July 01, 2014: Lunch With Books: Author David Giffels

Author David Giffels will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, July 1 at noon to discuss his new book The Hard Way on Purpose, a collection of linked essays about the quirky, hardbitten cultural landscape of the Rust Belt and the people who thrive there. 

An assistant professor of English at University of Akron, Giffels teaches creative nonfiction in the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts Program.

Giffels’ last book, All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House, received widespread acclaim, from the New York Times, which described it as “sweet and funny” to the Los Angeles Times, which called it “a truly wonderful book” to Oprah’s O at Home magazine, where it topped the “Fantastic Summer Reads” list.

Giffels is coauthor of Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! and Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron. He was a longtime columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal and a contributing commentator and essayist on National Public Radio station WKSU in Kent, Ohio. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Grantland, Parade, Redbook and many other publications. He also was a writer for the MTV series Beavis and Butt-Head.

His recent awards include the Cleveland Arts Prize for literature, the Ohioana Book Award, and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists award for excellence.

Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Javersak will Explore the Gilded Age and the Great War

June 24 The Great War: 100 years Later 

On Tuesday, June 24 at noon, century after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked war in Europe, Dr. David Javersak will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library to discuss the impact of the First World War on the people and industries of the Upper Ohio Valley. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

June 24 at 7 PM: The People's University, American History III, The Gilded Age to the Jazz Age, part 2, 

The growth of industry, increased production of steel, increased demand for oil, and railroad development, led to rapid wealth accumulation for certain businessmen, who became known as “Robber Barons.”

Instructor: David Javersak (retired professor of history, West Liberty University). 

Arts Fest Events at Library Will Explore the History of Photography

The Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will serve, along with West Virginia Northern Community College and West Virginia Independence Hall, as one of the venues for the annual Wheeling Arts Fest on Saturday, June 21.

As announced by the History and Literature Committee of the City of Wheeling Arts and Cultural Commission, the theme for the library events will be the “Art and History of Photography.”

The first program will begin at 11 AM in the library’s auditorium, and will feature West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, who will conduct a special reading plus workshop concerned with ekphrastic poetry, that is, poetry that is inspired by or offers comments upon another art form, such as photography.  He believes ekphrastic poetry provide an exciting prompt for a writer and suspects that people know more of such work than they may realize citing the pop song “Starry Night” by Don McLean, as one example, and Bob Dylan’s many allusions to Shakespeare, as another. Harshman will conduct a reading of some of the seminal verse arising from this peculiar yet often popular perspective. Following the reading he will lead participants in a writing exercise designed to draw them into a full engagement with a work of art that will fuel their own literary art, their own work of words. 

Harshman was appointed poet laureate by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in 2012.  His eleven children’s books include THE STORM, a Smithsonian Notable Book, and he has three new children’s books forthcoming.  His full-length poetry collection, GREEN-SILVER AND SILENT, was recently published and his fourth chapbook, ALL THAT FEEDS US: THE WEST VIRGINIA POEMS came out from Quarrier Press just last year. Last year, Marc was commissioned by the Wheeling National Heritage Area to write a poem in honor of West Virginia’s Sesquicentennial. On June 20th his poem “A Song for West Virginia” was presented in both Charleston and Wheeling as a part of the day-long festivities.  A new, full-color edition of this poem will be available at the Wheeling Arts Fest.

At noon, Miriam Meislik, Media Curator, Archives Service Center, University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, will present a history of photography as an art form and discuss the importance of photographs as primary source documents for historians. The presentation will include a hands-on exhibit. Meislik is an experienced speaker and educator and has published a book called Historic Photos of Pittsburgh.

At 1:30 PM, attendees will be able to learn the art, science and history of tintype photographywith expert Jason Snyder, owner of Pittsburgh Tintype Studio. Snyder uses a 19th century process to create unique photographs on aluminum using the same technique that was popular during the Civil War era. Following Snyder's presentation, for a fee, guests will be able to have their own authentic tintype portrait taken and developed. “This is an excellent opportunity for living historians and Civil War reenactors to have an authentic tintype portrait made in costume,” Snyder said. The photographs will be 4x5 in size, and Snyder will offer a discount from his usual studio rate to $45 per plate. He will only have time to complete a limited number of tintypes, so make your reservation today by sending an email to lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com or calling 304-232-0244. Stages Inc. of Wheeling will be on hand with one-size-fits-all costumes for people who want to have a tintype done and don't have a costume with them. There will be no charge for costume use.

In addition to the library programs, the History and Literature Committee will offer a “Spoken Word” table at the main festival venue at the WVNCC plaza. Books from local authors will be available.

All of the library’s Arts Fest programs are free and open to the public. As described above, there will be a charge of $45.00 for any attendees who would like to receive a tintype portrait from Pittsburgh Tintype Studio. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit ohiocountylibrary.org or wheelingartsfest.com for more information.

Tuesday June 17: The Petersburg Campaign at Noon & People's University American History III at 7 PM

June 17 The Petersburg Campaign 

Edward S. Alexander, Park Ranger at Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and a member of the Emerging Civil War Speakers Bureau, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 17 at noon to discuss the early stages (June-August, 1864) of the Petersburg campaign. His focus will be primarily on the first assaults against the city, the Crater, Reams Station, and Deep Bottom. He will also explain why he believes it is a mischaracterization to refer to Petersburg as a “siege.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

& at 7 PM

People’s University to Explore the Gilded AgeThrough the Jazz Age

The new People's University series 9, American History III: The Gilded Age to the Jazz Age, will begin at the Ohio County Public Library on June 17 and continue to meet for eight consecutive Tuesday evenings at 7 pm, ending August 5. Each class will be approximately 60-90 minutes in length.

