Is there ever such a thing as a good war? Guest host Julie Burstein talks to Nicholson Baker about the uses of war, and the case for pacifism in our modern world. Also: poet Mark Doty. Then Ceridwen Dovey's debut novel. And Underreported looks into how women care for domestic water supplies around the world. Plus: restoring Iraq's marshlands.
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Nicholson Baker asks if there’s ever such a thing as a "good war" and makes a strong case for pacifism. His new book is Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization.
Event: Nicholson Baker will be in conversation with Simon Winchester
Thursday, March 20 at 7 pm
New York Public Library, South Court Auditorium
42nd Street and 5th Avenue
To buy tickets, visit SmartTix.
Mark Doty is one of America’s most acclaimed modern poets. Fire to Fire contains some of Doty’s new work, as well as selections from his seven earlier books of poetry.
Event: Mark Doty will be speaking and signing books
Thursday, March 20 at 7 pm
McNally Robinson Bookstore
52 Prince Street (between Lafayette and Mulberry Streets)
Read Doty’s poem "Pipistrelle," from Fire to Fire
Ceridwen Dovey’s debut novel, Blood Kin, is set in an imaginary dictatorship in a time of serious political instability.
Event: Ceridwen Dovey will be in conversation with Colum McCann
Thursday, March 20 at 7 pm
Tribeca Barnes & Noble
97 Warren Street (at Greenwich Street)
The burden usually falls to women to find and manage domestic water resources throughout developing countries in Africa and Asia. We look into why it’s so important for planners to involve women in developing sustainable water plans. Lydia Zigomo is a human rights lawyer from Zimbabwe who serves at WaterAid’s Head of Region for East Africa and is Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Women’s Network. Patricia Dandonoli is CEO ofWaterAid America.
Event: A panel discussion, "The Heaviest Load," will be at the American Museum of Natural History
Saturday, March 22 at 12 pm
Kaufman Theater, First Floor
Central Park West and 79th Street
Free with museum admission, for more info, go here.
It will also be webcast live here
The marshlands of southern Iraq and Iran were once the largest in western Eurasia, encompassing an area larger than the Florida Everglades. During the 1990s, under Saddam Hussein, damming and drainage projects almost completely destroyed them. It’s been called one of the world's greatest environmental disasters. Dr. Azzam Alwash of The Eden Again Project is working to restore the marshlands, and educate the world about their cultural and ecological significance.
Event: Azzam Alwash will be participating in an international water issues panel discussion
Saturday, March 22 at 3 pm
American Museum of Natural History, Kaufman Theater
Central Park West and 79th Street
Free with museum admission, for more info, go here.
The Eden Again Project’s website
See photos of Iraq's marshlands
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