Join us Thursday, Sept. 4 at 6 pm at Nutt Auditorium (500 University Ave. across the street from the Gertrude C. Ford Center) with pianist Bruce Levingston, author Karen Abbott and soul/funk band, Silas Reed N’ Da Books.
In Karen Abbott’s Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy (Harper) the author illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the true stories of four courageous women–a socialite, a farm girl, an abolitionist, and a widow–who were spies. Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies’ descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. She includes a cast of other real-life characters including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, and Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Edgar Award-winning mystery writer, Megan Abbott says, “Thrilling, illuminating, and heart- pounding, Liar, Temptress, Solider, Spy reads like a crackling espionage novel.”
Abbott’s previous books include the bestsellers, Sin in the Second City, and American Rose which prompted USA Today to call her a, “pioneer of sizzle history.” Abbott lives in New York City.
Classical pianist Bruce Levingston is one of today’s leading figures in contemporary music whom The New York Times called, “one of today’s most adventurous musicians.” His repertoire spans from the Baroque works of Bach and Scarlatti to the Classical and Romantic masterpieces of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms to the most avant-garde works of today. His CDs include, Still Sound, Nightbreak, Heart Shadow, and Portraits.
Levingston is the founder and artistic director of Premiere Commission, Inc., a non-profit foundation that promotes the commissions and premieres of new compositions by a variety of artists.
Silas Reed N’ Da Books is a jam collective fed by a deep roster of talented musical personalities, combining electro, gospel, soul, rock, and jazz into one textured live experience.
The band has been in existence since the summer of 2007, with the first line-up taking shape almost immediately after Silas graduated from Oxford High School. Their soul driven, high- energy performances are one of a kind. Reed lives in Oxford.
