The Tannery Series

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The Tannery Series

As I Lay Dying

Elegies, Funeral Pyres and a Coffin! The Tannery Series Hosts a Literary All Souls Feast

Come get your ghost on with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Paul Harding and acclaimed essayist Jaed Coffin.

October 15, 2011 @ 7p.m.

Tis’ the season for apparitions, lost souls and stories from the Beyond. The Tannery Series is celebrating the Halloween season with tales of death-bed visions and voices from the afterlife. Join authors Paul Harding and Jaed Coffin for As I Lay Dying, a literary visit with the mysterious, haunting and otherworldly.

On the program:

Paul Harding (Tinkers, Pulitzer Prize 2010) reading from his stunning debut novel, which follows three generations of New Englanders from life to death and back again. Beginning at the death-bed of George Washington Crosby and expanding to include the life of his epileptic father and the lives of his decedents, Harding’s characters make an ecstatic, transcendental journey—a journey which explores the mysteries of human consciousness and the beauty of nature.

Jaed Coffin (A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants) reading from his essay, "My Mother's Burning Body," first published in The Sun Magazine. Reaching from Maine to Thailand, this elegant memoir centers on Coffin’s startling remembrance of his mother's funeral pyre and probes the larger meaning of inheritance between a parent and child.

This event is free and open to the public, but come early to grab a front-row seat for the sweet hereafter.

For more information email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 


 

Summer Lovin'

A Teen-Age Dwarf, an Extra-Marital Affair, the Dark History of the South and a Voice That Would Put Susan Boyle to Shame: This is Summer Love Like You’ve Never Felt it Before

Authors Rachel DeWoskin and Steve Yarbrough Read from Novels That Will Make Your Brain and Heart Sizzle

June 4, 2011 @ 7p.m.

Break out the fans and the cold drinks and join us for an evening of love, sex, song and murder. Authors Rachel DeWoskin and Steve Yarbrough roam from Michigan to Mississippi and from the halls of high school to the small towns of the South, exploring sexual politics, history, race, youth and innocence. The cruelties are casual and the flings are deadly serious.

On the program:

Rachel DeWoskin (Big Girl Small) reading from her fierce, brilliant new novel, which features the unforgettable Judy Lohden, a 3 foot 9 inch tall, 16-year-old musical phenom, who finds herself at the center of a scandal about to go viral.

Steve Yarbrough (Safe from the Neighbors) sharing his fictional world of Loring, MS. In this haunting, beautiful novel, which spans the civil rights era and the contemporary Delta, love tangles with murder and no one can escape history.

All events are free and open to the public. Come turn up the heat!

For more information email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 


 

A Scandal of Women

The Tannery Series Kicks off its Second Year by Taking Mother’s Day to a Whole New Level

Join Authors Aine Greaney, Pamela Greenberg and Jedediah Berry for a Celebration of Moms with Supernatural Powers, Biblical Rage and a Hotline to the Almighty

May 7, 2011 @ 7p.m.

Need a little “mutha” in your Mother’s Day? Ditch the buffet brunch and chenille bathrobe (really, she doesn’t need another one) and join the Tannery Reading Series for A Scandal of Women: a literary evening of all-powerful women that leaves the Hallmark holiday in the dust. In honor of the great maternal One, award-winning authors Aine Greaney, Pamela Greenberg and Jedediah Berry  will take us beyond the clichés of “Mommy Dearest” and “Super Mom” to do that amazing lady justice. Come celebrate Mom in all her true power and glory.

On the program:

Aine Greaney (Dance Lessons) shares her clear-eyed tale of loss and redemption, which reaches from America to Ireland and features a mother whose titanic rage scatters children across continents.

Pamela Greenberg (The Complete Psalms) discusses her ground-breaking translation of the Psalms, which—for the first time in history—does not specify God’s gender and includes women as part of the Psalm’s prayers and conversations.

Jedediah Berry (The Manual of Detection) reads from his ambitious detective novel, which rockets beyond the traditional whodunit to create a brilliant, surreal world where a mother and daughter can manipulate your dreams.

All events are free and open to the public, but come early to save Mama a seat.

For more information email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 


 

Podcast

The Tannery Series now has a podcast. At first we'll be featuring recordings of our events, but we'll be adding other snappy content over the coming months. Make your commute a little more provocative and entertaining.

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About

The Tannery Reading Series brings authors to the North Shore whose writing confronts the world in essential and curious ways. Showcasing newly evolving as well as traditional forms, burgeoning talent and the well-loved names of our age, the events create something smart, combustible and fun.

The reading series will take place three times over the course of 2011 at the Tannery Mall’s Jabberwocky Bookshop, in historic Newburyport.

Our next event, As I Lay Dying, will take place October 15th at 7pm.

Our Scandalous Past

Did you miss a previous reading? Relive the glory. Click on the links below for recordings of the events.

Love, Lust and Loathing: Feb 13, 2010

Are You Cool?: Jun 26, 2010

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