C.H. Booth Library Selected For ‘Literature Around Catastrophic Events’ Book Series Presentation

By Nancy K. Crevier

C.H. Booth Library has been selected to offer a series of free programs sponsored by the Connecticut Humanities Council and prepared and presented by Newtown resident Patricia Barkman. The Literature for a Lifetime book discussion series “Literature Around Catastrophic Events” focuses on the emotional, psychological, economic, and political impact of natural and terrorist catastrophes to which people have recently been witness.

Ms Barkman is a member of several environmental protection groups in Newtown, a well-known artist, and has been a college instructor for more than 30 years.

Participants will read The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, Vladimir Nabokov Novels & Memoirs by Vladimir Nabokov and Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.

“The Connecticut Humanities Council asked me to prepare the series by selecting the books and questions as a way to help people deal with the tragedy of Katrina. Although the books are not about Katrina, they do include the ways that characters use literature as a catharsis,” said Ms Barkman.

Ms Barkman will lead the discussions of The Bookseller of Kabul on May 24, Balzac and the Little Seamstress on June 7, Vladimir Nabokov Novels & Memoirs on June 28 and Reading Lolita in Tehran on July 5. All of the programs are Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 pm at the C.H. Booth Library on Main Street, Newtown.

Multiple copies of the books are available at the library.