Teton County Library Foundation Announces Page to the Podium Authors

Jackson, WY- Teton County Library & Library Foundation announce that Pulitzer prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, acclaimed novelist Amy Tan, and prolific author Alexander McCall Smith will all visit the community in 2008 and beyond. This roster of distinguished writers will be featured in the Page to the Podium literary author series, which is free and open to the public through the generosity of the Library Foundation and participating sponsors.

First to grace the podium will be Mary Oliver on Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at Walk Festival Hall. A Pulitzer prize- and American Book Award-winning poet whose work shows a deep lyrical connection to the natural world, Oliver’s published work spans five decades. Perhaps the “bestselling poet” of the 20th and 21st centuries, Oliver’s work is often considered to be in the tradition of Robert Frost and Henry David Thoreau. Oliver’s nearly 30 titles include  No Voyage, and Other Poems (1965), American Primitive (1983), New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992), and Why I Wake Early (2004). This March, 2008 Beacon Press released her most recent poetry collection, Red Bird: Poems. Read more about Oliver’s work online at The Poetry Foundation http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=5130.

Free tickets for Oliver’s presentation will be available with the presentation of a library card beginning Wednesday, April 23 at the Teton County Library’s Front Desk. One ticket per card will be given, and you may bring a family member’s or friend’s card to claim tickets for additional attendees. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Mary Oliver’s presentation is also generously underwritten by Jennifer Wolf, Larry Wolf, Jackson Hole Jewish Community, Margot Snowdon & Yves Desgouttes, The Robert S. & Grayce B. Kerr Foundation, and Friends of Gordon S. Gray.

In early December, Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Opposite of Fate, Saving Fish from Drowning, Sagway, The Chinese Siamese Cat and more) brings her many talents to the podium at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December, 4, 2008. This event will be followed by the Library Foundation’s Open the Season, Open a Book annual fundraising party at The Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole on Friday, December, 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the free Page to the Podium event and for the party will be available in early to mid-November at Teton County Library. You can learn more about Tan and her writing at www.amytan.net.

Spring 2009 will burst forth with Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. The pen behind more than 60 books on a wide variety of topics, McCall Smith will speak in the Page to the Podium series on Thursday, April 30, 2009. He is best known as a writer for his internationally acclaimed No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, which has been on bestseller lists worldwide. Born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), McCall Smith moved to Scotland to study law. He helped to found a new law school at the University of Botswana and is now Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh. The date of availability for these tickets is still to be announced. Read more about McCall Smith’s writing including short stories, children’s books and academic titles at his website www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk.

For more information about Page to the Podium events or the Teton County Library Foundation, call Library Foundation Associate Director Pauline Towers-Dykeman at 733-2164 ext. 217 or visit online for information about the Foundation www.TCLib.org/foundation. Information about the many current services, programs and events provided by Teton County Library are also available at www.TCLib.org.

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