Tony Horwitz

Fri 5/22, 5-7pm, SALON - Pulitzer-winning author Tony Horwitz on his book A Voyage Long and Strange: on the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America. One of the New York Times' 50 Notable Books of Nonfiction for 2008, A Voyage Long and Strange is Horwitz's account of the years Americans know little about, namely what happened here between 1492 and the arrival of the Pilgrims (which some Americans think happened in 1492). Not content to read his way through the history, he sets out on his own odyssey - which includes canoeing the Mississippi, taking the heat in a Canadian sweat lodge, and donning 60 pounds of armor as a conquistador reenactor in Florida - to retrace the steps of the early explorers. Join us for a conversation about adventure travel then and now. Books available for sale and signing, thanks to Borders! Free and open to the public! (Sponsor: Antiques & Interiors, antiquesandinteriors.biz)

Loren Spears

Fri, 5/15, 5-7pm: SALON – Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum Executive Director Loren Spears on Eastern Native Arts. The Tomaquag Museum is Rhode Island's only museum entirely dedicated to telling the story of the state's original inhabitants, and the only museum operated by Native people over the last 52 years. Join us for a Native perspective on the collection of art, its history, meaning, and use. Images as well as actual pieces from the collections will be featured, as well as works from Native artists today. More on the museum: tomaquagmuseum.com. For Athenaeum members and their guests. Salon is presented in collaboration with The Rhode Island Foundation's Expansion Arts Program.

The Providence String Quartet

Thurs 5/14, 7pm: The Providence String Quartet plays Benjamin Britten's String Quartet No. 2. Great admirers of one another's music, Dmitry Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten stand as two giants of 20th century music. In February, PSQ played Shostakovich; their 2009 Athenaeum series ends with Britten's Second Quartet, written in 1945 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of the great English composer, Henry Purcell. This three movement work concludes with a immense baroque chaconne as a direct tribute. Tickets must be purchased before the day of the show! PSQ is notorious for selling out at the Athenaeum, so don't delay, call today! Tickets are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Call 401-421-6970 or stop by the library to purchase.

New Members' Reception

Mon 5/11, 5:30-7pm: New Members' Reception. Join us for a tour of the building, a look at our special collections, and a chance to meet other members plus staff and board members. For new Athenaeum members and their guests.

Eleventh Annual Philbrick Poetry Project Award and Reading

Fri 5/8, 7pm: Eleventh Annual Philbrick Poetry Project Award and Reading, with poet judge Marilyn Nelson and winner Jennifer E. Whitten. Poet judge Nelson has chosen Whitten's manuscript Auction as the 2009 Philbrick Poetry Award winner. Join us for the presentation of the award, and a reading by both poets. As part of the award, the Athenaeum has published Auction as a chapbook; copies will be on sale at the reading. The Athenaeum's Philbrick Poetry Project is named for long-time Athenaeum members Charles Philbrick, a noted poet, and his wife Deborah, a mentor to many poets, and fosters the art of poetry in RI and New England. Funded in part by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Free and open to the public!

Tony Estrella

Fri 5/1, 5-7pm, SALON - Series: Gamm Theatre Artistic Director Tony Estrella on The Scarlet Letter, Phyllis Nagy's adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's dark tale, on stage at the Gamm 5/7-6/7. Hawthorne's exploration of sin, hypocrisy, and society is vividly re-imagined in this sexually charged, psychologically complex tale of obsession and revenge. Branded an adultress in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne is sentenced to wear the scarlet letter A on her dress. Refusing to name her lover, the father of her daughter, Pearl, she turns the mark of shame into a badge of beauty. Then Hester's long-lost husband unexpectedly reappears, and will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. Narrated by the spirited Pearl, this stripped-bare stage version of the "greatest American novel" makes us consider its power anew. More info: gammtheatre.org. For Athenaeum members and their guests. (Sponsor: Antiques & Interiors, antiquesandinteriors.biz)