Live on WPKN

Amy and I were guests of WPKN last Monday night, from 10 pm to midnight. We enjoyed talking about our books, Bridgeport, and our lives. Amy read a few poems and I told stories of old Bridgeport to amuse and entertain our listeners. Here we are in the studio.



And our host, JF! He is hilarious. We also met Doug Echols, and hope to work more with both of these WPKN favorites again soon.



As soon as I figure out how to chop up and post the audio from the evening, I will have clips to listen to.

Bridgeport Historical Society



My presentation at the North Branch of the Bridgeport Public Library last night drew 75 people, most members of the Bridgeport Historical Society. We had a great time discussing the ins and outs of Bridgeport history, and I certainly learned a few things myself.



I also met Charles from the Stratford Public Library and will be doing a presentation with them on October 4 (2 pm). And more immediately I met J.F. from WPKN and my wife Amy and I were guests on his show last night. I'll post about that fascinating experience shortly! Maybe I'll even figure out how to post audio clips.

Book Recommendation

Originally published on Hackwriters.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I came to this masterpiece quite late in life. I’m not sure why, because I had seen it on library shelves since my childhood. But then one of my other favorites, Peter Mathiessen’s The Snow Leopard, referred to the famous “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” chapter and so I found an ancient hardbound edition with the original drawings. I carefully read it one Saturday afternoon in my easy chair, with soft music playing and a cup of Earl Grey steaming next to me. I was enchanted. The adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad are timeless and fun, something I was prepared for from a children’s classic. But I was not prepared for the wisdom, harmony, and depth of the more reflective chapters.

The Wind in the Willows burns with the warm hearthfires of fellowship and compassion. It concerns home and travel and the balance we must strike between them. And so on a driving tour, two friends and I read it out loud to each other, finishing on the last stretch of highway heading for home. One of my life-memories will be reading a chapter from this treasured tome on the windy top of Mount Mitchell in North Carolina.

This is unquestionably a book for a certain kind of explorer - those of us who explore our homes: the little fields and streams, the groves and reed ponds, the paths and villages. And at the end of the day, we enjoy sliding back into our easy chairs, boiling a cup of tea, and wrapping up in a comfortable blanket. We may never discover a hidden city or make the first ascent of a mountain, but you can be sure we still hear the wind in the willows.

Milford Barnes and Noble

Had a lovely time speaking at the Milford Barnes and Noble this Saturday. Perhaps more importantly, I got to see my book actually in a bookstore, and hear from a manager that it was "doing very well." Here are some photos...



Me giving my spiel...



...Signing...



And most exciting for me, my book featured on an endcap!



And here it is in the nearby Borders!

Reading at the BPL

I gave a nice little reading and presentation at the Bridgeport Public Library on Saturday. Mary Witkowski has been so helpful to me and I am not pleased to hear that the Historical Collections have had their hours cut. I'm not sure the library understands the amazing resource they have - ten times as large and rich and strange as any other library historical collection I've ever seen.

Amy loves this first shot of me waiting for the presentation to begin.



These next two shots were taken by a former student and freelance photographer, Uriela. Check out some of her work here.



Here's me with my favorite prop, a genuine Frisbie pie plate. Snagged that on ebay a few months back...

Reading at the Barnum Museum

It was a dark and stormy night...

Seriously, I have rarely felt wind like that and certainly not in Bridgeport. Nevertheless, a large crowd showed up for my inaugural reading at the Barnum Museum.



Action photo of me pointing out one of Tom Thumb's hilarious outfits.



Answering questions...



And my "press conference" photo.



Finally, here is me signing books. I lifted this photo from Lori Golias' blog over at News 12. She has a nice report on the event.

Camels and Elephants



I'm featured at the Bridgeport News as of Friday.

“I took narratives of people and wove history into that,” Lehman said of his writing style. “I wanted to make it real.”

Did I really say that? It's amazing how fast interviews go by. You can also find a mention of my book at the Connecticut Post. However, the article at the Bridgeport News is likely to be my best for now.

I'm still waiting for the first 'review' of the book, though!

Nexus

I have a new 'scholarly' publication at Nexus: The International Henry Miller Journal. This is a fine journal with a noble purpose: to rescue the author Henry Miller from the dismissive, modernist critics of the 20th Century, the dismissive, puritanical folks who banned him, and even the welcoming, uncritical critics who embraced him.



RC, at the Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company, states about my essay in Volume 6:

"In Miller’s Colossus Of Maroussi, the Greek landscape is described with a grand and pronounced lyrical style, which seems uncharacteristic when one considers the city-centered novels that preceded it. In this essay, Lehman suggests that this change was influenced by Miller’s reading of Richard Jeffries’ The Story of My Heart, which viewed the English countryside for its social and spiritual symbolism, and not merely as geography. Through Story (which he read before writing Maroussi), Miller found a kindred spirit in Jeffries, whom he wrote about in his Books In My Life. Several key links are made between the two books, including the portrayal of natural landscape as having a transformative effect on human character and soul."

He also gives a good rundown of the contents of the journal.

Sprout




The hushed news of winter's end
will not reach the earth in time
to speed the patterns of change.
Damp and capable, the first days
of spring chill the ground, the birds
and the heart. The lustful
frost returns, unexpected, tricking
the panicky bud who peeps
through plotted soil, skinny
wholehearted, and fearless,
until the sun eases out again
with its adorned messages
as bright and sweet as ripe honeycomb.

-Amy Nawrocki

Originally published in Slow Trains Literary Journal, 6.2

Travel and Adventure



My Literature of Travel and Adventure class heading out onto Fayerweather Island. It's a lesson in how travel and even adventure starts right at home. We found the tracks of raccoons and cats, and evidence of deer.

"The sea is a treacherous friend." - Catherine Moore, lighthouse keeper for 61 years, and most famous resident of Fayerweather Island.

Women's History Month




Just a little reminder of what sort of nonsense women have had to go through to gain the rights of human beings. Of course, I like how suffrage would "double the irresponsible vote." Think about it.

The struggle goes on throughout the world today.

In other news, the strongest woman I know, my wife, will be giving a reading next Sunday, April 5, at the Newtown Library. Copies of her book, Potato Eaters, will be available and refreshments will be served. See you there!