January -February -March -April-May -June -July -August -September -October -November-December
 

July 2, Saturday
1:00-4:00 p.m.
 

Writing the Revolution: May You Live in Interesting Times
Author Talk Series
Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, entrance on Arch Street
Perhaps no event is more poignant in modern Persian history then the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the ruling imperial government. While this is certainly not the pinnacle of Persian history, it is, nonetheless, a watershed in the long history of the Persian people. In this light, the “Writing the Revolution” series will explore “revolution” from the political, social, and environment perspectives. With works set in the United States and Ecuador, these works explore life in interesting times.
September 15: Marnie Mueller, author of Green Fires
September 22: Agnes Bushell, author of Local Deities
September 29: Anna Balint, author of Horse Thief
 

The Persian Influence: Religion and Spirituality
Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, entrance on Arch Street
Khadija Marcia Radin, founder and director of The Dervish Center and a member of Sufi Ruhaniat International, will discuss the history of Sufism, dervishes and their spiritual focus and training. Khadija will also demonstrate traditional whirling. Following the whirling demonstration, a panel will convene to discuss the Persian influence on modern spiritual practices. Panelists include Beatrice Manz, associate professor of History at Tufts University; Dr. Steven Blackburn, director of the Hartford Seminary Library; and, Sheikha Khadija. founder and director of The Dervish Center in Ithaca, NY. The panel will be moderated by Kelton Cobb, professor of Theology and Ethics at The Hartford Seminary.
 

Fall Film Series: In Celebration of Reading and Classic Western Literature
Tom Jones (1963), based on the 1749 comic epic by Henry Fielding
Program Room, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., entrance on Arch Street
 

Poetry Uncorked: The History and Wisdom of Wine from the Wine Estates of Persia to the Wine Estates of Connecticut
Wine connoisseur Leonard Gulino, will explore the history of wine from Persia to our home state Connecticut. Learn about the history of wine and the influence of wine on the works of world renowned Persian poets Hafez, Rumi, and Omar Khayyam. Persian poetry will be rendered in English, accompanied with traditional music. All participants will be offered fortune-telling verse by Hafez and a tasting of Shiraz wines.
 

Fall Film Series: In Celebration of Reading and Classic Western Literature
Washington Square (1997), based on the novel by Henry James
Program Room, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., entrance on Arch Street
 

The Art and History of Persian Carpets: Slide/Lecture
Program Room, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., entrance on Arch Street
Islamic art Historian, Carol Bier is a research associate at The Textile Museum in Washington, DC, where she served as curator for Eastern Hemisphere Collections for seventeen years. She is author of The Persian Velvets at Rosenborg, editor and contributing author of Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran(16th-19th Centuries), and editor of The Textile Museum Journal. Her award-winning on-line exhibition, “Symmetry & Pattern: The Art of Oriental Carpets” www.mathforum.org/geometry/rugs/ is a collaborative project of The Math Forum at Swarthmore College and The Textile Museum."
 

International Book Bazaar
Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., entrance on Arch Street
1:00-5:00 p.m.
Outdoors and under tents there will be book sellers, including world language books; international bazaar items; a tea tent with exotic treats; storytellers, marionettes, belly dancers, leaf readers, mehendi art, music and games. Join us for an international event with something of interest for everyone in the family. Inside, in quieter spaces, there will be a panel discussion, Learning and the Open Society; and, a One Book discussion, Reading Lolita in Tehran, an opportunity to learn more about the One Book before the evening’s Author Event.

One Book for Greater Hartford Author Event with Azar Nafisi
Hartford Public Library Atrium, 500 Main St., entrance on Arch Street
7:00-8:00 p.m. author talk and Q&A
8:00-9:00 p.m., book signing and reception
Author Azar Nafisi is a visiting professor and the director of the SAIS Dialogue Project at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (Washington, DC). Reading Lolita in Tehran (Random House 2003) has enjoyed more than 73 weeks on the NY Times bestseller list. One Book for Greater Hartford is a program of Hartford Public Library presented in partnership with the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Greater Hartford Literacy Council, Preview Connecticut, Hartford Advocate and WDRC The Talk of Connecticut and The Mary Jones Show. Walter Harrison, President, University of Hartford, is the 2005 One Book honorary chair. Telling Passages is a program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

All Hartford Public Library events are free and open to the public.
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Fall Film Series: In Celebration of Reading and Classic Western Literature
Lolita (1997), based on the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov
Program Room, Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., entrance on Arch Street