Main Library

*CANCELLED* Reading with Writer-In-Residence Kevin Lavelle

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*PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES REGARDING THIS PROGRAM*

The Community Library’s Writer-In-Residence at the Mary and Ernest Hemingway House, Kevin Lavelle, will share several short stories that are the focus of his residency.

Originally from Galway, Ireland, Kevin Lavelle is a television and film editor and writer based in Los Angeles. His short story “Bury Me In The Garden” was awarded the inaugural Over The Edge New Writer of the Year competition in 2007. He graduated from UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting in 2018 and is currently adapting the Irish fantasy/horror novel “Terror On The Burren” by Ré Ó Laighléis for the screen. Kevin is also the inaugural recipient of Writing by Writer’s first residency collaboration with The Community Library.

“The Roxy Letters” a Virtual Conversation with Mary Pauline Lowry

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UPDATE: We experienced technical difficulties with our Livestream during last night’s virtual conversation with author Mary Pauline Lowry. We apologize to everyone who tried to tune in. We did record the conversation, and it can be viewed now on our Livestream page. Mary read from and answered questions about her new novel, The Roxy Letters, with Library executive director Jenny Emery Davidson. They discussed Alice Walker and writing a rom-com novel, as well as Mary’s experiences in the BSU MFA program, releasing a book during a pandemic, and how she seeks a life that shelters her writing life. We hope you enjoy the recording!

 

Join The Community Library for a virtual conversation with Mary Pauline Lowry, author of The Roxy Letters. Lowry will be in conversation with the Library’s Executive Director, Jenny Emery Davidson.

This program will be live streamed from the Library’s Lecture Hall and can be watched on our LIVESTREAM page. The conversation will also be recorded for later viewing. The audience will be able to participate in the conversation and ask questions through the Livestream chat (free Livestream account required) or by emailing questions to mwilliams@comlib.org.

 

Bridget Jones penned a diary; Roxy writes letters. Specifically: she writes letters to her hapless, rent-avoidant ex-boyfriend—and current roommate—Everett. This charming and funny twenty-something is under-employed (and under-romanced), and she’s decidedly fed up with the indignities she endures as a deli maid at (the original) Whole Foods, and the dismaying speed at which her beloved Austin is becoming corporatized. When a new Lululemon pops up at the intersection of Sixth and Lamar where the old Waterloo Video used to be, Roxy can stay silent no longer.

As her letters to Everett become less about overdue rent and more about the state of her life, Roxy realizes she’s ready to be the heroine of her own story. She decides to team up with her two best friends to save Austin—and rescue Roxy’s love life—in whatever way they can. But can this spunky, unforgettable millennial keep Austin weird, avoid arrest, and find romance—and even creative inspiration—in the process?

Join The Community Library for an evening with Mary Pauline Lowry, author of The Roxy Letters, new from Simon and Schuster in April 2020. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Mary Pauline holds an MA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Texas and an MFA in Creative Writing from Boise State University. She’s also the author of the novel Wildfire and is a regular contributor to O Magazine. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and The Millions, among other publications.

 

This program was originally scheduled for April 16. Books are available for sale at Iconoclast Books.

*CANCELLED* Backcountry Skiing in Antarctica with Muffy Ritz

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*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We will attempt to reschedule for later in 2020.

Can you backcountry ski in Antarctica? Yes! Follow along with Sun Valley guides, Joe St. Onge, Muffy Ritz, Jennifer Tormey, Quinn Baser and others as they travel down to the bottom of the earth and ski among icebergs, penguins, seals, whales and towering peaks. Muffy Ritz will share how mind blowing this once in a lifetime trip was; and she’ll share how as the planet heats up, this experience may be melting away.

Muffy Ritz is a resident of Ketchum, lifetime athlete and adventurer, and creator of the women’s cross country skiing program, The Vamps.

Photo credit: Betsy Lawrence.

*CANCELLED* 30 Years of Conservation in Idaho

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*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We may attempt to reschedule it for later in 2020.

Join us for an evening with Lou Lunte, deputy director of The Nature Conservancy in Idaho, Will Whelan, executive director of Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts, and Rocky Barker, author and former environmental reporter for the Idaho Statesman, as they share stories and discuss the impact of thirty years of conservation efforts in Idaho.

This program will be live streamed and available for later viewing on our LIVESTREAM page.

Presented in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy in Idaho.

Photo Credit: ComDesignsTNC

*CANCELLED* Special Screening: “Sawtooths On My Mind”

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*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We will attempt to reschedule it for later in 2020.

Who can forget that first view of the Sawtooth Mountain range, one of the West’s most iconic settings? For many people, the Sawtooth Wilderness is their favorite–so accessible with mountain lakes within walking distance and jagged peaks shaped like the blade of a crosscut saw.

During the summer months, it is not unusual to find hikers from all over the world enjoying the hundreds of miles of trails that connect many of the 400 lakes scattered throughout the distinctive granite peaks.

Sawtooths on My Mind examines the attraction of this remarkable mountain range, from the point of view of people who are seeing it for the first time, and folks who have worked for decades to preserve the unique flavor of the region. They all speak from the heart about one of Idaho’s truly inspiring landscapes.

Presented in collaboration with Idaho Public Television.

Q&A with the creators of Outdoor Idaho to follow.

IPT Outdoor Idaho

 

*CANCELLED* “Early Sun Valley: Union Pacific, Averell Harriman and Alf Engen” with John Lundin

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*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We will attempt to reschedule for later in 2020.

Join lawyer, historian and author John W. Lundin for a presentation on Averell Harriman’s role in developing Sun Valley, using the resources of the Union Pacific Railroad, ski tournaments and famous skiers, to make the resort the country’s center of skiing and an international destination after it opened in the remote mountains of Idaho in December 1936.  The presentation uses historic photographs from The Community Library, Engen family, and the Mariotte Library at the University of Utah.

Harriman was single handedly responsible for developing Sun Valley into the country’s first destination ski resort, as a way to restore rail passenger traffic that had been decimated by the Great Depression. Harriman hired some of the best skiers to work at Sun Valley, including Alf Engen, one of the best known, skiers during the 1930s and 1940s. Engen is closely associated with Utah, best remembered for being the director of the Alta, Utah, ski school from 1948 until 1989. However, he played an important role in Sun Valley’s early days, a story that is virtually unknown these days.

John W. Lundin has written and lectured extensively about Wood River Valley history, inspired by his great-grandparents Matthew and Isabelle Campbell McFall who moved to Bellevue, Idaho, in 1881, and were early pioneers of the area. John’s first book, Early Skiing on Snoqualmie Pass, was named outstanding regional ski history book in 2018 by the International Ski History Association.  He has two books that will be published in summer 2020: Skiing Sun Valley, A History from the Union Pacific to the Holdings, by History Press; and Sun Valley, Ketchum and the Wood River Valley, an Images of America series book, by Arcadia Press.

During his presentation, John will also present a preview of his two books that will be published later this year:  Sun Valley, Ketchum and the Wood River Valley, an Images of America book to be published by Arcadia press in summer 2020; and Skiing Sun Valley, a History from Union Pacific to the Holdings, to be published by History Press in fall 2020.  John is donating his profits from both books to the Center for Regional History at The Community Library.

 

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