The full schedule for People's University American History III is as follows:

Class 1,June 17:  The Gilded Age (1878-1889) pt. 1

The growth of industry, increased production of steel, increased demand for oil, and railroad development, led to rapid wealth accumulation for certain businessmen, who became known as “Robber Barons.” Instructor: David Javersak (retired professor of history, West Liberty University).

Class 2, June 24: 

The Gilded Age (1878-1889) pt. 2. Instructor: David Javersak

Class 3, July 1: Progressive Era (1890-1913) pt. 1

The excess of the Gilded Age was followed by a period of social activism and political reform exemplified by efforts like trust-busting and woman suffrage. Instructor: David Javersak

Class 4, July 8: 

Progressive Era (1890-1913) pt. 2. Instructor: David Javersak

Class 5, July 15: The Great War (1914-1918) pt. 1

World War I began in Europe in 1914. The U.S. entered the war in 1917 and the Allied Powers were victorious over the Central Powers by 1918. Instructor: Hal Gorby (history PhD candidate at West Virginia University)

Class 6, July 22: The Great War (1914-1918) pt. 2. Instructor: Joe Laker (retired professor of history, Wheeling Jesuit University)

Class 7, July 29: The Jazz Age (1919-1928) pt. 1

In a nation weary of war, women exercised their newly found freedom (having won the right to vote in 1920) and Harlem nightclubs thrived, featuring jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Instructor: Joe Laker

Class 8, August 5: 

The Jazz Age (1919-1928) pt. 2. Instructor: Hal Gorby

In keeping with the mission of public libraries as sanctuaries of free learning for all people, the Ohio County Public Library created The People’s University, a free program for adults who wish to continue their education in the liberal arts. The People’s University features courses (taught by experts in each subject) that enable patrons to pursue their goal of lifelong learning in classic subjects such as history, music appreciation, philosophy, and literature. Patrons may attend as many classes as they wish. There are no tests of other requirements and all programs are free and open to the public. To register for American History III, please email the library by visiting the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibray.org and clicking to the "Contact/Email us" page, call 304-232-0244, or visit the Reference Desk.

Fracking Facts and Lunch With Books present...

Book Review: Fractures

Mary Ellen Cassidy will review Fractures by Lamar Herrin, a novel about a family trying to deal with the discovery of Marcellus Shale under their land.

AND...

On Sunday June 29 @ 2 pm: Triple Divide (film) 

Fracking Facts presents a screening of the film, Triple Divide. Public Herald investigative journalists shine a light on fracking and state regulators on a cradle-to-grave journey for the truth. 

June 3: Meet Author David O. Stewart

David O. Stewart, nationally known for his award-winning nonfiction works on Aaron Burr and the U.S. Constitution, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 3 at noon to discuss his first novel, The Lincoln Deception. Blending real and fictional characters, the book is a gripping historical mystery exploring the endless fascination with Lincoln’s assassination and the conspiracy behind it. A death bed confession and a long-hidden conspiracy are at the heart of The Lincoln Deception, a historical mystery centered on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln – the only real conspiracy to kill a president in American history. In March 1900, as former Congressman John Bingham of Cadiz, Ohio lies dying, he tells a strange tale to his physician, Dr. Jamie Fraser. Thirty-five years earlier, when Bingham prosecuted eight members of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Lincoln, conspirator Mary Surratt divulged a secret so explosive it could shatter the republic.  Though Bingham takes the secret to his grave, Fraser cannot let go of the mystery. Bored with small-town medical practice, he begins to investigate, securing an unlikely ally in Speed Cook, a black, college-educated professional ballplayer and would-be newspaper publisher. Though a mismatched pair, Cook and Fraser agree that the accepted version of Lincoln's assassination rings false. Was Booth truly the mastermind or were other, more powerful forces pulling the strings? David O. Stewart’s talk will explore what we know about the Booth Conspiracy but tend to forget, and also what we still do not know. After practicing law for many years, David O. Stewart began to write history, too.  His first book,The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution, was a Washington Post bestseller and won the Washington Writing Award as Best Book of 2007.  Two years later, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy, was called “by all means the best account of this troubled episode” by Professor David Donald of Harvard.  David’s latest work is American Emperor, Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America, an examination of Burr’s Western expedition, prompted the Society of the Cincinnati to award David its 2013  History Prize.  The Lincoln Deception, an historical mystery about the John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy, was released in late August 2013.  Bloomberg View called it the best historical novel of the year, while Publishers Weekly called it an “impressive debut novel.”   David also is president of the Washington Independent Review of Books, an online book review. A book sale and signing will follow. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

The Wheeling Film Society Presents: JAWS

May 24 – Towngate at 7 (Special Saturday Night Screening): Screening: Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) - 124 mins.

May 27 - Library at Noon: Conversation: Jaws

Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster would be important if for no other reason because of changing forever the way Hollywood does business: it did for beaches what Hitchcock had once done for showers, and it did for cash registers even more than The Godfather had done. Yet to think about Jaws merely as a Hollywood thrill ride calculated to drum up dollars is to miss Spielberg’s artful adoption of many of the cinematic storytelling conventions learned studying Hollywood auteurs like Hitchcock and Ford. Spielberg’s film divides neatly, almost to the second, into two genres: the noir conspiracy thriller (á la Hitchcock) and the threatened-community Western (á la Ford). In hindsight, of course, we understand Jaws for what it truly is: Spielberg’s first masterpiece.

All programs – screenings and conversations – are free of admission charge. Attend as many or as few programs as your schedule allows. All are welcome, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Parental Guidance is recommended for all screenings and conversations.