“A Little Gloucester History”- Sawyer Free Library’s Local Author Series Kicks Off

TheSawyer Free Libraryis excited to be presenting a series of local authors reading and sharing insight into colorful historical happenings of Gloucester this summer at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. All events are in person and open to the public. The series kicks off this Saturday, July 22 with local author and historian Wayne Soini.

Saturday, July 22, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wayne Soini to present“An Unsuitable Lecture: Thoreau, Walden, and the Gloucester Lyceum”– An unnamed critic for the Gloucester Telegraph declared that Henry D. Thoreau’s lecture was “unique” before he took umbrage and condemned it as “not exactly suitable for a Gloucester audience.” 175 years ago, in December 1848, Thoreau auditioned his upcoming book, Walden, before an audience of Gloucester folks at the Gloucester Lyceum (today, the Legion Hall).

Wayne Soini, a local author, through the lens of Thoreau’s controversial performance in…