Literary Voices: Ann Patchett
The Library Endowment Trust, a non-profit organization whose work benefits the Metropolitan Library System, hosts a popular annual fundraising dinner each April. Previous featured guests at the Literary Voices dinner have included Sue Grafton, Juan Williams, and Dave Barry, and this year’s speaker is PEN/Faulker Award-winning author Ann Patchett.
On Tuesday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m., Ms. Patchett will speak following the dinner at the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. After her talk there will be a question-and-answer session and a book signing. Proceeds from the event will fund library programs and equipment for all of Oklahoma County’s 17 Metropolitan Libraries. More information can be found at the Literary Voices website or by calling 405-606-3760.
Patchett’s award-winning 2001 novel Bel Canto is a mesmerizing account of a hostage situation in the Vice Presidential mansion of an unnamed South American country. An unlikely web of human connections is formed between hostages, guerrilla soldiers, and the world-famous opera singer at the center of the story. Patchett’s most recent novel, Run, is another compelling tale set over a 24-hour period in the lives of a politically prominent Boston family whose bonds are tested in the wake of a seemingly random accident.
Patchett has also written acclaimed non-fiction books, including Truth and Beauty, a memoir of her friendship with fellow writer Lucy Grealy, and What Now?, an adaptation of her 2006 commencement speech at her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College.
In last fall’s Atlantic Monthly special fiction issue, Patchett’s terrific essay “My Life in Sales” detailed the unexpected challenges and rewards of author book tours. Her recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, “The Triumph of the Readers,” describes the inspiring power of reading and the value of public libraries.
Each year the Library Endowment Trust also presents the Lee B. Brawner Lifetime Achievement Award at the Literary Voices dinner to honor an individual’s extraordinary contributions to Oklahoma County’s libraries. This year’s recipient, Penny McCaleb, is a longtime member and former Chair of the Metropolitan Library Commission and a dedicated supporter of our community’s libraries.
The Literary Voices dinner has become a very special Oklahoma City book event, and it is a great way for citizens to support their library system while rubbing elbows with interesting and internationally acclaimed authors.
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