Events at the Orem Public Library
09/29/2011 - Thursday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Big Read Kickoff!
Start Orem's Big Read with author Brian Doyle. Doyle's award-winning essays are frequently anthologized in a wide variety of books, including in numerous Best American Essays and Best Spiritual Writing collections. In an event that will leave the audience inspired and moved, Doyle will use his own writing to explore themes from Gilead. Free copies of Gilead will be available after the program.
09/30/2011 - Friday
7:00 pm
Media Auditorium
Dean Duncan Presents Films about Family
The nature of the family and family dynamics are major areas of discovery in Gilead. Join Dr. Dean Duncan as he discusses how filmmakers have explored some of these same themes of youth and age, education and innocence, and belief and skepticism. Join him for his discussion and leave with a new list of must-watch movies.
10/04/2011 - Tuesday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Resonance Story Theatre Presents: Sticks and Stones
Gather around as the traveling minstrel opens her bag of sticks and stones! Each stick and stone represents a story. Which stories will she choose? She'll choose the perfect one for you -- full of color, dance, music and rhythm. Lively stories that touch on the deeper themes of forgiveness, friendship, community, with humor and fun for the whole family! Performed by Nannette Watts, Karla Huntsman and Jewels Olsen and Written by Wendy Gourley.
10/05/2011 - Wednesday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
An Introduction to Marilynne Robinson with Dr. Trent Hickman
Want to participate in this year's Orem Reads but don't know quite where to start? This program is perfect for you. Dr. Trent Hickman has been teaching Marilynne Robinson's works for years in his classes at BYU. Join him as he leads audience members in a discussion about Robinson's life, works and major themes.
10/06/2011 - Thursday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Exploring Home with Susan Howe
Ideas of
home, place, family, and identity run throughout Susan Elizabeth Howe’s poetry.
Join Dr. Howe as she discusses how she treats similar themes in her own works
and shares her poems, including new unpublished poetry she wrote for the event.
Then, join her and the audience in writing some new poetry of your own. Dr.
Howe is the author of a book of poetry, Stone Spirits, and poems which have
been published in Poetry, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, and many
other journals.
10/07/2011 - Friday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Storyteller Steffani Raff Presents: Heroes Wanted
Storyteller
Steffani Raff brings her humor, energy, music, and a variety of stories to the
stage in an assembly that will inspire children to consider how the choices
they make now will help shape their future. Steffani’s program will explore
Orem Reads themes of choice, forgiveness, family, love, and personal
responsibility in a format especially for children.
10/10/2011 - Monday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Exploring Place with George Handley
Place,
land, and history are intertwined in Gilead, running together in Reverend
Ames’s past. Author George Handley explored many of those same themes in Home
Waters: A Year of Recompenses on the Provo River. Join Dr. Handley as he
explains his response to these ideas and reads from his book. Then join him in taking some time to examine
and write about places of meaning in your own life.
10/11/2011 - Tuesday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Grace in Marilynne Robinson's Works with Dr. Deb Thornton
Love,
forgiveness, beauty, and grace are intertwined throughout Gilead. Dr. Deborah Thornton
of UVU will lead a discussion of the historical and theological roots of these
beautifully manifested ideas.
10/12/2011 - Wednesday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Barry Lopez Reading
Barry Lopez has been described as “the nation’s premier nature
writer.” Lopez won the National Book
Award and Oregon Book Award for Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a
Northern Landscape. He was also a
National Book Award finalist for Of Wolves and Men. Lopez is frequently honored for his work,
including an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters,
the Lannan Literary Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and two Pushcart Prizes.
Like Robinson, Lopez explores ethics, morality, and place, all major themes in Gilead.
He will be reading and discussing his work in this rare Utah appearance.
10/13/2011 - Thursday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Exploring Family with Lance Larsen
Lance
Larsen is the author of three collections of poetry and the recipient of the
National Endowment for the Arts’ Literature Fellowship in Poetry. Like
Robinson’s fiction, Larsen’s poetry investigates ideas of family, identity,
place, community, beauty, and grace. Join Dr. Larsen as he explores how these
ideas have been manifest in his own poetry. Finally, spend some time with Dr.
Larsen writing poetry of your own.
10/17/2011 - Monday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Encore presentation of Resonance Theatre: Sticks and Stones
Gather around
as the traveling minstrel opens her bag of sticks and stones! Each stick and
stone represents a story. Which stories
will she choose? She’ll choose the perfect one for you—full of color, dance,
music and rhythm. Lively stories that
touch on the deeper themes of Gilead—forgiveness, friendship, community—with humor
and fun for the whole family! Performed by Nannette Watts, Karla Huntsman and
Jewels Olsen and written by Wendy Gourley.
10/18/2011 - Tuesday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
An Introduction to Marilynne Robinson's Other Writing with Dr. Brian Jackson
Are you
looking for more Robinson to read after Gilead?
Are you interested in reading some of Robinson’s thoughts outside of her
fiction? Join Dr. Brian Jackson as he introduces Robinson’s three essay
collections and their overarching responses to contemporary social themes.
10/27/2011 - Thursday10/19/2011 - Wednesday
7:00 pm
Storytelling Wing
Exploring the Everyday with Patrick Madden
Rev. Ames celebrates brilliant miracles that occur during everyday life in Robinson's Gilead. Patrick Madden's award-winning essays also examine and celebrate realizations born during everyday activities. Join Dr. Madden as he reads from his essays, including works from his essay collection Quotidiana. After the reading, spend some time with Dr. Madden recording some of your won thoughts about the miraculous and fascinating moments of everyday life.
10/20/2011 - Thursday
7:00 PM
Storytelling Wing
Marilynne Robinson Reading
Marilynne Robinson will visit Orem in this year’s
Orem Reads finale. Join the Pulitzer
Prize-winning author as she talks about her writing and answers questions from
the audience. This is a special
opportunity to meet the author around whose novel Orem Reads 2011 was designed.
Do not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
10/27/2011 - Thursday
7:00 PM
Storytelling Wing
Orem Reads Encore Performance: Storyteller Karla Huntsman Presents: Layers
Like a Russian nesting doll, each person has multiple layers of feelings, needs, and life experiences that are seldom fully understood by even those closest to them. Karla Huntsman's stories will explore three richly textured lives and the compassion, forgiveness, and understanding one can receive through trying to understand the layers of another more deeply. Recommended for ages fourteen and above.
