The Hornell Public Library is excited to present “The Writers’ Stage”, which is a free literary event for the public that will be held at the Community Arts Center on May 4, 2022 at 6:30 PM (hopefully the first in a series for this area!) The Community Arts Center is located on the Broadway Mall in Hornell, NY.
Some of the featured readers will include local authors Peter Franklin, Meghan Dwyer, and Walt Franklin, each of whom will read from their creative compositions for about 20 minutes. The public is invited to attend and refreshments will be available. There will also be an open reading following the main event for anyone, of any age, interested in sharing a piece of their own creativity.
Peter Franklin, a graduate of Alfred University and a long-time resident of the Greenwood area, has been writing fiction for many years and working at various jobs (counseling, general contracting, farming), “pretty much anything that would pay taxes, beer bill, and addiction to writing.” Recently he’s been reading Nietzsche, Russel Hoban, and V.S. Naipaul. He’s been happily partnered for 30 years and claims that his life-long motto regarding writing is “commitment without reward.” As for his future intentions, Peter says he will “write til i drop; ditto cutting firewood, eating wild leeks, and cursing the variety of ways humans manage to destroy the earth.”
Hornell native, Meghan Dwyer, is “an aspiring writer, self-professed misanthrope, cystic fibrosis advocate, wife, and mother of four beautiful children.” Her love of writing and reading is a passion cultivated by her Irish story-telling heritage. Meghan is the former owner of Hornell’s “The Book Bar,” a fine establishment for books and wine that, unfortunately, had to close, like so many other businesses during the pandemic of 2020. Meghan is the author of at least four published books, including The Ellington Manor Series, a three-book romance publication inspired by “the love of her life and her affinity for Cape Cod.”
Walt Franklin has been writing poetry and non-fiction for at least four decades. A graduate of Alfred University and a resident of rural Greenwood, New York, he and his wife have two grown kids and two endearing cats. Walt is a retired educator and environmental activist who has published five full-length collections of poetry and seven books of nature-based nonfiction, much of which evolved from his travels, home life, and wilderness reflections. He will read from his new book, Learning the Terrain, recently published by Wood Thrush Books in Swanton, Vermont.
The Hornell Public Library carries works by all three authors, along with several other local authors, so stop by and check them out! We hope to see you at “The Writers’ Stage, so mark your calendars and come join the fun! For more information, please call or email the Hornell Public Library at (607) 324-1210 or hornellpubliclibrary@gmail.com.
