Adult Events

The Oliver Wolcott Library offers a wide range of programming for adults, from continuing series like Monday Scholars,
to lectures, book discussions, and author talks. All events are free and open to all.

Continue your journey of lifelong learning with us!

October Events:

Witchy Potion Bottle

*while supplies last

Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble…

Every witch’s cupboard is teeming with only the best spooky ingredients for her potions, from moon dust to mandrake root, from siren song to spider venom. With this month’s take and make, create your very own witchy potion bottle that would make any witch cackle with delight!

Non-Fiction Discussion Group

Thursday, October 10

Meeting will be held in the Library's Jamie Gagarin Community Room.

The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to flow? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? These questions about the nature of time continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike. We may think of time as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks, but the author tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where at the most fundamental level time disappears. Moderated by Tom 

Fiction Discussion Group

Thursday, October 10

Fiction Group: 3:30 pm 

Meeting will be held in the Library's Jamie Gagarin Community Room.

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

A lonely young woman works in a boys' prison outside Boston in the early 1960s while also caring for an alcoholic father. Decades later she narrates the events of her last week in her home town, where she had stagnated. She has an unusual personality, and she also has an unusual relationship with her workplace, where she is pulled into a very strange crime. Moderated by Tricia 

An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe

In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person

Immerse yourself in the captivating experience of Poe’s life and works, as Harmon breathes new life into the mystique and brilliance of this literary icon!

Enter the enigmatic realm of Edgar Allan Poe, an iconic figure whose literary genius has left an indelible mark on American literature and culture. From pioneering the detective genre to shaping modern science fiction and horror, Poe’s contributions are immeasurable. His tormented love for his wife, Virginia, fueled the haunting verses of “The Raven,” while his enigmatic death in 1849 continues to ignite speculation to this day. Over a century and a half later, his works remain a global sensation, inspiring countless adaptations on stage and screen. 

See the resurrection of this legendary author through the talents of Campbell Harmon. Be transported into Poe’s world as Harmon delivered a spellbinding one-man show, intertwining dramatic reenactments, historical biography, and dynamic interactions with the audience. 

Campbell Harmon has portrayed Edgar Allan Poe since 2009 and is the preeminent Poe impersonator with a focus on historic accuracy and dramatic entertainment.

Meet Author Mary Dearborn

In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person.

V. S. Pritchett called her “a genius.” Gore Vidal described her as a “beloved novelist of singular brilliance.” And Tennessee Williams said, “The only real writer the South ever turned out, was Carson.”

While McCullers’s literary stature continues to endure, her private life has remained enigmatic and largely unexamined. Now, with unprecedented access to the cache of materials that has surfaced in the past decade, Mary Dearborn gives us the first full picture of this brilliant, complex artist who was decades ahead of her time, a writer who understood - and captured - the heart and longing of the outcast.

MARY V. DEARBORN holds a doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia University, where she was a Mellon Fellow in the Humanities. She is the author of seven books—among them, Mistress of Modernism: The Life of Peggy Guggenheim and Ernest Hemingway. Dearborn has been a fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.

The Curious Cat Bookshop will have books for sale the day of the event.

Books are available at OWL to borrow and the title is available as an instant e-book &/or instant e-audio.

An Interview with Marc Balet: A Lifetime in Design, Fashion, & Film, from Warhol to Scorsese

In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person.

Marc Balet is among the most impactful personalities in contemporary American fashion and art. He worked with Andy Warhol as creative director of Warhol's Interview magazine (1976 - 1988) and the MTV show Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes (1985 - 1987).

Marc studied fine arts and architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1975, at the age of 22 he was awarded a Prix de Rome in architecture. He has shown his work at MoMA PS1, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, and has been featured in Architectural Design, New York magazine, Women's Wear Daily and The New York Times.

He went on to found his own advertising agency whose clients have included Anne Klein, Nike, Yves Saint Laurent, Barney's, and Giorgio Armani. In 2015 Marc launched Ouihours, an "online magazine" devoted entirely to luxury intimates. He is currently art director on a book devoted to his longtime friend, Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman.

Marc moved from Manhattan to Connecticut in 2023.

Book Discussion with Mary Dearborn

In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person.

Don’t miss this scholar-led book discussion of one of the Modern Library’s top 20 novels of the 20th century! 

In a Georgia Mill town during the 1930s, an enigmatic John Singer, draws out the haunted confessions of an itinerant worker, a doctor, a widowed café owner, and a young girl. Each yearns for escape from small town life, but the young girl, Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music.

Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated—and, through Mick, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

Mary Dearborn, author of Carson McCullers: A Life will lead this book discussion.

