Celebrate the 2016 Reading Across RI book, The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough, with an exciting series of cultural events which tie into the book!
You can Book and EnRICHment Speaker Today!
Or attend one of the already scheduled events below (free and open to the public!)
Living Literature
Living Literature is a collective of RI-based performing artists, who have been celebrating the written word through readers-theatre style performances of non-dramatic literature, since its inception in January, 1996. Living Literature has created well over 100 presentations based on poems, stories, novels, plays, essays, biographies, articles, and oral histories, in libraries, schools, and other community venues throughout southeastern New England. This is Living Literature’s seventh year creating programs for Reading Across Rhode Island, the signature program of Rhode Island Center for the Book at the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Living Literature’s readers-theatre style performance of David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers is intended for both audiences who have and have not read the book.
- Rogers Free Library
525 Hope Street, Bristol, RI
Wednesday, March 23, 7:00pm
- Maury Loontjens Memorial Library
35 Kingstown Road, Narragansett, RI
Monday, April 18, 7:00pm
- Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library
100 Tinkham Lane, Harrisville, RI
Tuesday, April 19, 6:30pm
- Rochambeau Library
708 Hope Street, Providence, RI
Saturday, April 23, 1:00pm
- Barrington Public Library
281 County Road, Barrington, RI
Monday, April 25, 7:00pm
- Providence Public Library
151 Empire Street, Providence, RI
Wednesday, April 27, 6:30pm
- Woonsocket Harris Public Library
303 Clinton Street, Woonsocket, RI
Monday, May 2, 7:15pm
- Westerly Public Library
44 Broad Street, Westerly, RI
Tuesday, May 3, 6:30pm
- Newport Public Library
300 Spring Street, Newport, RI
Saturday, May 7, 2:00pm
- Jamestown Philomenian
26 North Road, Jamestown RI
Monday, May 9, 6:30pm
- Weaver Library
41 Grove St., East Providence, RI
Tuesday, May 17, 6:00pm
Commander Timothy Urban
Biography: CDR Timothy Urban, a native of Aptos, California, is a 1995 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He received a Bachelor of Science in English and competed on the offshore sailing team as a midshipman. Following flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in August 1998 and reported to the Fleet Replacement Squadron, VAW-120 “Greyhawks” at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, for training in the E-2C Hawkeye. In 2011, he reported to the VAW-115 “Liberty Bells” in Japan, serving as the Commanding Officer until July 2013. Most recently, he was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations where he served as a Federal Executive Fellow at the RAND Corporation in Washington, D.C.
Talk: Commander Urban’s presentation will focus on the history of naval aviation and its historical links to the Wright Brothers. He will capture audiences’ attention by detailing how the US government capitalized on the power of flight from the early 1900’s through WWII and the 21st Century. Connecting the narrative to Rhode Island, Urban will also touch on naval aviation at Quonset Point and the U.S. Navy’s history in Narragansett Bay.
- North Kingstown Free Library
100 Boone St., North Kingstown, RI
Wednesday, June 1, 6:30pm
Michael Clifton
Biography: Michael C. Clifton has been a fan of airplanes for longer than he can remember. Dating back to the early 1980’s when his uncle, William C. Clifton, took him flying over Rhode Island in a small 4-passenger airplane and growing up inside the approach and departure paths for air traffic at T.F. Green, he’s had his sights set on an aviation career his entire life. Michael began flight lessons in high school at the age of 17. He then attended Embry – Riddle Aeronautical University and received a degree in Aeronautical Science in 2002. Following his degree, Michael began flying professionally in 2007. He has amassed 3 transport category type ratings, served as a Check Airman and Ground School Instructor, and currently flies for jetBlue Airways as an Airbus A320 pilot based in Boston, MA.
Talk: Mr. Clifton’s presentation will center around the role aviation has played over the course of the last 100+ years. He will start with the first powered flight, the Wright Brothers historical accomplishment, and move forward looking at the influence of the Jet Age and how it has shaped society, helps to sustain economies, and cultivates a modern civilization that enables interpersonal interaction unheard of a century ago. Time permitting, Michael will give a brief demonstration on lift and aerodynamics, explaining how airplanes achieve flight.
- Newport Public Library
300 Spring Street, Newport, RI
Saturday, June 11, 2:00pm