Author Talk and Book Signing with MELINDA PONDER

The State Library of Massachusetts invites you to our next author talk and book signing on Wednesday, November 7, with Dr. Melinda M. Ponder, author of the recent book Katharine Lee Bates: From Sea to Shining Sea.

One hundred years ago, on November 11, 1918, Massachusetts poet and Wellesley College professor Katharine Lee Bates joined the throngs of ecstatic Bostonians who were celebrating the Armistice that ended World War I. That same morning, on a hillside in France, the soldiers of the 26th Infantry “Yankee” Division celebrated the news of the Armistice by singing Bates’ patriotic song, “America the Beautiful.”

In remembrance of Armistice Day, author Melinda Ponder will discuss the roots of “America the Beautiful” in Bates’ life and career, including Bates’ Cape Cod childhood and her travels that inspired the words of her famous patriotic poem. At the conclusion of Dr. Ponder’s presentation, tenor soloist Teddy Crecelius will sing “America the Beautiful.”

A graduate of Wellesley College and Boston College, Dr. Ponder is now Professor Emerita of English at Pine Manor College. Dr. Ponder’s illustrated lecture at the State Library is free and open to all, and registration is encouraged but not required: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Ponder-SLM