Books are available at OWL to borrow and the title is available as an instant e-book &/or instant e-audio.

Monday Scholars: William Shakespeare - Comedies, Histories & Tragedies

*no class on Oct. 14

ZOOM LINK: Click here at 1 PM Mondays beginning Sept. 9 to zoom to this program.

There is no more important author in Western literature than William Shakespeare. And his plays are treasure troves of insight into our very humanity. William Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies introduces you to his plays and explains the achievement that makes him the leading playwright in Western civilization. During this course, Dartmouth College Professor Peter Saccio will provide the tools necessary to deepen your appreciation for Shakespeare’s world and artistry.

Join us for the full 7-weeks or drop in to explore your favorite plays. Each week, we will watch two lectures together and then engage in lively conversation afterwards. The conversation will be facilitated by OWL's Caroline Ugurlu.

Click here to read more about this series.

Move Your Mind; Move Your Body

Zoom Participants:  Zoom Link - click here on Tuesdays at 10:15 am to Zoom to the Event.

* No class Oct. 15

Note: This Class is designed for senior women.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2021 to 2030 The Decade For Healthy Ageing. The OWL has always been committed to expanding minds and now we would like to help our community expand their physical strength. 

Join Nancy Schuler in this exercise class for senior women. You can attend the class in person, here at the OWL, or online in the privacy of your home. The class features stretching and exercises that can be done in a chair or standing, and lifting of 1 or 2 lb. weights. All exercises are gentle and easy to understand. Exercise has been proven to help one's cognitive abilities, blood pressure, insomnia, digestive issues, depression, strength and independence. The Alzheimer's, Diabetes and Heart Associations all recommend exercise for healthy ageing.

No prior experience is necessary. Bring in a set of light weights for this class - 1 to 2 lbs.

November Events:

Creating Hope & Nurturing Girls' Potential Through Education

Registration Required. In-Person Registration: Click here

Join Nancy Schuler as she moderates this discussion with Priscilla Jeffery, the founder of the Rural Education Advocacy Project-REAP.

REAP is a Girls’ Education Advocacy Program developed to sponsor girls’ education in Ghana. Priscilla has created and sells beautiful bags (totes and purses) made in Ghana to fund her foundation and purchase books, supplies and uniforms so that girls can attend school.

Priscilla will share her story and will also bring her beautiful bags to show.

1908 Tea: Historical Theatre with Rita Parisi

In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person.

"Charming and animated, (Rita) Parisi brings her audience into the quaint and often humorous world of 1908."  -Sally Applegate, N. Andover MA Citizen

Join us for a trip back to the turn of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a middle-class housewife. In 1908, the world was on the cusp of change. The traditions of the Victorians were giving way to a more modern way of thinking and living. Mrs. Gordon, a woman having lived in both the 19th and 20th century, has a lot to say about all these new changes. Her stories will highlight  technology, sports, fashion, beauty and more. 

Monday Scholars: The History of the U.S. Navy from its Origins through the Korean War

*no class on Dec. 2

ZOOM LINK: Click here at 1 PM Mondays beginning Nov. 18 to zoom to this program.

Monday Scholars combines the best of online learning and engaging discussion!

Join us for the full 9-weeks or drop in to explore your favorite topics. Each week, we will watch two lectures together and then engage in lively conversation afterwards. The conversation will be facilitated by OWL's Caroline Ugurlu. 

The story of the United States Navy offers essential perspectives on how the United States came to be, the unfolding of its history, the experiment of American democracy, and the nation’s transformation into a global superpower. Beyond all of this, the history of the US Navy is a spellbinding and deeply poignant human story—a chronicle of extraordinary commitment, ingenuity, valor, sacrifice, and patriotism, spanning the 250 years of its existence.

Your guide is Professor Craig L. Symonds of the US Naval Academy, a celebrated maritime historian who brings to the table astonishingly detailed and far-reaching knowledge of US naval history, coupled with a flair for engrossing storytelling.

Click here to read more about this series.

About Our Zoom Events:

All of our Virtual Zoom Events are live. They are not recorded. To participate/join the event, you need to use the exact link connected to the event. Once you click on the link at the specified date and time, you will be prompted to open Zoom, the virtual meeting program we are using. All you need is an internet connection and a device or computer with a webcam and audio. Most computers have built-in webcams. No passwords or confirmation codes, just click the link and follow the prompts.

More security, more privacy: In response to concerns about privacy in a virtual meeting space, we have enabled additional security features in Zoom and updated our meeting links to be protected, private, and secure. These new, unique links can also be accessed through our e-newsletters. To receive secure information regarding these events, please subscribe to our e-newsletter! Click here to learn more about our e-newsletter offerings.