An Evening with Martha Hall Kelly is the focal event in Forsyth County Public Library’s popular Forsyth Reads Together program sponsored by FCPL Friends and Advocates and the Forsyth County Arts Alliance Fund at Forsyth County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the North Georgia Community Foundation
Admission to An Evening with Martha Hall Kelly is free, but advance registration on the library’s website is requested.
Kelly is expected to discuss her inspiration for writing Lilac Girls, the 2019 Forsyth Reads Together book selection. She will also discuss her experience in researching and writing the just-released Lilac Girls prequel, Lost Roses.
Following her presentation, the author will sign books. Copies of Lilac Girls and Lost Roses will be available for purchase at the event. Attendees may also bring their own copies of the books for signing.
Forsyth Reads Together is a county-wide event that encourages the entire community to read, discuss, and participate in programs associated with the same book.
“This year’s book selection is Lilac Girls, a work of historical fiction based on the true story of Caroline Ferriday, a New York socialite and Broadway star who championed a group of survivors from the Ravensbrück concentration camp,” explains Programming Manager Tracy Walker.
Educational and theatrical programs related to the book and WWII topics are also planned around An Evening with Martha Hall Kelly.
“Just a few weeks ago, the Cumming Library unveiled Remembering Ravensbrück, a photographic exhibit on loan from the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University,” added Walker.
The Remembering Ravensbrück exhibit was created by the University’s Public History and German Studies Programs and the Ravensbrück Memorial Site to examine the history of the camp, from its beginning in 1939 to its liberation in 1945. Stories of individual women – women who suffered in and survived the camp, but also of female guards who willingly implemented the Nazi Final Solution – are explored through photographs and original artwork created by the prisoners.
The exhibit is open during normal library hours through April 28 and admission is free.
Last week, Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s multimedia performance of And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank by James Still and directed by Erin Bushko Smith was well-received by patrons at the Sharon Forks Library.
Georgia Ensemble Theatre will return to Sharon Forks on Saturday, April 13 to lead an acting and play writing workshop for adults and high school students. Participants will work together to create a short piece of theatre using content related to And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank.
Admission to the workshop is free, but advance registration on the library’s website is required.
Andrea Miskewicz, Museum Education Coordinator at the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University, will close the 2019 Forsyth Reads Together series with a presentation on Monday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cumming Library.
Miskewicz is expected to speak on the experiences of specific women featured in the Remembering Ravensbrück exhibit on display at the Cumming Library. Admission to this guest lecture is free and registration is not required.
“Several of our book clubs discussed Lilac Girls when it was first published and library patrons continue to show strong interest in WWII-era historical fiction. We’re especially grateful to the FCPL Friends & Advocates and to the Forsyth County Arts Alliance Fund for helping us bring Martha Hall Kelly to speak with readers in our community,” says Walker.
Copies of Lilac Girls are available in the library’s catalog and copies of Lost Roses will be available for checkout shortly after the novel is released.
Information about all Forsyth Reads Together programs is available in the events calendar on the library’s website at www.forsythpl.org.
