Whitman and America’s First Bohemians Topic of MBL Falmouth Forum Season Kickoff, November 14

Woods Hole, MA—Best-selling biographer Justin Martin will kick-off the 24th season of the MBL Falmouth Forum on Friday, November 14.  Martin’s latest book is Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America’s First Bohemians. This is the first book ever written about a wild, decadent, and incredibly influential artists’ circle that hung out at Pfaff’s saloon in New York City during the 1850s. The talk will be held at 7:30 PM in the MBL’s Lillie Auditorium, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole. A book signing and sale will follow the presentation. Sponsored by the MBL Associates, and supported in part by the Falmouth Forum Endowment, the event is free and open to the public.

Martin is the author of three previous books, including Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (Da Capo, 2012), the amazing story of the pioneering landscape architect of Central Park, who also happened to be a Civil War hero, fervent abolitionist, and crusading journalist. Martin’s other books are Greenspan: The Man Behind Money (Perseus Publishing, 2000) and Nader: Crusader, Spoiler, Icon (Basic, 2002). All of Martin’s books have been reviewed widely and well, drawing raves in publications including the Washington Post, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and Vanity Fair. Martin’s bestselling Greenspan bio was chosen as a notable book by the New York Times Book Review.

An optional buffet dinner will precede the lecture at 6:00 pm at the MBL’s Swope Center, 5 North Street, Woods Hole. Tickets are $30 (meal includes salad, pasta or potatoes, two entrees, wine, dessert, tax and gratuity) and must be purchased in advance at Eight Cousins Bookstore, Main Street, Falmouth or at the MBL Communications Office, 127 Water Street, Woods Hole. Dinner tickets are available until they sell out or until 5:00 pm on Tuesday November 11.

For more information, contact the MBL Communications Office at (508) 289-7423 or comm@mbl.edu.The remainder of the 2014-2015 season includes the following presentations. Visit mbl.edu/falmouth-forum for details and updated information.
 
January 16, 2015 
Poetry Reading
Rosanna Warren, Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago

February 6, 2015 (HERMAN T. EPSTEIN MEMORIAL LECTURE)
The Piano in the 21st Century
Michael Mizrahi, concert pianist and teaching artist, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music

February 27, 2015  
Out of the Blue: Nantucket and the Pacific World
Edward Melillo, Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Amherst College

March 13, 2015
The Economic Costs of Climate Change
Benjamin Jones, Faculty Director, Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, Northwestern University

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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.
 
The MBL Associates are a group of individuals and businesses that support the scientific mission of the MBL through their gifts to the Annual Fund. The Associates sponsor educational and research programs for the MBL and raise funds for special projects. In addition, they operate the MBL Gift Shop, located on Water Street in Woods Hole, the profits from which support scientific fellowships.