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Greetings,
We have a very busy spring planned, and we hope that as the flowers return to Philadelphia, members, guests, and tourists will also find many opportunities to visit the Athenaeum. Our children's illustration show has already proven to be a popular exhibition in the gallery, drawing University of the Arts faculty and students, as well as our own Athenaeum membership. Our literary activities traditionally pick up in the spring since we give the Athenaeum's Literary Award in May. This year we have planned an exciting evening in late April with Award winners from the past, who will discuss their own writing process and entertain questions from the audience regarding the inspiration for writing, the research involved, and the whole publication plan. This is an opportunity for members and guests to gain real behind-the-scenes insight into how writers approach the writing project and mastermind getting the manuscript from computer to publication. Spring is here, and April showers may dampen Washington Square; but they will not dampen the programs and activities planned for the Athenaeum. We hope to see you soon!
Banner Image: Mid 19th
century encaustic tile from the vestibule of the Athenaeum.
Staff News
 Congratulations to Denise! Denise
Fox has been selected as a semifinalist for the 25th American
Quilter’s Society Quilt Show, April 22 to 25, to be held at the Paducah Expo
Center in Paducah, KY. She will join
387 others in the annual contest. Her
quilt, “New Jersey Beauty,” represents hundreds of hours of work and was
chosen from a field of 709 quilts. The
annual quilt exhibition brings more than 35,000 quilters, collectors, and
vendors to Paducah each spring.
Above: "New Jersey
Beauty," by Denise Fox.
Symposium of Past Literary Award Winners
Do
you ever wonder what happens to our past Literary Award winners?
Well, this is your opportunity to see them in action, discussing their
books, their new projects, and their writing methods.
Join us at a program which brings together Award winners Charlene Mires
(2002), Jack Repcheck (2003), Kermit Roosevelt (2005) and David Traxel (2006).
Moderated by Cordelia Biddle, this panel discussion should be lively and
informative.
 Books published by the members of the panel will be available for sale.
Wednesday, April
22, 2009
Reception: 6:00 PM
Program: 7:00 PM
Athenaeum Members
Free: RSVP to Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688 or sgallo@philaathenaeum.org
Non-members: $10.00
Register
Here
Photo by Jim Carroll.
Literary Award Presentation
 The Literary Awards Committee Invites you to the
Athenaeum Literary Award to be presented to Walter A. McDougall for Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877 The sequel to
Freedom Just Around the Corner in which Dr. McDougall chronicled America’s beginnings,
Throes of Democracy opens with the fire of 1835 which destroyed Lower Manhattan and finishes with the election and Centennial celebration of 1876. Much more than just a traditional history of the period surrounding the Civil War,
Throes of Democracy casts a broad net, revealing surprising facts and developments that shaped this period.
Walter A. McDougall is Professor of History and the Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania. A graduate of Amherst College, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and taught at U.C. Berkeley for 13 years before coming to Penn to direct its International Relations Program. Dr. McDougall is the author of many other books, including
Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585-1828 (2004),
Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter With the World Since 1776 (1997) and
Let the Sea Make a Noise: A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur (1993). In 1986 Professor McDougall won the Pulitzer Prize for
The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age.
Behind the Scenes Tour
 Do
you know where this is? Well, you will if you come to the "behind the
scenes" tour on Wednesday, April 15th at 5:30pm. This is also an
opportunity for you to bring a friend who might be interested in acquiring an
Athenaeum share. Light refreshments will be served.
April
15, 2009, 5:30pm
RSVP to Susan Gallo at sgallo@philaathenaeum.org or
215-925-2688.
Above: Still Life by Severin
Roesen.
Save
the Date:
April
6: Athenaeum Annual Meeting, 5:30pm
April
14: Socrates Cafe, 11:00am
April
15: Behind the Scenes Tour: 5:30pm
April
18: First Writing Workshop with Cordelia Biddle, 11:00am
April
22: Symposium of Past Literary Award Winners, 6:00pm
See
the Event
Calendar for details and additional
events.
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