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Event Audio

To listen to an audio recording of a previous Library special event, click the icon. The audio file will launch the media player on your computer.

The most recent recording displays at the top. The Library offers recordings only with the permission of the presenter. Please allow 7-10 days for the recording to be posted.

  • Kansas native Ande Parks discusses his work with graphic novels and explains his belief that they are an important art form, capable of telling any kind of story uniquely and effectively.
    Ande Parks: Graphic Novels as Art and Literature
    Wednesday, June 9, 2010
    Central Library

    Kansas native Ande Parks discusses his two graphic novels, Union Station and Capote in Kansas, and their form as art and literature on Wednesday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

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  • Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo discusses his new novel about marriage and all of the other ties that bind.
    Richard Russo: That Old Cape Magic
    Tuesday, June 8, 2010
    Plaza Branch

    Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo discusses his new novel about marriage and all of the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth.

    That Old Cape Magic is a novel of deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle-aged man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled one, his daughter’s new life, and, finally, what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has.

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  • In-depth discussions of five sacred structures that inspire those within and without.
    Historic Churches of Kansas City
    Sunday, June 6, 2010
    Plaza Branch

    Helix architect Reeves Wiedeman discusses the recent renovation of this structure and offers historical highlights of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the unique shape of which has made it an architectural favorite.

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  • New York-based writer Elizabeth Bettina tells the amazing story of how thousands of Jews in Italy were saved during World War II.
    Elizabeth Bettina: It Happened in Italy
    Thursday, June 3, 2010
    Plaza Branch

    New York-based writer Elizabeth Bettina, discusses her book It Happened in Italy: Untold Stories of How the People of Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust on Thursday, June 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

    It Happened in Italy tells the amazing story of how thousands of Jews in Italy were saved during World War II.

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  • Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter discusses his new book, a detailed examination of President Barack Obama’s first year in office.
    Jonathan Alter: The Promise: President Obama, Year One
    Wednesday, June 2, 2010
    Plaza Branch

    Newsweek Senior Editor Jonathan Alter discusses his new book The Promise: President Obama, Year One on Wednesday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

    The Promise is the first detailed examination of President Barack Obama’s first year in office and offers an insider’s look at Obama’s decisions and accomplishments.

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  • Veteran journalist James McCommons presents Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service – A Year Spent Riding Across America, a book that is equal parts travel narrative, personal memoir, and investigative journalism.
    James McCommons: Waiting on a Train, The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service
    Thursday, May 27, 2010
    Central Library

    Veteran journalist James McCommons discusses his new book that is equal parts travel narrative, personal memoir, and investigative journalism.

    McCommons explores how the country may move passenger rail forward in America—and what role government should play in creating and funding mass-transportation systems. Against the backdrop of the nation’s stimulus program, he explores what it will take to build high-speed trains and transportation networks, and when the promise of rail will be realized in America.

    The book will be available for sale.

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  • Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Shirley Christian presents an original talk on Carrie Westlake Whitney, librarian and director of the Kansas City Public Library from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
    Shirley Christian: Carrie Westlake Whitney
    Wednesday, May 26, 2010
    Central Library

    Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Shirley Christian presents an original talk on Carrie Westlake Whitney, librarian and director of the Kansas City Public Library from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

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  • Henry Adams provides new insights into two of the greatest artists of the 20th century when he presents Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock.
    Henry Adams: Tom and Jack, The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock
    Tuesday, May 25, 2010
    Central Library

    Henry Adams unfolds a poignant personal drama that provides new insights into two of the greatest artists of the 20th century when he presents his book, Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock.

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  • The best-selling author of Life of Pi discusses his latest novel, Beatrice and Virgil, a story about a donkey and a howler monkey.
    Yann Martel: Beatrice and Virgil
    Thursday, May 20, 2010
    Plaza Branch

    Best-selling Life of Pi author, Yann Martel, discusses his latest novel, Beatrice and Virgil, on Thursday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

    Beatrice and Virgil is about asuccessful writer named Henry who becomes discouraged when his book about the Holocaust, a "flip book" made up of a novel and an essay that can be read in any order, is rejected by publishers.

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  • National Book Award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick discusses his new book about the Battle of Little Bighorn.
    Nathaniel Philbrick: The Last Stand
    Monday, May 17, 2010
    Plaza Branch

    National Book Award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick discusses The Last Stand, his new book about the Battle of Little Bighorn.

    In his narrative, Philbrick sketches the two antagonists, Sitting Bull and George Armstrong Custer, and reminds readers that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. Philbrick evokes the history and geography of the Great Plains with an archetypal story of the American West, which continues to haunt imaginations.

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