James Romm, author of Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece’s Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece, in conversation with Frederic Hof, author of Reaching for the Heights: The Inside Story of a Secret Attempt to Reach a Syrian-Israeli Peace.

Richard Hornik sits down with Mark Clifford, author of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic, in conversation with Jerome Cohen, author of Eastward, Westward: A Life in Law.

Norfolk’s own Linda Bell and Maura May, both talented musicians, will join forces on the library piano. Four-hand piano playing has a surprising cultural history. In the 19th century as pianos became more affordable, arrangements for four hands brought a large repertoire of music into the middle-class family home. This was before the advent of the phonograph, and the only way to hear new music, short of going to the concert hall, was to play it on the piano. Music publishers arranged symphonies, operas, and chamber music for four hands, and the piano became the centerpiece of domestic life. In addition, composers such as Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms wrote music for four hands.

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Jean Strouse, author of Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers, in conversation with Susan Galassi, author of Picasso’s Variations on the Masters

The Brendan Gill Lecture Betsy Lerner, author of Shred Sisters (a novel).

Hampton Sides, author of The Wide, Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, in conversation with Adam Higginbotham, author of Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.

Dagmar Herzog, author of The Question of Unworthy Life: Eugenics and Germany’s Twentieth Century, in conversation with Sophia Rosenfeld, author of The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life. 

Caleb Smith, author of Thoreau’s Axe: Distraction and Discipline in American Culture, in conversation with Jennifer Fleissner, author of Maladies of the Will: The American Novel and the Modernity Problem. 

A Walk in the Woods with Brian Donahue and Mike Zarfos* Registration is required: Limited to 20 people. Location: GMF Sugar House, top of Windrow Road.

Brian Donahue, author of Slow Wood: Greener Building from Local Forests, in conversation with Mike Zarfos Executive Director, Great Mountain Forest.

Kevin West, author of The Cook’s Garden: A Gardener’s Guide to Selecting, Growing, and Savoring the Tastiest Vegetables of Each Season, in conversation with Sara B. Franklin, author of The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America

America The Beautiful may be America’s most beloved song. It celebrates the country’s natural beauty and makes a powerful appeal for justice, brotherhood and inclusion. But few know about the fascinating life of Katharine Lee Bates; the woman who wrote the song. Her story should not be forgotten, nor its context. The first words of her poem America (later set to music and called America the Beautiful) came to Bates as she surveyed the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains from the broad summit of Colorado’s Pike’s Peak on July 22, 1893. This documentary examines her remarkable life as poet, professor, and social reformer; an unsung hero who was deeply committed to the beauty and principles of our country. The film will be introduced by its writer/director John de Graaf.

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The Mops began as a folk-forward songwriting project between school orchestra friends Greg Hunter and Charlotte Hill (daughter of Norfolk’s Meg Hill) in the suburbs of New York City. Now joined by fiddle player Ellie MacPhee and drummer Danny Mendelson, The Mops enjoy sharing their intimate, thought-provoking, and often toe-tapping songs up and down the East Coast.

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An exhilarating portrait of civil rights activist and community organizer Dolores Fernandez Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Cesar Chavez. Huerta is perhaps best known for her work leading the unionizing efforts of farm workers in California in the 1960s, but her impact on American life stretches far beyond that. She has been a constant and vocal advocate for the rights of women, immigrants, and people living in poverty. Her deceptively simple exhortation—”¡SÍ se puede!” (Yes, we can!)—contains the yearning for change and has become the mantra for generations of activists. Dolores calls us all to action, to pay attention and to be engaged citizens who make a difference. A timely reminder of the power of collective action in service of social justice, the film will be introduced by Dolores Huerta’s nephew, John Fernandez.

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Jon Brunelle will present a brief history of the craft of illusory magic together with a sleight-of-hand demonstration, while taking a look at how magicians’ control of information and secrecy has changed over time. Jon practiced sleight-of-hand magic professionally during the 1970’s and ’80s, winning First Prize in a national close-up magic competition held by the Society of American Magicians in 1978. During his later career, he presented satiric slideshow lectures in collaboration with New York’s electronic music and video artists. His solo show, Better Love Through Surveillance, had successful stagings in downtown New York theaters during the 2010’s. Jon is retired and lives full-time in Norfolk.

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The dramatic story of Dan Rather and his CBS News team’s courageous coverage of the Tiananmen Square uprising and subsequent crackdown represents a pinnacle in television news’ ability to provide live reporting of unfolding events on the world stage. Although CBS News delved into the Tiananmen Square story without hesitation, it was the obvious bravery of the Chinese student leaders in the face of their government’s growing impatience that grabbed the world’s attention. This film will be introduced by its director, Bestor Cram.

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Coming to Light tells the dramatic story of Edward S. Curtis, a complicated, passionate, self-educated pioneer and visionary artist who set out in 1900 to document traditional Native American life before it was gone. He created an astonishing body of work: thousands of wax recordings, a full length motion picture with Kwakiutl people, twenty volumes of text, and forty thousand photographs. The film explores the often controversial nature of Curtis’ romantic images, and the meaning they have for Native Americans today. In the documentary, Hopi, Navajo, Cupig, Blackfeet, Piegan, Crow, Suquamish, Kwakiutl and Gros Ventre people, descendants of Curtis’ photographic subjects, tell stories about the people in the pictures, and describe ways in which they are using the photographs to revive their own traditions in the modern world. The film will be introduced by director Anne Makepeace.

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Imagine a scene never before witnessed: sixteen French pastry chefs gathered in Lyon for three intense days of mixing, piping, and sculpting everything from delicate chocolates to six-foot sugar sculptures in hopes of being declared by President Nicolas Sarkozy one of the best. This is the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition (Best Craftsmen in France). The blue, white and red striped collar worn on the jackets of the winners is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef – it is a dream and an obsession. Filmmakers D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus secured exclusive access to shoot this epic, never-before-filmed test of France’s finest artisans. The film will be introduced by its producer Flora Lazar.

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Rooted in tradition with an ear toward the future, contemporary folk duo Rakish embody earnest musical exploration and an infectious playfulness in their music. Fiddler Maura Shawn Scanlin, acclaimed for her expressive playing, was raised in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains. Her songwriting and clawhammer banjo technique hint at regional old-time ballads. Further north, guitarist Conor Hearn grew up steeped in the venerated Washington, D.C. Irish music scene and developed a keen interest in literature and poetry. The pair’s deep musical connection and unbridled love for pushing traditional sounds forward is striking. They refuse to be pigeonholed into one genre and are most comfortable occupying the in-between as they journey through Celtic and Americana styles, deftly showcasing how to bring forth something new from the deep well of tradition.

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