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Greetings,
Our Athenaeum book sale opened for members on April 28th in the evening and runs through Saturday, May 1st, with hours from 10AM to 4PM each day. This sale would not be possible without the wonderful donations of Athenaeum members and the many volunteer hours spent sorting and pricing books as well as staffing the sale itself. Thank you to all of the volunteers!
The book sale leads us into Literary May, when we have scheduled three programs designed to appeal to the literary in all of us: the Athenaeum Literary Award, “Crime Does Pay,” a panel of local mystery and detective writers, and finally the Saturnalia Books poetry reading. This is our first Literary May, but it follows a tradition of giving the Literary Award which extends back to
1949.
Above:
Athenaeum canvas book bag available at the book sale. Photo by Jim
Carroll.
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Image: Athenaeum Book Sale. Photo by Jim Carroll.
New Books for May
Literary Award Presentation
 The
2009 Literary Award winner is Richard Beeman for his book Plain Honest Men,
The Making of the American Constitution.
An
historian of late 18th-century America, Richard Beeman enlivens an account of
the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. The heat of the
summer, a tense atmosphere, and the need for compromise bring the Convention
delegates to their decisions. Lauded by one reviewer as the "most
authoritative, up-to-date treatment of the Constitutional Convention since
Catherine Drinker Bowen's Miracle at Philadelphia of 1966, Plain
Honest Men lends new depth to our understanding of the beginnings of the
United States and the composition of the world's most enduring national
constitution.
Wednesday,
May 5, 2010
5:30pm
Free for Members and
Non-Members. RSVP to Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688, or sgallo@PhilaAthenaeum.org.
 Join
local authors William Lashner, Merry Jones, George Anastasia, Gerald Kolpan,
Jonathan Levitan, and moderator Cordelia Frances Biddle for a lively discussion
of the art of mystery and suspense writing. Whether the genre is
historical, thriller, traditional, or true crime with plots ripped out of the
daily headlines, our experts will reveal their fascination with all things
dangerous and sinister.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Reception: 5:30
Panel: 6:00pm
Book signing to
follow.
Free for Members and
Non-Members. RSVP to Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688, or sgallo@PhilaAthenaeum.org.
Shakespeare
Workshop
 Ejner
Jensen, Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan, will offer a workshop
on "Shakespeare's Comic Practice." In this session, Professor
Jensen will lead the group in exploring elements of Shakespearean comedy on a
number of levels ranging from the design of entire plays, to the development of
scenes, to the creation of characters. He will use film excerpts to
illustrate lecture materials and to initiate discussion.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Members: $25
Non-Members: $35
Register
here
Poetry
Readings from Saturnalia Books
 Join us for an evening of poetry with
Saturnalia
Books, Philadelphia's local
poetry press. Carl Phillips, Margaret Ronda, Sabrina Orah Marks, and
Kristi Maxwell will share their work with us in this showcase of
Saturnalia poets.
Saturnalia Books' mission is to publish literary
works, primarily poetry, of high merit, by new and established writers; to
encourage collaboration between poets and visual artists, particularly in book
form; and to encourage the publication of literature of a non-commercial and
challenging nature.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
6:00pm
Reception and
book signing to
follow.
Free for Members and
Non-Members. RSVP to Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688, or sgallo@PhilaAthenaeum.org.
Save
the Date:
May
5: Literary Award Program, Richard Beeman, Plain Honest Men, 5:30pm
May
11: Socrates Cafe, 11:00am
May
12: Crime Does Pay author panel, 5:30pm
May
18: Shakespeare
Workshop, 3:30pm
May
20: Saturnalia
Books Poetry Reading, 6:00pm
June
2: Jennifer Lee Carrell
Lecture, 5:30pm
See
the Event
Calendar for details and additional
events.
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