The annual Hemingway Distinguished Lecture is presented each July, honoring the month of Ernest Hemingway’s birth and death. The event celebrates the power of words and the creative spirit in a landscape that Hemingway loved.

This year, The Community Library welcomes PERCIVAL EVERETT, one of the most innovative, provocative, and prolific writers of our time. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for Fiction, he has produced a captivating and immensely diverse collection of genre-bending literary works that challenge and inspire readers to contemplate and reconsider the societal and cultural forces that shape our worldviews.

In his wide-ranging literary works, Everett examines a plethora of questions at the core of what it means to be human. From “western” and epistolary novels and wild capers to retellings of Greek mythology, short stories, and poetry, Everett boldly tackles different styles and formats, turning each into his own in the process. With his sharp observations and biting wit, he explores everything from race, politics, gender, and power to family, purpose, the battle between love and intellect, and what it truly means to be alive.

The lecture will be presented outdoors on the Library’s Donaldson Robb Family Lawn. Chairs will be set up for this event, so attendees do not need to bring their own. A book signing will follow.

This program will be livestreamed, and the recording will be available for two weeks. Seating is limited, so registration is required to join us in person. (Registration to watch online is not required – a Vimeo link will be shared closer to the event date.)

Registration to attend in-person opens on Monday, April 13.