“Oh what a night…”

Was it the Dells who sang that phrase in 1969 or ‘just my imagination running away with me’ manipulating my brain to categorize the intimacy, caring, and gracious spirits that permeated Thursday evening’s “word, revisited?”

Featured speaker, Dr. John W. Crowley and Bill Berry, Jr., CEO/Publisher, aaduna

 
John W. Crowley conducted a well-paced informative lecture fueled by scholarly knowledge, wit, booming laughter, and a soft cadence that resonated with his audience. His topic dealt with the history and scope of 19th century books illuminated by historical anecdotes, publishing formats, and behind the scenes historical observances. 

Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad (1869) book cover 

Dr. Crowley covered pre-Civil War and subsequent book publishing initiatives and direct marketing strategies to solicit the ordering of subscription books by the general public, and then delivering those purchased books into the hands of a welcoming public. His “lecture” was a panorama of words in a concise, deliberative style that kept the audience engaged and attentive. 

The evening’s Q&A enhanced the lecture style of Crowley’s presentation, and engaged the audience in further intellectual enrichment. Clearly, it was a fine evening of brain food and broadening one’s sense of a particular subject matter, namely antique books and the worthiness of collecting and sharing such items. And this is not intellectual chauvinism to diminish beer and live music venues that abound throughout the community. It is an intriguing testament to the simple fact that broadening reflective thought, intellectual discourse and conversational engagement is alive and well with room to grow and expand. John Crowley facilitated those objectives in fine form as the “word, revisited” featured speaker. Hats off and loud hand claps to Dr. Crowley. The evening continued with lively conversation during the intermission as a backdrop to the next scheduled anticipated aspect of the evening.

(Left to Right) Bill Berry, Jr., CEO/Publisher, aaduna; Karen Faris (open mic), Martin Willitts, Jr. (open mic),          Jeffrey Paul Horn (open mic), Laura Williams French (open mic), Ron VanNostrand, Publisher, Olive Trees;               Linda Griggs (open mic), Eileen McHugh, Executive Director, Cayuga Museum;  
Dr. John W. Crowley, featured speaker, Bobbie Panek (open mic)

The number of open mic readers was further evidence that creativity via words is an energetic and welcoming opportunity to share and nurture one’s literary spirit with others. Once again, the themes and styles of expression were diverse while readers explored interesting pathways to deliver poetry and prose to a well-versed audience. 


So, move over Dells. ‘Cause it was “Oh What a Night” at the Carriage House Theater in Auburn, NY !

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“word, revisited” is a bi-monthly (2^nd and 4^th Thursday at 6 PM) literary series sponsored by the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Olive Trees, and aaduna held at the museum’s Carriage House Theater located behind the museum in Auburn, NY. 

Join us on October 26 when poet, publisher, and educator Heidi Nightengale will be the featured speaker.  The fall 2017 season will close on November 9^th with poet and poetry historian Jim Ellis and poet and musician Dan Cleveland as the featured speakers.  

Sign-up for open mic starts at 5:30 PM.  $3/person admission.  Wine, beer, soft drinks, and snacks are available for purchase. All proceeds go directly to benefit the ongoing work of the Cayuga Museum.

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aaduna - an online adventure with words and images - a globally read, multi-cultural, and diverse online literary and visual arts journal established in 2010.  Visit us at www.aaduna.org where we put measurable actions to our words.

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