Billing itself as the premier speaker series in Philadelphia, the Free Library's Author Events Series brings over one hundred writers to the city every year to talk about topics personal, artistic, and political. Last year's offerings included the Talking Heads' David Byrne, noted novelists Michael Chabon and Sandra Cisneros, and famed chef Thomas Keller.
2013 is shaping up to be much the same. February brings discussions from education to evolutionary biology, public policy, homelessness, and a celebration of Black History Month.
This month, look out for StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee talking about Radical: Fighting to Put Students First. In this new work, she offers a mixture of personal experience and case studies from fellow educators to illustrate the value of highly skilled teachers working with vulnerable students, and to make a case for her vision of education reform in the United States. She will be speaking at the Central Library, on Wednesday February 6 at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $15; student admission is $7.
Look out for Deborah Willis and Barbara Krauthamer's discussion of Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery, in which they offer 150 photographs, some never before seen, of slaves and former slaves from the 1850s through the 1930s. They will be speaking at the Central Library on Thursday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Look out for biologist Neil Shubin talking about The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People. In his new book, he writes in comprehensible and compelling terms about how the same elements that created the cosmos are the animating force for life on Earth. He will be speaking at the Central Library on Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Look out for labor activist Saru Jayaraman talking about her new book, Behind the Kitchen Door, in which she examines the lives of restaurant workers in America, their wages and working conditions, and their frequent exploitation in the name of getting customers fed. She will be speaking at the Central Library on Tuesday, February 19 at 6 p.m. Admission is free.
And look out for New York Times reporter Tina Kelley, talking just to teens about her book, Almost Home: Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope. Here she offers case studies of six young people in the United States and Canada, and their extraordinary journeys through the travails of homelessness, through the Covenant House charity, and ultimately off the street. She will be speaking at the Central Library, Wednesday, February 20 at 3:30 p.m. Admission is free.
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