The Lanier Library in Tryon announces a new monthly series featuring authors and speakers on a variety of topics. Thirsty for Learning Thursdays hearken back to the early days of the library when it served as a cultural center for the region, with community members sharing their knowledge in the form of readings, travelogues and presentations on topics of widespread interest.

Award-winning writer John Lane will kick off the series on July 9, reading from and signing his first novel, Fate Moreland’s Widow. Lane is a poet, essayist and co-founder of Spartanburg’s Hub City Writers Project. He is an associate professor of English and Environmental Studies at Wofford College, and director of the college’s Goodall Environmental Studies Center. He was inducted last year into the South Carolina Academy of Authors. His published works of poetry and prose include Circling Home, Against Information and Other Poems, and My Paddle to the Sea.

The series will be held periodically on the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the library. Other events that celebrate Lanier Library’s 125^th anniversary, including an art exhibit at Tryon Arts & Crafts in August, will be held throughout the summer, with the Thirsty for Learning series resuming Oct. 8 with “Travels in New Zealand” presented by Tryon bookseller Harry Goodheart.

The series aims to showcase the wealth of talent and knowledge in western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina in similar fashion to the library’s monthly Brown Bag Lunches. These evening presentations, however, it is hoped will be more amenable to the schedules of those who work during the day. The series is free and open to the public. Those interested in becoming members may sign up at any of the library’s events.

For more information about the series and upcoming topics and speakers, visit www.lanierlib.org or call 828-859-9535.

-Submitted by Gina Malone