The Louise & Hugh Johnson Lecture series hosts well-known regional and national authors. The library is pleased to announce that the next author for this lecture series will be Tracy Kidder.

Mr. Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. His books include Mountains Beyond Mountains, My Detachment, Strength in What Remains, Home Town, Good Prose, and his latest, Rough Sleepers.

Born in New York City in 1945, Kidder spent his childhood in Oyster Bay, Long Island, where his father was a lawyer and his mother a teacher. He attended Harvard, where he earned a BA in 1967. From June 1968 until June 1969, he served as a lieutenant in Vietnam, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star, an experience chronicled in his memoir My Detachment. After the war, Kidder obtained his MA from the University of Iowa, where he attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. It was there that Kidder met Atlantic contributing editor Dan Wakefield, who helped him get his first assignment as a freelance writer. Over the years, Kidder’s articles have covered a broad array of topics, including railroads, energy, architecture, and the environment. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The New York Times Book Review, and The New York Times.

Kidder lives with his wife in western Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Mr. Kidder will read from and discuss his books. Copies of the books will be available for purchase.

Free. Registration required.  This event begins at 7:30 p.m.  Book sales and cash bar start at 6:30 p.m.

The Johnson Lecture Series is made possible by a permanent endowment by Louise & Hugh Johnson. The Johnson endowment was left to and is managed by the Friends of the Library and is intended to enrich the lives of Ipswich residents. Louise and Hugh loved life. They loved books, nature, friends, good food, and each other. They lived together in Ipswich. Louise was very involved with the Ipswich Public library, the garden club, bird watching, and poetry. Hugh had a background in publishing, loved to fly fish, and cherished Jane Austen's novels (his favorite being Emma). 

This is an indoor event.  There is no hybrid/Zoom component to this program.  And this program will not be recorded. 

There is no ticket needed on the day of the event.  If you are registered to attend, your name will be on a printed list at the check-in table. And volunteers will be on hand to check your name off the registrant list.