Carol Simon Levin portrays Catharine “Caty” Greene, the indomitable wife of Nathaniel Greene, one of General Washington’s most valued officers. Known as a witty raconteur, she enlivened the spirits of officers and troops alike as the war ranged from New Jersey to South Carolina, famously dancing for 3 hours straight with George Washington. Her pluck and spirit carried her through victories and tragedies not only during the war but throughout a remarkable life of resilience and reinvention.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Pennington Public Library
About Our Presenter: Carol Simon Levin is a professional storyteller, historical impersonator, and NJ council for the Humanities Scholar specializing in “Fascinating Women History Forgot” – women of all colors and creeds who have fought for women’s rights. She is the author of the book Remembering the Ladies: From Patriots in Petticoats to Presidential Candidates and the Garden State Legacy article “Reclaiming Our Voice: NJ’s Role in the Fight for Woman Suffrage.”
Why more holistic, effective deer herd stewardship is necessary
How we can accomplish this by working together and being respectful of diverse viewpoints
How New Jersey Conservation Foundation and diverse partners are helping to catalyze progress
What you can do to produce success
About Our Presenter:Joe Basralian is contracted to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to collaborate in addressing the crisis of overabundant deer herds impacting many parts of New Jersey. He has worked professionally or as a volunteer in New Jersey conservation for 17 years with The Nature Conservancy, New Jersey Audubon, the League of Conservation Voters, Friends of the Drew Forest, the Great Swamp Watershed Association, and other groups. For several years he played a key support role in the NJ Keep It Green Coalition for open space, farmland and historic preservation. He is a member of the NJ Highlands Council, has chaired Chatham Township’s Open Space Committee for 14 years, helping to preserve 250 acres in that time, and has been an active leader in Scouting America for 10 years.
Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt’s protégé, shocked the art world with his sensual drawings, ravishing portraits, and ebullient landscapes that represent more than their apparent subject matter. His works characterize the cycle of life and the human condition in a unique and stunning way. Come and hear this presentation that will introduce you to intense, expressive works created during a productive but tragically abbreviated life.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Pennington Public Library and the Hopewell Valley Arts Council
About Our Presenter: Janet Mandel taught in New Jersey’s public schools for 32 years, the last eighteen of which were at Columbia High School in Maplewood, where she taught English, art history, and World Languages and Cultures. Now retired, Janet presents illustrated talks on a variety of art history topics at adult schools, libraries, museums, senior centers, community centers, and similar venues.
What does a woman do when she is born to great privilege, has enormous wealth, loves to travel to faraway places, and has a healthy dose of intellectual curiosity? Well, she collects art of course! And then she must envision a place to exhibit her passion. This talk will examine the lives of three remarkable women who defied society’s expectations: Isabella Stewart Gardner, Helene Kröller-Müller, and Peggy Guggenheim. We will trace the steps each took to amass three of the most important collections of art in the world and how they built the museums to hold their treasures. And we will see some amazing paintings, too! Come along on the journey!
Sponsored by the Friends of the Pennington Public Library and the Hopewell Valley Arts Council
About Our Presenter: Janet Mandel taught in New Jersey’s public schools for 32 years, the last eighteen of which were at Columbia High School in Maplewood, where she taught English, art history, and World Languages and Cultures. Now retired, Janet presents illustrated talks on a variety of art history topics at adult schools, libraries, museums, senior centers, community centers, and similar venues.
Originally Thursday, April 16, 2026 @ 7 pm via Zoom
Recording available upon request
2026 Beyond the Page Keynote:
In Conversation with Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang has become a definitive voice in speculative fiction, captivating readers with his award-winning collections Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation. He possesses a masterful ability to bridge the gap between rigorous scientific inquiry and the profound depths of human emotion. His work serves as a modern exploration of the “what if,” often using our evolving relationship with technology to challenge our understanding of free will, memory, and consciousness. These stories resonate because they grapple with the fundamental questions of what it means to be sentient in an evolving universe. In this keynote, Chiang will discuss various themes found in Exhalation: Stories, with a focus on the persistence of wonder and how shifting the lens of logic can fundamentally alter our perspective on the nature of existence.
Ted Chiang
Photo by Alan Berner
Ted Chiang was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and graduated from Brown University with a degree in Computer Science. A technical writer by trade, Chiang brings a uniquely rigorous and philosophical perspective to the world of speculative fiction. Since his debut in 1990, he has become a titan of the short form, winning prestigious accolades including four Nebula Awards, four Hugo Awards, and six Locus Awards, as well as the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in the short story.
He gained global recognition when his novella, “Story of Your Life,” was adapted into the 2016 Oscar-nominated film Arrival, cementing his reputation for bridging the gap between hard science and human emotion. His collections, Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation, have received international acclaim, with the latter being named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by the New York Times. In 2023, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in AI for his insightful non-fiction work regarding the ethics of modern technology. He currently resides in Bellevue, Washington.
Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Regional School District and the Pennington Public Library.
This event is part of our 2026 Beyond the Page – an initiative designed to broaden our imaginations and understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The featured book Exhalation contains nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, where author Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions, along with new quandaries only he could imagine. Please visit PenningtonLibrary.org/2026BeyondThePage for a full calendar of events and more information.
The Great Silence of Lichens: Biology, Ecology, and Listening Tuesday, March 24, 2026 @ 7 PM via Zoom Presenter: Dennis Waters
What do lichens—those quiet crusts on rocks and trees—have to do with intelligence, communication, and loss? Lichens are not single organisms but living partnerships between fungi and photosynthetic partners, thriving in some of the harshest environments on Earth and recording ecological change over centuries. Their slow growth, long lives, and sensitivity to disturbance make them powerful indicators of what we notice—and what we overlook—in the natural world.
In this online talk, biologist and author Dennis Waters explores the remarkable biology and ecology of lichens through the lens of Ted Chiang’s acclaimed short story The Great Silence. No background in biology or literary theory is required—just curiosity about the living world and the stories we tell about it.
About Our Presenter: Dennis Waters is a scientist, historian, author, and retired internet entrepreneur. He is a visiting scientist at Rutgers University, where he studies the lichens of central New Jersey. Dennis previously served as Township Historian in Lawrence Township and coordinates the History Along the LHT program for the Lawrence Hopewell Trail. He also serves on the Mercer County Library Commission and chairs the endowment committee of the Philadelphia Botanical Club. His book Behavior and Culture in One Dimension: Sequences, Affordances, and the Evolution of Complexity was published by Routledge in 2021.
This event is part of our 2026 Beyond the Page – an initiative designed to broaden our imaginations and understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The featured book Exhalation contains nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, where author Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions, along with new quandaries only he could imagine. Please visit PenningtonLibrary.org/2026BeyondThePage for a full calendar of events and more information.
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