Local Canton Author Collection Featured At Library!

On Saturday, March 17, 2018, the Canton Public Library celebrated the debut of its local author collection combined with a fair where local authors were invited to speak about their books and also make them available for sale.

Among the authors was Elizabeth A. Richter whose book "Songs of the Captive Unchained" includes essays about her early life and about her experience of being misdiagnosed and hospitalized at the famed McLean Hospital located in Belmont, MA.

Patrick Rain was present and shared his book "The King's Fall", a mixture of fantasy, mystery and the supernatural. Mr. Rains also enjoys writing short stories and poetry.

David K. Leff, the essayist, poet, and lecturer who is often spoken of fondly as the unofficial Mayor of Canton, also made his appearance. He contributed several of his highly regarded nature books, his book on the lesser known attractions in the State of Connecticut, "Hidden in Plain Sight", as well as his notable book on the history of Collinsville, "The Last Undiscovered Place."

Among others, Patricia Lapidus presented her book "The Farm that Tried to Feed the World", her memoir of her life in a New York intentional community known as "The Farm."

Susan Ducharme Hoben spoke about the upcoming publication of her book, "Dying Well: Our Journey of Love and Loss" about the final months of her husband's life from diagnosis to his "peaceful death free of fear and regret."

In a related topic, Wendy Rosenberg presented her book "Getting Threw: A Tale of Survival" about facing a major health crisis in the form of a rare gastrointestinal illness. She encouraged people to advocate for themselves when dealing with the medical system.

Finally, Canton poet laureate Joan Hofmann delighted participants with her work "Coming Back" as well as her more recent book "Alive."

While these are some of authors whose work was featured at the author's collection, they are by no means all. Unfortunately, this article can't really discuss each and every author, but it certainly gives you a feeling for the depth and breadth of talent among authors here in the Town of Canton. At the end of the author's fair, those present celebrated with a lovely cake, some from my observation having considerably more than one piece!

If there were any hope for improvement next year, I'd say it would be great to have more advertising so more people from the local community will be able to come and benefit from this exciting event.

The complete list of authors who were included is as follows:

Batterson, Anne; Buch, Marcia; Gillespie, D. G.; Gorman, Kate; Hoben, Jane D.; Hoben, Susan D.; Hofmann, Joan; Horton, Sherry; Jamieson, Nora L.; Johnson, Allen G.; Jurras, Mark I. Jr.; Kantor, Joan; Kelleher, Anne; Khislavsky, Valeria; Lapidus, Patricia Mitchell; Leff, David K; Lord, Robert F.; MacNeill, Mary; Marcin, Lindsay; Owen, David A.; Rain, Patrick; Raye, John L.; Richter, Elizabeth A.; Rosenberg, Wendy; Sandage, Chivas; Schwartz, Rebecca; Sheybani, Ann; Sleath, Nicole L.; Tollis, Mia