Enoch Pratt Free Library Podcast

Allison Leotta draws on her experience as a federal prosecutor to capture the inner workings of criminal investigations. Her new novel, A Good Killing, follows prosecutor Anna Curtis as she heads home to Michigan to defend her sister in a case that will bring her to her knees.In The Bullet, former NPR and BBC correspondent Mary Louise Kelly tells a heart-pounding story about fear, family secrets, and one woman’s hunt for answers about the murder of her parents. Kelly is the author of Anonymous Sources.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Through her restaurant reviews and bestselling memoirs, Ruth Reichl has earned a special place in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of readers. In her debut novel, she tells the story of Billie Breslin, who travels from her home in California to take a job at Delicious!, New York’s most iconic food magazine. When the magazine is abruptly shut down, Billie agrees to stay on in the empty office maintaining the reader complaint hotline. In the magazine’s library she finds a cache of letters written during World War II by a 12-year-old girl to the legendary chef James Beard. The letters provide Billie with a deeper understanding of the history of food as well as insight into her own fears and anxieties.Ruth Reichl was the restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times and editor of Gourmet magazine. Her bestselling memoirs include Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, Garlic and Sapphires, and For You Mom, Finally. She has been honored with six James Beard Awards.Writers LIVE programs

In The Hidden History of America at War, Kenneth Davis provides a unique, myth-shattering, and insightful look at war – why we fight, who fights our wars, and what we need to know but perhaps never learned about the growth and development of America’s military forces. Starting with the founding of the nation and progressing through the war in Iraq, Davis analyzes six landmark battles in our nation’s history, introducing some of the little known but important faces behind the conflicts.Kenneth Davis is the author of the bestselling Don’t Know Much About series and America’s Hidden History.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Monday, May 18, 2015

What is gentrification? And how can we prevent it from happening during the revitalization of a neighborhood?These are the questions social worker/professor-turned-filmmaker Judith Lombardi asks in  her documentary "The Gentrification (k)NOT Movie," which explores the term "gentrification" as an element of a system that displaces people from their communities. Though gentrification is a global issue, this 47-minute documentary focuses on one particular neighborhood, Station North in Baltimore, Maryland."One of the most important ways to generate social transformation today is through media and the arts," says Lombardi, whose film presents multiple views about this changing neighborhood from artists, academics, ministers, politicians and everyday people.Judith Lombardi leads this film discussion about neighborhoods in flux and the possibilities of change.More about the film:gentrificationknotproject.net"Gentrification (k)NOT" Trailerjlombardi.net  Recorded On: Sunday, May 17, 2015

Poets Abdul Ali and Venus Thrash read from and talk about their work.Abdul Ali, author of Trouble Sleeping, winner of the 2014 New Issues Poetry Prize, teaches in the English department at Towson University. His poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in Gargoyle, A Gathering of the Tribes, National Public Radio, New Contrast (South Africa), The Atlantic, and the anthology Full Moon on K Street, among other publications. He has received grants, awards, and fellowships from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, American University, College Language Association, and the Mount Vernon Poetry Festival at The George Washington University. He is a member of the board of directors of the Hurston/Wright Foundation.Venus Thrash is the author of The Fateful Apple which was longlisted  for the 2015 PEN America Open Book Award and was a Split This Rock recommended poetry book of 2014.  She was a finalist in the 2012 Jean Feldman poetry prize and the 2009 Arktoi Books poetry prize. Her poetry is published in

When the seeds were sown for The House of Ruth in the 1970s, the issue of intimate partner abuse was not well understood or documented. There were few places of refuge for abused women and their children.Kathleen O’Ferrall Friedman and Barbara J. Parker tell the story of how a small group of earnest, determined women came together in Baltimore to combat such violence. This is not only an historical account of the development of a vital program, but also an inspiring blueprint for practical, results-oriented social activism in today’s society.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous gift from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Tuesday, May 12, 2015

The stunning advances of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have put all ethnic and religious groups in the area, including moderate Sunni Arabs, at risk. For some groups, the threat approaches genocidal proportions. Yet from President Obama on down, everyone agrees there is no military solution. But past and present U.S. policies leave the U.S. unable to do the heavy political and diplomatic lifting needed to quell the violence. While there is lip service to the idea that there is no military solution, the discourse in the U.S. is almost solely about military means. Jim and Deb Fine, who worked for the Mennonite Central Committee in Iraq, will talk about what needs to change to bring about the end of the Islamic State.Sponsored by the Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee. Recorded On: Wednesday, May 6, 2015

