to the public. For accessibility requests\, email info@curiousiguana.com at least two (2) weeks prior to the event. \nAbout the book: Marking a milestone for women in state government\, Marlene M. Johnson became Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor under Rudy Perpich’s gubernatorial administration in January 1983. That same year\, she met her husband\, Peter\, and their deeply loving relationship profoundly sustained her for twenty-seven years. Rise to the Challenge weaves these personal and professional stories together in a courageous portrait of dedication and leadership. \nGrowing up in rural Minnesota\, Johnson began organizing and advocating for change early\, beginning with a campaign to introduce foreign languages into her high school curriculum. Pursuing a deeply felt commitment to improving the lives of others\, she continued to sharpen her leadership skills throughout her life\, participating in activist work in college\, cofounding organizations to support women entrepreneurs and politicians\, and eventually running an international education nonprofit. \nA stalwart supporter\, her husband gave Marlene strength and encouragement to face the challenges of the political landscape and its gender biases. Then\, in 2010\, he suffered a traumatic brain injury that would change both of their lives. Learning how to be a medical advocate and\, eventually\, facing the sorrow of Peter’s death\, Marlene relied on the hard-fought resilience and belief in herself that Peter had helped her to develop. \nA story of learning and leadership in politics\, business\, and public service\, Rise to the Challenge is a moving portrayal of spirit\, perseverance\, and grace in the face of daunting personal challenges\, supported by unwavering faith in the public good. \nAbout the author: Marlene M. Johnson was Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor\, serving in Governor Rudy Perpich’s administration from 1983 until 1991. She is cofounder of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Minnesota Women’s Campaign Fund and was executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators for nearly two decades. She is now on the advisory board of Kakenya’s Dream\, a board member of the Washington Office on Latin America\, and a trustee of The Alexandria Trust. In 1988\, she was awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the Kingdom of Sweden. She lives in Washington\, D.C.
URL:https://curiousiguana.com/event/marlene-m-johnson/
LOCATION:Middletown Library\, 31 E Green St\, Middletown\, MD\, 21769\, United States
CATEGORIES:Author Talk / Signing,Author Talk / Signing|Join Us!
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250510T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250510T150000
DTSTAMP:20260514T133617
CREATED:20250314T210744Z
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SUMMARY:Author Panel with Cat Pleska\, Karen Salyer McElmurray\, and Magin LaSov Gregg
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to welcome authors Cat Pleska and Karen Salyer McElmurray to speak with Magin LaSov Gregg about their latest novels in a unique author panel. Focusing on themes of identity\, faith\, and human connection\, Cat’s book My Life in Water and Karen’s book I Could Name God in Twelve Ways each reveals the shared experiences of the working class community. Following their conversation\, Cat\, Karen\, and Magin will take questions from the audience and sign books. \nThis author panel will be held at 2:00 pm-3:00 pm on Saturday\, May 10 at Middletown Public Library. \nThis event is presented in partnership with Frederick County Public Libraries and is free and open to the public. For accessibility requests\, email info@curiousiguana.com at least two (2) weeks prior to the event. \nAbout Cat Pleska: Cat Pleska\, a native West Virginian\, is an award-winning author\, educator\, and storyteller. Her memoir\, Riding on Comets\, was published by West Virginia University Press. Her current memoir is My Life in Water\, UnCollected Press. Cat edited four anthologies and her stories and essays have appeared in The Appalachian Heritage Anthologies\, Still: The Journal\, Heartwood Magazine\, Change 7 Magazine\, and many others. She teaches in Marshall University’s English Department and in the Graduate Humanities Program. \nAbout Cat’s book\, My Life in Water: “My Life in Water is a collection of essays about the fluidity of life\, its ebb and flow. Each essay tells the story of a time when one comes close to drowning\, floats in joy and peace\, watches others sink or swim. It’s about how liquid of some type\, such as membranous croup\, wild river rapids\, floods\, small islands\, the rising ocean tides—can bring deep realizations to help connect the individual to the basic elements of life\, to navigate its streams. \n“Strap on a life jacket and dive into this often perilous\, at times funny\, always poignant collection bubbling with the language of water. Ever present is the danger of drowning from inattentive caregivers\, from white-water rapids or a bridge collapse into a roiling river. From fluid-filled lungs gasping with croup or pneumonia. But water also brings healing and an understanding that navigating tricky waters\, whether literal or metaphorical\, has made Cat the surest captain of her own life.” \n~ Marie Manilla\, author of Patron Saint of Ugly \nAbout Karen Salyer McElmurray: Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey\, was an AWP Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction.  Her novels are The Motel of the Stars\, Editor’s Pick by Oxford American\, and Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven\, winner of the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing.  As a fiction writer\, she is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts\, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the North Carolina Arts Council. Her work in nonfiction has been a recipient of the Annie Dillard Award for the Essay\, the New Southerner Award\, the Orison Anthology Award for Creative Nonfiction and\, most recently\, the LitSouth Award. She has co-edited\, with poet Adrian Blevins\, an essay collection called Walk till the Dogs Get Mean\, Wanting Radiance\, a novel\, and Voice Lessons\, a short collection of lyric essays\, came out in 2021. A new essay collection\, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways came out in September 2024 from University Press of Kentucky. \nAbout Karen’s book\, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways: I could dream in poetry\, could summon words for spiritual experience\, could name God in twelve ways and in ten times and places in history. \nAward-winning writer Karen Salyer McElmurray details her life’s journey across continents and decades in a poetic collection that is equal parts essay-as-memoir\, memoir-as-Künstlerroman\, and travelogue-as-meditation. \nIt is about the deserts of India. A hospital ward in Maryland. The blue seas of Greece. A greenhouse in Virginia. It is about the spirit houses of Thailand. The mountains of eastern Kentucky. The depths of the Grand Canyon. A creative writing classroom in Georgia. An attic in a generations-old house. It is about coming to terms with both memory and the power of writing itself. \nAt turns lyrical\, poignant\, and alluring\, McElmurray probes her personal history from the stance of different places\, perspectives\, and vulnerabilities as she tenderly and fiercely searches for acceptance and a place to call home. \nAbout Magin LaSov Gregg: Magin LaSov Gregg teaches courses in literature and writing at Frederick Community College\, where she advises the award-winning literary magazine Tuscarora Review. Her memoir in essays\, An Altar in My Heart\, is a two-time Autumn House Press Nonfiction Book Prize finalist (2023 and 2024). Magin’s creative nonfiction has been noted in Best American Essays\, nominated for a Pushcart Prize\, and appeared in the Washington Post\, Gettysburg Review\, Bellingham Review\, National Public Radio\, The Rumpus\, and elsewhere. Recent poetry appears in The Ekphrastic Review and Offerings: A Spiritual Poetry Anthology from Tiferet Journal.
