Join us for an outdoor “pop-up” poetry reading with Writer-in-Residence at the Hemingway House, Ibe Liebenberg, who will share and discuss poems from his newly published collection, “Birds at Night” (Texas Tech University Press, 2025). We’ll gather in the Cimino Plaza, just outside the Children’s Library near the corner of 4th and Walnut. In-person only. Liebenberg’s first book-length collection of poetry, “Birds at Night,” explores themes of loss, trauma, PTSD, indigeneity, and familial relationships. These brief, intense poems amplify the sensations and silences of interior moments of crisis and catharsis. A haunting meditation on what keeps us up at night, Liebenberg invites the reader to contend with their own responses to exigent circumstances. Drawing on the resiliency of the natural world in the face of changing climate, birds, wolves, and fire populate the stanzas. Migration and adaptation are the poetic subjects, but they are also the embodied language of each taut line. “In whatever tongue they sing,” Birds at Night captures the need for empathy and understanding for the natural world. Ibe Liebenberg is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. He lives in Chico, California, and works as a firefighter for the state and lecturer at Chico State University. …
Degenerate Music with Adrienne Haan
Under the patronage of the German Consulate General in San Francisco. “Degenerate Music” was a label used by the Nazi government in 1930s Germany for music they deemed harmful to society. Similar to their campaign against “Degenerate Art,” they aimed to isolate, discredit and ban such music. The question always asked is “why?” Why could something like the degeneration of art, music and culture happen? Why the banning and burning of books? Why the persecution of the Jews in a civilized country such as Germany, known for science, philosophy, arts and music? Why the Germans? Why the Jews? In this historic lecture honoring the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, Adrienne Haan will explain “why” by covering German history from World War I to the Weimar Republic, which would finally lead to the Third Reich, covering the Nazi Regime’s impact on classical, cabaret, and jazz music. During the lecture, pictures will be presented as well as samples of “degenerate” versus “approved” music. Q&A to follow. Chanteuse Internationale Adrienne Haan is an award-winning singer and producer living in New York City. Cited as “An entertainer of the highest caliber” by the New York Times and “A song interpreter with …
“Elephants in the Hourglass” with Kim Frank
An evening with Kim Frank, an award-winning writer and photographer who will discuss her new book, “Elephants in the Hourglass: A Journey of Reckoning and Hope Along the Himalaya.” Delving deep into an intricate web of unlikely heroes, power struggles, and living legends, the book takes readers on an extraordinary journey of discovery. Kim blends personal narrative, vivid descriptions, and meticulous research as she illuminates the ways we seek to survive on our rapidly changing planet. It is a moving and adventure-filled tale of one woman’s quest for the truth about endangered Asian elephants and their evolving relationship with humans. Kim is a female explorer who found her life completely changed as she was drawn deeper and deeper into the plight of the remarkable Asian elephant. Once she learned about the intense, multi-faceted, but little-known conflict between humans and elephants in North India, she was unable to rest until she had learned more and told this story to the outside world. This was a place and topic totally unknown to her. After a fraught divorce, she felt a need to recapture her own voice and expand her world, and so she set out to the Himalaya with the goal of …
“Pyro: The Quest for a Beautifully Elusive Snake”
How can snakes with such eye-popping colors be so maddeningly difficult to find? Despite their hues, Lampropeltis pyromelana snakes, lovingly known as pyros, are masters of secrecy. Embark on an exhilarating, swashbuckling journey with herpetologist Dallin Kohler in his attempt to locate these elusive snakes. From picturesque sandstone canyons to an unexpected stop at a local casino, Kohler encounters a delightful array of creatures. With its blend of exciting escapades, insightful natural history, and humor, “Pyro” (June 2025, Torrey House Press) promises not only to ignite a newfound appreciation for the seasoned herpetology enthusiast but to also warm the hearts of those curious about cold-blooded reptiles. Book signing to follow. Dallin Kohler is a writer and herpetologist from Boise, Idaho. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biodiversity and Conservation from BYU. He is currently chasing amphibians as a graduate student in China. When he’s not unraveling the mysteries of nature’s most captivating creatures, he finds joy in following the NBA, playing classical piano, and appreciating a cleverly crafted pun.
