MOUNT VERNON – Cornell College and Cole Library will host Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wife, on Thursday, Sept. 17, as part of the second year of “One Book, One Campus, One Community.”
Ackerman will participate in a range of activities open to the community, starting with the Opening Convocation Lecture in King Chapel at 11 a.m.
The author will also hold an evening reading in Hedges Conference Room at 7:30 p.m., followed by a reception and book signing at 8:30 p.m. in Shaw Lounge, both in the Commons. All three events are free and open to the public.
The Zookeeper’s Wife documents the true story of Warsaw zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who in the aftermath of Germany’s invasion of Poland saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish citizens. In 2008 it received the Orion Book Award for being “a work of art, an act of conscientious objection to the destruction of the world, and an affirmation of hope and human decency.”
“One Book, One Campus, One Community” is a program founded with the goal of creating opportunities for life-long learners to come together to talk about a fantastic book. Last year’s selection was The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere by Debra Marquart.
Ackerman has been consistently recognized for her prose. She received an honorary doctorate of literature from Kenyon College, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the John Burroughs Nature Award, and the Lavan Poetry Prize. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian, Parade, The New Yorker, National Geographic, and many other journals. She received an M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.