Talking Water in Kinsley

September Events

12 Humanities Grant events

3 Mini Grant events

13 Speakers Bureau presentations

2 Special Project events

31 TALK book discussions

38 Communities

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the State of Kansas help fund Kansas Humanities Council grants and programs. Please thank your legislators and members of Congress for their support. KHC also relies on donations from people like you. Please thank the Friends of the Humanities who support KHC.

Like many Kansans, Edwards County residents talk about water. A lot. After all, the county has a history of extremes when it comes to water, with too much one year or too little the next. In the coming months, the Kinsley Library will keep the conversation about water flowing through a series of public events, including a national traveling exhibition, book discussions, and a short film.

On September 16th, the library kicks off "Written from the Dust Bowl," a Talk About Literature in Kansas (TALK) series about the Dust Bowl and Great Depression of the 1930s, with a discussion of Farming the Dust Bowl by Lawrence Svobida led by Jane M. Holwerda. The series continues with a discussion of The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan led by Brenda Craven on October 14th and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck led by Jennifer Krisuk on November 11th.

But that's not all. In October, Kinsley hosts the premiere of "Navigating Rough Waters," their KHC Turning Points: Stories of Change short film (stay tuned for details) and in January 2015, the library hosts Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry, an American Library Association traveling exhibition supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit the Kinsley Library website for more information and a full schedule of events.

Banner image: Liberal (vicinity), Kan. Soil blown by dust bowl winds piled up in large drifts on a farm, March 1936 by Arthur Rothsein. Library of Congress.

Make TALK Your Own

You won't find the "Written from the Dust Bowl" TALK series in the TALK catalog. That's because the Kinsley Library created their own TALK series. You can too! Visit the TALK catalog to select your book(s) and apply for a Resource Center Support Grant to bring a discussion leader to your community. Contact Leslie Von Holten, director of programs, for more information.