Events
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Start: 2:00 pm
The 90th Illinois Volunteers, an Irish Catholic regiment formed by the Vicar General of the Chicago Diocese, and drawn from all parts of Illinois, participated in the U.S. Civil War's siege of Atlanta, the battle of Fort McAllister, and the capture of three Confederate state capitols. This afternoon, historian and retired agronomy professor James B. Swan, grandson of the 90th's Simon Swan, discusses the history of this storied regiment, the subject of his book, Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War (Southern Illinois University Press). "Through meticulous scholarship and rare personal letters, photos, and documents, James B. Swan brings to life one of the Civil War's little known Irish legions. Swan's roster of the 90th Illinois and his annotated notes make Chicago's Irish Legion an invaluable resource." – Ellen Skerrett.
Start: 2:00 pm
Co-presented with the NORTHWEST AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM. Former University of Washington professor Nikhil Pal Singh, a much-missed part of both the local university and larger community, makes this welcome return from his present base at New York University. He is here as the editor of a new book of writing by unsung civil rights activist and editor Jack O'Dell. Climbin' Jacob's Ladder: The Black Freedom Movement Writings of Jack O'Dell (University of California Press) is drawn from writing by Jack O'Dell, examples from Freedomways (the hugely influential magazine he edited from 1961 to 1985) and an introduction based upon conversations between O'Dell and Nikhil Singh. This ranges back to the 1940s and the National Maritime Union, on through Rainbow Coalition work in the 1980s, and more. "Climbin' Jacob's Ladder offers a fascinating and inspiring chronicle of O'Dell's long career through his own writings. With a brilliant and exhaustive introduction by Nikhil Singh, one of the sharpest radical thinkers of his generation, this collection is a vital addendum and corrective to our existing knowledge of the 'long' Civil Rights movement and its legacy." – Barbara Ransby. We are also delighted to be co-presenting this evening with both Dr. Singh and Jack O'Dell at, and with, the Northwest African American Museum. Free admission. The Northwest African American Museum (www.naamnw.org) is at 2300 South Massachusetts Street. For more information, please call Elliott Bay at (206) 624-6600.
Start: 7:00 pm
One of the most accomplished and committed writers at work in this country today, Micheline Aharonian Marcom makes this welcome return to Elliott Bay to read from her extraordinary recent novel, The Mirror in the Well (Dalkey Archive). Recipient of a Lannan Foundation fellowship and the Whiting Award and author of a searing, much-praised trilogy—the novels Three Apples Fell from Heaven, The Daydreaming Boy, and Draining the Sea—that trace the effects of the Armenian genocide and its subsequent diaspora over the twentieth-century, she this is no less searing in this newer book even as its subject matter is far more intimate. The Mirror in the Well is the psychologically and physically explicit account of a woman's sexual awakening—with a man who isn't her husband, and who himself is also married. "Through [its] vivid imagery, Marcom gives voice to the essence of obsession and sexuality, while tracing the deterioration of relationships. This novel is a cultural, feminist, and human statement, but at its core, it is an unrestrained exploration of the intersection of emotion and physical desires." – Publishers Weekly. "The fierce beauty of her prose both confronts readers with many breathtaking cruelties and carries us past them." – Margot Livesey, The New York Times Book Review.
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