The Oliver Wolcott Library offers a wide range of programming for adults, from continuing series like Monday
Scholars,
Free time is a luxury and how we “Connecticuters” choose to spend it is fascinating. This guide will provide you with information about the history and lore of Connecticut’s top recreational spaces along with practical tips to plan your visits. There will be a place for you to record your reflections as well as make notes on your itineraries. Our inspiration for this selection is based on the ConnTours Leisure Trail (https://conntours.stqry.app/1/tour/16418).
Stop by the library this July to pick up a kit that contains everything you need to make your own magnifying bookmark! Each kit comes with a magnifying sheet, scrap-booking paper, and accessories to make your bookmark unique!
These cute little birds have migrated back to the library! Stop by the library to pick up the latest adult take-and-make before they all fly off the shelf. Each kit comes with enough supplies to make a yarn bird that you can display anywhere your heart desires!
*Supplies are limited. First come first serve.
Many thanks to Litchfield Dunkin for donating the gift cards.
Your bookmark will include a list of 13 different challenges for you to try throughout the summer. However, you are not required to complete all of the challenges. Participate at your own pace in whatever way works best for you and your reading habits!
One lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a Book Lover’s Gift basket that will include a $25 gift card to The Curious Cat Bookshop and other reader goodies. For each completed challenge, participants earn one entry towards the prize. Be sure to come to the library at some point before the end of the program to enter your prize slips for the drawing.
Participants who complete at least 6 challenges will gain entry to an exclusive event on Tuesday, August 27th at 6:00 PM. At this event, nature-based artist and educator Denise Smith will help attendees create their own mandala stenciled canvas bag—perfect for carrying your library books! And, all of us will have an opportunity to share what books we loved reading this summer!
Move Your Mind; Move Your Body
Live, In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Tuesdays: 10:15 - 11:00 AM*
In-Person Space is limited. Registration is required. Register here
Zoom Participants: Zoom Link - click here on Tuesdays at 10:15 am to Zoom to the Event.
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.
Pipe Cleaner Puppies
August Adult Take & Make
Available beginning August 1*
*while supplies last
While the dog days of summer indubitably come with sweltering heat and booming thunderstorms, this August at the Oliver Wolcott Library ushers in a fun, new Adult Take-And-Make! Chill out in the AC and make your very own pipe cleaner puppy in mere minutes! All patrons who pick up this take-and-make will receive a 39-inch, ultra fluffy pipe cleaner as well as a nose, a pair of beady black eyes, and a colorful ribbon collar!
Please note this activity requires participants to follow along with an instructional YouTube video, there are no printed instructions for this craft. While the video’s subtitles are not in English, our staff was able to make two demo crafts just fine! The focus is on the creator’s hands and craft. Feel free to pause and rewind whenever you need to!
Meet Author Jack Kelly
God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man
Live, In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Thursday, August 1 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Zoom Link: Click here at 6:30 PM on August 1 to Zoom to this event.
In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person.
"A dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution." - Kirkus Review (starred)
"Finally... a full and fascinating portrait of a true hero of the American Revolution, until he was visited by villainy. A riveting read." -Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Follow Me to Hell
Benedict Arnold committed treason - for more than two centuries, that’s all that most Americans have known about him. Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat - his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era.
GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD tells the gripping story of Arnold’s rush of audacious feats that laid the groundwork for our independence as well as his imperfection and disloyalty. The stain of treason on his character is permanent but Kelly’s insightful exploration of Arnold’s career as a warrior shines a deeper look into this historical figure.
JACK KELLY is a journalist, novelist, and historian, whose books include Band of Giants, which received the DAR's History Award Medal. He has contributed to national periodicals including The Wall Street Journal and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow. He has appeared on The History Channel and interviewed on National Public Radio.
Non-Fiction Discussion Group
Thursday, August 8
Non-Fiction Group: 2:00 pm
Meeting will be held in the Library's Jamie Gagarin Community Room.
The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad
Nadia, who lived in a village in Northern Iraq, was 21 when Islamic State militants massacred her village.
