Sanbornton Eclipse presentation

The United States has an extraordinary and rare opportunity to witness and celebrate a total solar eclipse (TSE) on April 8, 2024. The northern part of NH will be in the path of totality. New Hampshire is one of 13 states that is in the path of totality. Sally Jensen, NASA ambassador will present about this very special celestial event on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Sanbornton at 17 Church Lane. This program is co-sponsored by the Sanbornton Public Library and the Sanbornton Recreation Department. Lunch will be provided. The presentation, The Eclipses are Coming, The Eclipses are coming, will examine what eclipses are, why they are important and how we can observe the eclipse safely. Solar safety glasses will be distributed along with specific information that will be happening on April 8, 2024. Keep in mind, New Hampshire will not have another eclipse on its homeland to observe for another 55 years, 2079. For more information, contact the public library at (603) 286-8288 or SPLNHcirc@gmail.com.

Peterborough Graphic novelist to speak

On Saturday, Jan. 20, 9:45 a.m., Monadnock Writers’ Group features graphic novelist Marek Bennett at its monthly Speaker Series. The free event held at Peterborough Town Library is an opportunity to hear an award-winning cartoonist and educator talk about the art of creating graphic novels with strong community connections. NH-based cartoonist, musician, and educator Marek Bennett leads Comics Workshops for all ages throughout New England and the world beyond. His comics work includes graphic novel series, The Civil War Diaries of Freeman Colby, as well as The Most Costly Journey (2021) with the bilingual El Viaje Project. His cartoon travel memoirs include Sharjah Sketchbook (2020) and SLOVAKIA: Fall in the Heart of Europe (2013). Bennett received the 2021 NH Governor’s Arts Award: Arts Education, where his work was called, “brilliant, playful, relevant, and infused with compassion and deep understanding of the world as it is, was, and might be.” He was a finalist for 2022 Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards: Best in Young Adult/Nonfiction, 2022 Graphic Medicine Award, and Reuben Awards 2019 Best Graphic Novel from the National Cartoonist Society. Bennett is a graduate of Brown University and Keene State College. He lives in Henniker, NH. Since 1984 the Monadnock Writers’ Group (MWG) has supported local writers of all genres and levels of achievement. Monthly meetings, held on the third Saturday of each month, bring a variety of accomplished writers to the Monadnock Region to offer their experiences. In addition, MWG publishes periodic anthologies and Smoky Quartz, a semiannual online journal of literature and art. Throughout the year MWG hosts contests, public readings, and informal gatherings to raise awareness of the literary talent in the Monadnock Region. Learn more at www.monadnockwriters.org and https://smokyquartz.org. If you would like more information about this meeting or other Monadnock Writers’ Group activities, please email monadnockwriters@gmail.com.