In conversation with Marc Steiner, Tom Hayden will discuss his new book, Listen, Yankee!, an account of Cuban politics and a memoir of a U.S. revolutionary leader and founder of SDS. The book is based in part on conversations between Hayden and Ricardo Alarcon, a top leader of the Cuban Revolution, foreign minister, and U.N. representative.  A leader in the student, antiwar, and civil rights protests in the 1960s, Tom Hayden served in the California legislature for 18 years. He is the director of the Peace and Justice Resource Center in California.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous gift from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Sunday, May 3, 2015

Join young adult novelist Frank Portman (aka Dr. Frank of The Mr. T Experience) and poet/novelist Gerry LaFemina (Expletive Deleted and Tom Collins and the Cocktail Shakers) for a reading from their literary work: Portman from his young adult sequel, King Dork Approximately, and LaFemina from his recent novel, Clamor. Introduced by Gregg Wilhelm, executive director of CityLit Project and publisher, CityLit Press. Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Real life is never as steamy as it is in a book. In this session, three best-selling romance writers will talk about finding inspiration for their work, how to balance real relationships with fictional ones, and how to generate future story ideas from life inside the real world. Mary McCarthy (The Scarlet Letter Society) discusses steamy motivations for plot lines, characters, and dialogue. Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Join poets James Arthur (Charms Against Lightning) and Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka (winner of the Harriss Poetry Prize for Oblige the Light) with host Barbara Diehl, senior editor of The Baltimore Review. Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Join two local writers with new short story collections -- Jason Tinney (Ripple Meets the Deep) and Lucas Southworth (Everyone Here Has a Gun) -- for a reading and discussion about the art form.  Hosted by Holly Morse-Ellington, editor, The Baltimore Review.Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Enjoy this reading by winners of the Pratt Library’s fourth annual poetry contest presented in partnership with Little Patuxent Review. Readings by Inga Schmidt, contest winner, and Micia White and James Carroll, finalists, plus Ann Bracken and Steven Leyva of Little Patuxent Review.Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

John Darnielle, long-listed for the National Book Award in Fall 2014 for Wolf in White Van and frontman for the Mountain Goats, talks with CityLit Project's executive director Gregg Wilhelm. Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Editor Michael Salcman talks about the literary effort to compile this meticulously researched anthology, with readings by local contributors Shirley Brewer, Clarinda Harriss, and Jennifer Wallace. Dr. Salcman will read selections from the book as well.  Hosted by Laura Shovan, poetry editor, Little Patuxent Review.Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Editors Gerry LaFemina (director, Frostburg Center for Creative Writing) and Gregg Wilhelm (director, CityLit Project) unveil Clash by Night, an anthology inspired by The Clash’s seminal album, London Calling, and the debut title in CityLit Press’s new Lo-fi Poetry Series (where “poets cover your record collection”).Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Writers who moonlight as rockers take the stage to discuss the differences and affinities between writing for the eye or writing for the ear. Poet Gerry LaFemina, short story author Jason Tinney, and young adult novelist Frank Portman join Gregg Wilhelm, CityLit Project's executive director. Recorded On: Saturday, May 2, 2015

Sheree Franklin is a Chicago-based intuitive coach and counselor. In her new book, Intuition: The Hidden Asset Everyone Should Learn to Use, Franklin explains how we can learn to use our intuition and why it is important to do so. She uses case studies from her practice as well as personal experiences to show how trusting one's intuition can banish fear and help us lead worry-free lives.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a generous gift from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Author Miranda Paul and Gambian activist Isatou Ceesay will talk about the struggles and successes of getting sustainable development projects off the ground in Gambian villages.In the late 1990s, Isatou Ceesay teamed up with Peace Corps volunteer Peggy Sedlak and four Gambian women to tackle the growing "plastic-bag problem." Ridiculed at first, the women (and a few men) have now recycled countless plastic bags and formed a cooperative organization promoting health, education and environmental issues. Isatou Ceesay was the 2012 recipient of a "World of Difference" award from The International Alliance for Women.Miranda Paul is the author of One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia. Over the past decade, she has traveled to the Gambia as a volunteer, teacher, and fair trade and literacy advocate.Presented in partnership with Baltimore GreenWorks.Recorded On: Wednesday, April 22, 2015

In Madison's Gift, David Stewart restores James Madison, sometimes overshadowed by his fellow Founders, to his proper place as the most significant framer of the new nation.Short, plain, balding, neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma and high on intelligence, Madison cared more about achieving results than taking the credit. To reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, he blended his talents with those of key partners -- George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe. His final partnership with Dolley, whom he married in middle age, sustained him through his political rise, his presidency, and a fruitful retirement.A former attorney, David O. Stewart is the author of three nonfiction books -- The Summer of 1787, Impeached, and American Emperor -- and the novel, The Lincoln Deception.Writers LIVE programs are made possible in part by a generous donation from PNC Bank.Recorded On: Wednesday, April 15, 2015