The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Visiting writer series continues this week
Traditional rules notwithstanding, there’s plenty of talking allowed — encouraged even — during the visiting writers series at Montgomery CountyNorristown Public Library.
MC-NPL’s current series began with an Aug. 12 appearance by Andrea Adore, author of “Lessons to Women & Men in Broken Marriages.” Next up, Faleeha Hassan, author of “War and Me,” on Sept. 13 (via Zoom) and Laya Martinez, author of “When Your Family Says No,” on Oct. 14 (in-person).
The talks are free and open to the public.
Adore’s book was inspired by her own contentious divorce and the way she and women dealing with similar challenges either salvaged their marriages or were able to heal following broken relationships. She calls “Lessons to Women & Men in Broken Marriages” a “compilation of stories that could help save marriages or help people move on from their marriage and be at peace.” Adore is a teacher at Philadelphia’s Keystone Academy Charter School and an adjunct professor at Eastern University in St. Davids.
Thousands of miles away, author Faleeha Hassan — Sept. 13’s speaker — was dealing with personal chaos and hardship in her native Iraq and the subsequent upheaval she experienced when she tried to put her family’s life back together in Turkey and, eventually, New Jersey. Life as she knew it in Iraq changed when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in 1980.
“This year and the following ones tattooed all Iraqis with loss and death,” Hassan writes. “Ordinary people experienced brutal lives as they endured the scourge of abject, relentless, crushing poverty, having been deserted by their government, which had inflicted these woes upon them.”
Against all odds, Hassan became a teacher, published poet and nominee for both the Pulitzer and Pushcart prizes. During her Sept. 13 Zoom chat at MC-NPL, she’ll share “her incredible story and take audience questions,” says series organizer Jennifer Hoey.
The MC-NPL reference librarian describes Martinez’ story as equally engrossing in its recounting of the “challenges” she faced when personal choice conflicted with her Orthodox Jewish upbringing.
As Martinez observes in the “Letter from Laya” posted at www.authorlaya. com: “I have lived three different lives, each clearly demarcated by my original, nuclear family’s acceptance or rejection of me based on my marital choices. In many ways, my story is a real-life, modern day variation of ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ For those who ‘stray,’ if you’re not accepted by your family, for whatever reason, or if your family says no, life does go on.”
Hoey says the speaker sessions typically attract an eclectic audience, including aspiring writers who have yet to be published.
“Some of the authors have fans who follow them, but as far as the audience goes, I think the main thing is, it’s a way to get together with other people who are fans of reading,” she continues. “A lot of them, too, are interested in writing their own novels, and a lot of the questions people ask during the Q and A have to do with that…about writing and publishing.
“The library has an open-door policy, and everybody’s welcome to attend…even if they just want to listen. We usually have light refreshments…so it’s a nice outing, whether somebody’s interested in learning how to write their own book or just looking for something different to do. The authors usually donate their books to the library, so we have copies to borrow. If people want to buy a copy, they can, but we don’t push that. It’s up to them.”
MC-NPL is located
at 1001 Powell St. Additional information (and pre-registration for the Hassan or
Martinez appearances) is available at 610-278-5100, ext. 2.