“Believing in Indians” with Tony Tekaroniake Evans
Coming of age during an era of assimilation and cultural erasure, Tony Tekaroniake Evans was told by his third-grade teacher that Indians no longer exist. How could this be when his grandmother spoke Mohawk in the house? Thus begins a comical, informative, and heartbreaking literary journey in search of his Indigenous identity. From childhood fantasies to altered states of consciousness, studies in cultural anthropology, and travels in Indian Country, Evans takes an uncle’s invitation to learn the deeper significance of his Iroquois traditions, yielding a personal philosophy based on Indigenous values that resist the excesses of consumer culture and could renew the American Dream. Tony Tekaroniake Evans is an enrolled member of the Kahnawake Mohawks of Quebec, and an award-winning reporter and columnist for the Idaho Mountain Express. His stories have also been published in High Country News, A&E Networks’ History.com, Atmos, Mountain Gazette, The Smithsonian’s American Indian Magazine and other publications. He earned a degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Colorado and won the Expatriate Scholarship to the Prague Summer Writer’s Workshop in 1996. He is the author of Teaching Native Pride: Upward Bound and the Legacy of Isabel Bond and other books. His work is supported …
Languages of Resilience Workshop
“Languages of Resilience” is an interactive workshop that blends journaling, visual art, and movement to explore stress, resilience, and self-expression. Using various creative and mindfulness methods, we’ll identify common stressors, engage in guided exercises, and experiment with different “languages” of healing. This is a workshop for everyone, and no artistic experience is needed! Come with an open mind and a willingness to explore new ways of understanding and processing emotions and experiences. This workshop is part of an ongoing thesis project of The Sage School current senior Sarah Leidecker, in her work studying creative expression as a tool to process and heal from trauma and enact social change. Her research includes work with a choreographer and arts therapy organizations in New York City as well as techniques from The HeartMath Institute. Now, Sarah hopes to bring these insights to her own community, sharing methods, connection, and creative tools for healing and resiliency. Space is limited. Registration requested to join us.
“Liminal: A Refugee Memoir” with Liyah Babayan
Documenting her family’s escape from the ethnic killings of Armenians in Baku, Azerbaijan, Liyah Babayan takes us in this memoir into her childhood perspective of war and violence during her most formative years. Based around journal entries written by her at a young age, she describes learning English in America and her personal experience of how becoming a refugee shaped her. Liyah takes the reader into her most private and personal space along with her struggle with identity, assimilation and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her loss of innocence, longing for a childhood, and survivor’s guilt is conveyed through her emotional reflection about life after genocide. We meet a child who finds safety in detachment from everything around her and finds peace in the stillness and liminal space of her pending identity as an adolescent. The memoir gives readers a glimpse of life in America and what it means to be a newcomer. On the other side of the American Dream, we learn about the mental health struggles of those arriving from war and violent conflicts and how they are expected to assimilate with little or no support. This memoir captures life’s inability to break the human spirit when a family …
Anna-Marie McLemore
Join us for the opening keynote talk of the 2025 To Taste Life Twice Seminar. This keynote talk is to all, whether or not you’re participating in other TTLT events over the weekend. Registration requested. Anna-Marie McLemore (they/them) is the author of William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist “The Weight of Feathers;” “Wild Beauty;” “Blanca & Roja,” one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Novels of All Time; Indie Next List title “Dark and Deepest Red;” “Lakelore,” an NECBA Windows & Mirrors title; “Venom & Vow,” co-authored with Elliott McLemore; and National Book Award longlist selections “When the Moon Was Ours,” which was also a Stonewall Honor Book; “The Mirror Season;” and “Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix.” Their latest release is “Flawless Girls,” and their adult debut “The Influencers” will be released in April 2024.
To Taste Life Twice
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection… to record the journey … to expand our world…” – Anaïs Nin May 8-10, 2025, join us at The Community Library for three days of writing, reading, and connecting over words. This free annual event features writing workshops with esteemed Idaho writers, an opening keynote from a guest author, and a closing storytelling event where writers of all levels are invited to share their work. Come explore new methods, strengthen your writing, and connect with others. Writing workshops are limited in size but open to all levels. Opening keynote this year is with author Anna-Marie McLemore, a William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist and National Book Award longlist honoree. Writing workshops with CMarie Fuhrman, Sam Berman, Christian Winn, Erin Rose, and Sarah Sentilles. The seminar includes a panel discussion with the five instructors and a closing open-mic event. Individual registration is required for workshops and the keynote talk, but all other events are open to all. Presented in partnership with Boise-based Story Forward.
“Another Way: Building Companies that Last … and Last … and Last”
Year after year, we see headlines about huge venture capital financing rounds and major acquisitions by private equity firms, and we know where the story is supposed to lead: a public offering or another high-priced acquisition. Cash in, cash out, walk away, then do it again. If the founder gets ousted or their employees get laid off, that’s the price of going after that brass ring. But what if you want to create something of significant impact that lasts beyond your lifetime? In “Another Way: Building Companies that Last … and Last … and Last” (Harvard Business Review Press; May 6, 2025), Dave Whorton with Bo Burlingham introduce an alternative path for founders and business leaders: what they call an “Evergreen company.” These companies are designed to stay private forever. They eschew investor money, giving them the freedom to grow at their own pace, fueled by their own profits. This approach allows them to focus on long-term planning horizons and fosters win-win relationships with their employees, customers, suppliers, and their surrounding communities. Whorton’s uncovering of another way of doing business is grounded in an insider’s perspective as a venture capitalist, former serial tech entrepreneur, and the founder of Tugboat Institute—a …