URL:https://curiousiguana.com/event/authorpanel/
LOCATION:Middletown Library\, 31 E Green St\, Middletown\, MD\, 21769\, United States
CATEGORIES:Author Talk / Signing,Join Us!
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SUMMARY:Seniors Memoir Writing Workshop
DESCRIPTION:Sharing memories with loved ones is a beautiful experience; sometimes\, telling the whole story requires more than just a few words. Please join us and writer Niki Gjoni for a special writing workshop for seniors\, focusing on memoir writing. Niki will lead attendees through a 1 hour workshop to learn about memoir writing and how they can use it to record treasured memories for generations to come. \nThe workshop will be hosted at Middletown Public Library on Saturday\, March 22 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm. \nThis event is presented in partnership with Frederick County Public Libraries and is free and open to the public. For accessibility requests\, email info@curiousiguana.com at least two (2) weeks prior to the event. \nAbout Niki Gjoni: Nikoletta Gjoni is a writer and editor living outside of Washington\, D.C. Her work has appeared in the 2023 Rising Stars London Independent Story Prize anthology\, Atticus Review\, The Ex-Puritan\, Alan Squire Publishing\, and Emerson Review\, among others. Her work has been previously nominated for the PEN/Robert J. Dau prize\, Best of the Net\, and Best Microfiction. She was a 2024 scholarship recipient for the Salty Quill Writing Retreat in Maine where she worked towards completing her first novel. Visit www.ngjoni.com to view her publications or contact her about workshop opportunities.
URL:https://curiousiguana.com/event/seniors-memoir-writing-workshop/
LOCATION:Middletown Library\, 31 E Green St\, Middletown\, MD\, 21769\, United States
CATEGORIES:Author Talk / Signing
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SUMMARY:Meera Trehan in conversation with Alison Green Myers
DESCRIPTION:Do you smell snow? Join us Saturday\, January 25\, at 2 pm for a magical afternoon at Middletown Library with local Maryland author Meera Trehan! She will discuss her new book Snow with the lovely Alison Green Myers. Following the discussion\, Meera will answer questions and sign books.  \nThis event is presented in partnership with Frederick County Public Libraries and is free and open to the public. For accessibility requests\, email info@curiousiguana.com at least two (2) weeks prior to the event. \nAbout the book: Every day\, a lonely princess digs through the snow in search of a way to undo the terrible wish she made—one that has left her with an empty kingdom and a heart full of guilt. But one day\, a mysterious girl named Ela tumbles through the kingdom’s protective mist barrier. The princess is determined to bring Ela to her father\, the harsh king\, as proof that her wish can be undone\, even if it means keeping Ela against her will. Meanwhile\, Ela\, who has grown up a regular kid in what she thought was a regular Indian American family\, is shocked to discover she’s stumbled upon the very snow princess whose picture graces the cover of the locked book that Ela’s mom won’t let her read. In this elegant fantasy\, author Meera Trehan conjures a story of loneliness\, family secrets\, science\, and remarkable snow as two girls from different worlds come together to set things right—and maybe even become friends. \nAbout the author: Meera Trehan is the author of The View from the Very Best House in Town. She grew up in Virginia\, just outside Washington\, DC. After attending the University of Virginia and Stanford Law School\, she practiced law for over a decade before turning to creative writing. She lives in Maryland with her family. \nAbout the moderator: Alison Green Myers is a passionate educator\, novelist\, and speaker. As the Program Director at the Highlights Foundation\, Alison supports storytellers with fellowships and care throughout their careers. Alison is the author of the Schneider Award-winning A BIRD WILL SOAR and the forthcoming THIS WAY TO HAPPY (Dutton/2025). A National Writing Fellow and teaching artist with Bethel Woods’ educational programs\, Alison is always happy to spend time in the company of curious kids! Alison lives in the woods of Pennsylvania with two extraordinary humans and two dear dogs.
URL:https://curiousiguana.com/event/meera-trehan-in-conversation-with-alison-green-myers/
LOCATION:Middletown Library\, 31 E Green St\, Middletown\, MD\, 21769\, United States
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