Author Sallie Bingham has long been a devoted supporter of the Truchas, New Mexico library. In fact it would likely no longer be open if not for her continued generous donations. So whenever Sallie publishes a new book, she comes to Truchas for a reading—a great treat for those of us who live here.
Sallie’s first novel was published in 1961 by Houghton Mifflin. She went on to write and publish numerous novels, collections of short stories, books of poetry and plays. She is probably best known for her memoir, Passion and Prejudice (Knopf, 1989). Her most recent offering, titled Mending: New and Selected Short Stories, was just published by Sarabande Books in October 2011 and it was from this that she read.
Sallie is a wonderful story teller and it was easy, sitting in the audience, to close my eyes and imagine myself in a cozy coffeehouse on the upper west side in New York City. Four years after moving here, the level of culture available to us in this tiny village, continues to surprise.
In addition to her writing and philanthropy, Sallie is also a teacher and feminist activist, among other things. According to her Wikipedia entry, “Bingham has worked as a book editor for The Courier-Journal in Louisville and has been a director of the National Book Critics Circle. She is founder of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, which published The American Voice, and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture at Duke University.” The energy surrounding her is radiant.
It was a great day with homemade cookies and stimulating conversation. We are very grateful to Sallie’s continued interest in our wonderful library. Our village would be a very different place without it. Thank you Sallie!
Love to you all,
Jeane
Wonderful!!:)
Grace
It was a great day spent with a great woman, surrounded by community.