Nadia was forced to see her mother and brothers marched to their deaths. Nadia was traded from one
soldier to another each night and raped. She managed, after many rapes, an escape through the streets
of Mosul. It is a testament to the human will to live. We see both the horrors of war and the kindness of
people. Moderated by Jeff
Fiction Discussion Group
Thursday, August 8
Fiction Group: 3:30 pm
Meeting will be held in the Library's Jamie Gagarin Community Room.
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
Set against the hot, tumultuous months when Boston's desegregation of its public schools exploded in
violence, this book is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait
of the dark heart of American racism. Moderated by Cindy
The Astronaut-Cosmonaut Dialogue
with Victoria Elliot - Moderated by Nancy Schuler
Live, In-Person:
Friday, August 16: 12:00 - 1:00 PM
In-Person Space is limited. Registration is required. Register here
Meet Victoria Elliot, former Executive Director of the New York office of the Soviet American Exchange 1980-1991. Learn about Citizen Diplomacy and when there was hope between the Soviet and American governments. Hear about the secret meetings of American Astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts where they discussed their views of the world after seeing it from space.
To learn more about Victoria please visit her website: www.velliot.com
Armchair Travel - Destination The Baltics
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with Nancy & Ed Schuler
Live, In-Person:
Wednesday, August 21 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM
In-Person Space is limited. Registration is required. Register here
Let’s Armchair travel to the Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) and Poland to learn about their newly realized independence from Russia in 1991. Learn about their patriotic spirit, love of song and of their rich heritage. Visit the beautiful modern cities and UNESCO World Heritage Sites of their Old Towns.
Spill Some Ink!
A Writing Group for Writers of Short Work moderated by Nancy Schuler
Live, In-Person:
Tuesday, August 27 from 3:00 - 4:00 PM
In-Person Space is limited. Registration is required. Register here
Each month, join a group of fellow prose enthusiasts where you can read your work aloud and be critiqued by fellow writers.
Short pieces (10 minutes or shorter) work best so that everyone gets a chance to present their work; fiction, non-fiction, short one-act plays, essays, etc. Prompts will be provided for motivation or use your own. Bring a finished work or something that you haven't completed.
August prompts: It was a chance meeting | Fully booked
Fully Booked Adult Summer Reading Finale!
Mandala Canvas Bag Decorating
Tuesday, August 27 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Fully Booked participants who complete at least 6 challenges over the course of the summer will gain entry to our exclusive finale event! Create your very own mandala stenciled canvas bag with the help of nature-based artist and educator Denise Smith. Attendees will also have an opportunity to share what books they loved this summer with other readers!
Future Events:
Meet Author James Kaplan
3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool
Live, In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Thursday, September 5 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Zoom Link: Click here at 6:30 PM on September 5 to Zoom to this event.
In-Person Registration: Click here to attend in-person.
From the author of the definitive biography of Frank Sinatra, the story of how jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959, told through the journey of three towering artists - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans - who came together to create the most iconic jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue.
3 Shades of Blue is James Kaplan’s magnificent account of the paths of the three giants to the mountaintop of 1959 and beyond. In it, Kaplan explores the astonishing creativity and strange hothouses that seem to produce it, examining the music, race, and the towns that gave jazz its home, from New Orleans and New York to Kansas City, Philadelphia, Chicago, and LA.
“This book reads like music. Don’t miss it.” —Seth MacFarlane
JAMES KAPLAN’S essays, stories, reviews, and profiles have appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and New York. His nonfiction books include The Airport, You Cannot Be Serious (coauthored with John McEnroe), Dean & Me:
A Love Story (with Jerry Lewis), Frank: The Voice, and Sinatra: The Chairman.
An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe
Live Theatrical Performance with Campbell Harmon
Live, In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Thursday, October 17 from 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Zoom Link: Click here at 7:00 PM on October 17 to Zoom to this event.
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
Carson McCullers: A Life
Live, In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Friday, October 18 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Zoom Link: Click here at 10:30 AM on October 18 to Zoom to this event.
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.
Book Discussion with Mary Dearborn
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Live, In-Person & Live on Zoom:
Friday, October 25 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Zoom Link: Click here at 10:30 AM on October 25 to Zoom to this event.
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 will be available at OWL to borrow a month before the discussion and the title will be available as an instant e-book &/or instant e-audio.
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.