Johann Fust Library Foundation teeming with January book events
The Johann Fust Library Foundation team is working hard to restore the library so it can reopen soon. In the meantime, the foundation invites you back to its courtyard and loggia on Friday, Jan. 17, at 4 p.m., for the first event of the 2024-2025 season, featuring author Lynn Stegner.
Author and publisher Nan Doyal will be in conversation with featured author Lynn Stegner. Lynn will speak about her latest novel, “The Half-Life of Guilt.” She is the daughter-in-law of the legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner, and her fiction has been compared to the works of Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, and Alice Munro.
“The Half-Life of Guilt” is woven from themes of homesickness, environmental crises, the conflict between international commerce and planetary health, and the necessity of forgiveness. The novel delivers an engrossing and transformative literary experience. This program is free to attend, but advance registration is required.
Two additional January events will take place at Boca Grande’s Lighthouse United Methodist Church. They include a poetry workshop and class with Susan Lilley on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and an exciting screening of literary-inspired film clips by “Turner Classic Movies” host Dave Karger on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 4 p.m. Susan Lilley’s Poetry Workshop & Class will appeal to poets of all levels, from beginners to advanced. This all-day event is being offered in collaboration with the Live Poets Society of Boca Grande.
Susan received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine and has taught literature and writing at Trinity Preparatory School, Rollins College, and the University of Central Florida. From 2017 to 2021, she served as Poet Laureate of Orlando. Her class fee is $150, which includes food and beverages. Class size is limited.
Each year, the Johann Fust Library Foundation presents a compelling documentary about literary arts and culture. This season, the foundation will present “Turner Classic Movies” host and film expert Dave Karger. He will show and discuss six clips from films inspired by works of literature that are featured in his book, “50 Oscar Nights.”
“50 Oscar Nights” spans 60 years of Academy Award history. It is a collection of original interviews in which actors, filmmakers, musicians, and craftspeople reflect on their winning work and recount the night they won.
Dave Karger is an award-winning TV host, interviewer, journalist, and film expert. He has been the Oscars’ expert on NBC’s “Today” since 2000. He also spent over 15 years writing about the Oscars for Entertainment Weekly. He has cohosted ABC’s “Live from the Red Carpet” pre-show, and served as the Academy’s official red-carpet greeter on Oscar night. This event is also free to attend, but advance registration is required, as space is limited.
To register for these events, please visit JFLFBG.org or call (941) 964-0211.
