Xavier University English teacher and author Katheryn Krotzer Laborde will discuss her new book, “Flannery O’Connor’s Manhattan,” at 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.
Laborde says that much has been made of O’Connor’s life on a Georgia dairy farm, a rural setting that influenced her writing. “But before she lived on that farm, before she showed signs of having lupus, before she became dependent on her mother and then succumbed to the disease at 39, O’Connor lived in the Northeast,” Laborde says.
In O’Connor’s biographies, little is said of her time in Manhattan because little has been known about it. In her book, Laborde explores New York City from O’Connor’s point of view, consulting letters (both unpublished and published) and biography, as well as five personal address books housed at Emory University in Atlanta.
The result is a book of interest to both O’Connor fans and O’Connor scholars, as well as those interested in midcentury Manhattan.
“Flannery O’Connor’s Manhattan” is part guide to the who-was-who and who-lived-where of New York from roughly 1948 to 1964, at least those as they mattered to O’Connor. It also acts as a window to the writer’s experiences in the city.
Laborde is a graduate of the University of New Orleans Creative Writing Workshop. She is the author of two other nonfiction books: “The Story behind the Painting” (Xavier Review Press, 2012), and “Do Not Open” (McFarland, 2010).
GENEALOGY: Amanda Fallis will talk about navigating the resources at the City Archives and Special Collections at 7 p.m. Oct. 2 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.
Attendees will learn how to use the new website, as well as information about the types of records held there.
Fallis is a librarian and archivist in the City Archives & Special Collections at New Orleans Public Library, where she works with genealogical and municipal government records and develops public archives programming.
TAYLOR FETE: In preparation for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour stop in New Orleans, the staff at the East Bank Regional Library is holding Taylor Fete listening party for kids, tweens, teens and adults from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 28 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.
Participants can make friendship bracelets and origami rings, and meet up with fellow fans.
GARDENING GROUPS: A number of organization will be meeting soon at Jefferson Parish libraries.
- Hibiscus Society: 1 p.m. Sept. 29, East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.
- LSU Master Gardeners: 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3, East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie
- River Ridge Bromeliad Society: 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3, Old Metairie Library, 2350 Metairie Road, Metairie.
METAIRIE EXHIBITS: A number of exhibits are on display at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. They include:
- Metairie native Jeffrey Roux’s collection of World’s Fair memorabilia, located in two display cabinets across from the branch manager’s office.
- The display cabinet near the reference desk contains a variety of games that Roux collected through the years, including some unfamiliar names Roux collected when he lived in Europe.
- The Harry Potter display has new items. The three cabinets containing Potter memorabilia can be found in the hallway leading to the nonfiction section.
- The Crescent City Depression Glass Society displays vintage items in the birthstone color of the month in a display cabinet outside the branch manager’s office. The birthstone on display for September is sapphire which represents wisdom and serenity. The displays includes platters, bowls, butter dishes, dinner plates, and more.
VOTING: Library programming at the East Bank Regional Library and the West Bank Regional Library will go on hiatus for a short period to accommodate early voting, which will take place in the meeting rooms. The rooms will not be available from Tuesday, Oct. 15 to Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Chris Smith is manager of adult programming at the Jefferson Parish Public Library.
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