Area’s ‘Southeast Reads: Orphan Train’ Features Bestseller, Live Performances
Throughout January, free programs at each of the 15 libraries of the Southeastern Public Library System of Oklahoma (SEPLSO) will recognize both the literary merit of bestselling novel “The Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline and the historical events that inspired it. Each library will host at least one book discussion and one program for younger readers.
Three special performances at McAlester, Idabel and Poteau, sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities, will bring the themes of the book to life. Books are now available for checkout at the library at 401 N. 2nd.
At McAlester Public Library, events will include a live multi-media performance by artists Phil Lancaster and Alison Moore, in their show “Riders on the Orphan Train,” on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Shows will follow the next two days at Idabel and Poteau.
There will be book discussions by the McAlester Light Readers book group on Monday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Conference Room, and a special community-wide book discussion on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m., led by local school board president and Oklahoma Humanities scholar Stephanie Giacomo in the library’s Whiteacre Room.
Giacomo, a McAlester native, has a passion for civic engagement, history, and community. She holds Bachelor’s and Masters of Arts degrees in History from the University of Central Oklahoma. She’s an Adjunct Instructor of History for Eastern Oklahoma State College and the Executive Director of Pride in McAlester, a local Keep America Beautiful Affiliate. She is a member of the Lions Club, McAlester Tree Board, and is an elected member of the McAlester Public Schools Board of Education, currently serving as President. She was awarded the McAlester Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional of the Year in 2013. Giacomo has led book discussions before through the Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma! Program, also funded by the Oklahoma Humanities.
Funding for this program is provided in part by a grant from Oklahoma Humanities (OH) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this [program, publication, exhibition, website] do not necessarily represent those of OH or NEH.
In addition, many children’s programs throughout the month will feature programs centered on the phenomenon of the orphan trains, an early 20th-Century effort to place unwanted children in homes in the Midwest and West.
“A special display at McAlester Library features a photograph of orphans lined up for inspection by McAlester-area families. Those with family histories about the orphan trains are especially encouraged to attend any of these special programs,” said Head Librarian Kathy McGilberry. “Many of us know people who were riders on the orphan trains, and might have stories to share.”
The children’s book club, The Great Escape, will discuss “Nettie and Nellie Crook: Orphan Train Sisters” by E.F. Abbot, at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30.
The year is the third for “Southeast Reads,” a cooperative effort by SEPLSO libraries. Novelist and artist Alison Moore, and singer-songwriter, Phil Lancaster, with combined audio visual elements, historical fiction and musical ballads, will bring the Orphan Train movement, a largely-unknown chapter in American history, to public awareness.
Moore, MFA, is a former Assistant Professor of English/Creative Writing in the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Arizona and a current Humanities Scholar. She lives in Austin and has been touring nationally since 1998 with the multi-media program “Riders on the Orphan Train,” that is currently the official outreach program for the National Orphan Train Complex Museum and Research Center. She has also developed public outreach programs for the Orphan Train Heritage Society of America, Inc. and for ArtsReach, a Native American literacy project in Southern Arizona.
She is the author of four books, the historical novel “Riders on the Orphan Train” from Roadworthy Press in 2012, a collection of short fiction, The Middle of Elsewhere from Phoenix International, University of Arkansas Press in 2006, a novel, Synonym for Love (Penguin/Plume 1996), and. a collection of short stories entitled Small Spaces between Emergencies (Mercury House, 1992) one of the Notable Books of 1993 chosen by The American Library Association She received two National Endowment for the Arts Fiction Fellowships in 1993 and 2010 and the Katherine Ann Porter Prize for Fiction in 2004. In 2007/2008 she received the J. Frank Dobie Paisano fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Institute of Letters. In 2012 she received the Charles Loring Brace Award for helping to preserve the stories of the Orphan Trains. Lancaster was born in Texarkana, Arkansas and studied art and music at L’Ecole De Beaux Arts in Angers, France. He became a member of a bluegrass band that toured throughout France and produced an album entitled “Bluegrass Oldies Ltd./Traveling Show.” After returning to the U.S. he met three Arkansas musicians and the acoustic quartet “Still on the Hill” was formed in Fayetteville. They released their first CD in 1997, the second in 2000. The group performed at national and international folk festivals. Currently, he tours in France with Phillipe Charlot in the acoustic duo “Transatlantique.” In 2007 he received an Arkansas Arts Council Fellowship in Music Composition. He is co-producer of the documentary film “Gospel, Biscuits and Gravy” about Ozark gospel singer Ernestine Shepherd and presenter of “Riders on the Orphan Train,” the official outreach program for the National Orphan Train Complex
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