OCAF event

Last Friday night, the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, Ga., put on one of the best events I've ever attended. It was a celebration in honor of my new book, The Flower Seeker: An Epic Poem of William Bartram, and my friend and colleague Dorinda Dallmeyer's companion volume, Darwin's Living Legacy. I was there along with Dorinda, and so was the brilliant landscape artist Philip Juras, whose work is in both books and ties them together.

It's been a long time since I've felt so warmly received for a book. Blessings to Joe Ruiz, Cindy Farley, and Charles Warnock of OCAF for a magnificent evening.

For readers in the Macon, Ga., area, I'll be reading at the Sidney Lanier House on Tuesday, Oct. 12, in an event starting with a reception at 5:30 p.m. And later that same week I'll be part of a two-day event celebrating the life and work of my dear friend, novelist Raymond Andrews sponsored by The Georgia Review. More on that event soon.

Finally, I'll be signing copies of The Flower Seeker at Barnes & Noble in Athens on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. No one has supported me better or more over the years than Barnes & Noble. Hope you can come.

Photo: William Bartram