The St. Mary’s County Library will host a free Veteran’s Book Group the first Saturday during the months of February through June. The program will be held at the Charlotte Hall Library (37600 New Market Road, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
At the heart of the program is a small group of veterans who gather monthly over five months for reading and discussion. The series is presented by the Maryland Humanities Council and the St. Mary’s County Library. The program is part of a National Endowment for the Humanities initiative Standing Together: Humanities and the Experience of War, created to promote understanding of the military experience and to support returning veterans.
Reading materials will be provided and lunch has been generously donated by Mission BBQ. The program is limited to 15 participants and veterans of all eras are welcome. Participants are expected to attend all five sessions. Those interested should contact Alesha Verdict 301-884-2211, ext. 1005 or via email to averdict@stmalib.org to register. Deadline is January 24.
Vietnam veteran, author, and College of Southern Maryland professor Wayne Karlin will lead the discussion. Readings include those from the classics, poetry and memoir, short stories, works by writers such as Phil Klay, Homer, Ernest Hemingway, le thi diem thuy, and Ambrose Bierce. Discussions will be organized into five segments: the need to tell the story, telling the story, the journey of the hero, home front, and homecomings.
“The St. Mary’s County Library is honored to partner with the Maryland Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide this very meaningful experience for our veterans,” noted Kathleen Reif, Director of St. Mary’s County Library. “It is especially appropriate that this series will be held at the Charlotte Hall Library since our neighbor is the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, the only veterans’ home in the State of Maryland. It is our hope that this pilot project will become a regular service for our community of veterans.”
For more information about the Maryland Humanities Council Veterans Programs and The Maryland Humanities Council (MHC), go to www.mdhc.org.