Programs and Presentations

Presenting on literature or telling stories about the past, I am always delighted to bring words, whimsy, and, perhaps, a little wisdom to any interested party. I am available to speak to classes, groups, and events. While I am happy to travel to locations that can provide for travel, I can also visit via Zoom, as I often did when COVID shutdowns kept us all from going very far abroad. If you are interested in having me as a presenter or guest speaker, please use the contact form, and let’s chat! Depending on the venue, I can customize programs, but the list below features some of my more popular programs

“A Token of My Affection” The Power of Symbol in The Hunger Games

A good choice for library and bookshop groups as well as classrooms, this look at some of the remarkable symbols of the Hunger Game trilogy and the prequels unpacks elements from numbers and colors to myth and history, all wrapped up in that mockingjay pin.

Literary Alchemy

This introduction to the “magic” of literary alchemy outlines the motifs and purposes behind this remarkable thread woven through countless classic and popular texts. Students of all ages enjoy seeing the way literary alchemy drives texts as diverse as the Harry Potter books, Romeo and Juliet, and The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games and Appalachia

District 12 was once called Appalachia, and much of the worldview that Suzanne Collins creates for her fictional District 12 characters is directly connected to the real Appalachia. Readers familiar with the culture and history of Appalachia, and those for whom the mountains are as foreign as Panem will both make discoveries on this visit to the literary setting and its real-world counterpart.

Fantastic Beasts: Animals in Narnia and Harry Potter

From mythical creatures to symbols to everyday domestic creatures, the magical settings of Narnia and the Wizarding  World present animals in fascinating and linked ways that reveal their surprisingly shared roots.

Storytelling Workshops and Performances

Storytelling is the oldest art, one that allows us to entertain, share history, and preserve the past. Workshops on storytelling allow participants to understand why and how we tell stories and to craft and preserve their own personal and  family stories. These can be as short as an hour or as long as several sessions, depending on the group. Tales from Two Creeks storytelling performances bring to life original Appalachian stories filled with nostalgia, humor, and mountain culture. Other storytelling programs can focus on spooky stories, fairy and folk tales, and animal stories.

Medicinal Plants of the Early Frontier

Before there was a drugstore on every corner, the settlers of Appalachia had to adapt their plant-based medicinal practices to include the native plants they found as well as those they cultivated. While these granny women and root doctors were often denigrated by professionally trained physicians who relied on “cutting-edge” medical treatments like bleeding, their use of plants was often less harmful, even if not more effective, than conventional medical wisdom of the time. “Ma Lizzie,” eighteenth-century medical practitioner, shares some of the remarkable native plants and their uses.

Plants with Professor Sprout

Readers of Harry Potter well recall Professor Spout and her extraordinary greenhouses at Hogwarts, but some real plants are just as fantastic! Learn about the “roots” of the magical plants that help Harry and his friends, as well as some fascinating local native plants.

 Additional Programs

I am also available as a guest on podcasts or to speak on any of the subjects featured in my writing, including the works of C.S. Lewis, Edmund Spenser, J.K. Rowling/Robert Gailbraith, Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, as well as popular culture topics like literature and literary elements in Star Trek, as wells as  other films and series.