On Common Ground Documentary and Discussion on June 12

Join Ryan Allen and Brian Hazlett, editors of this year’s Summer Reading title On Common Ground, for a viewing of a documentary about this project followed by a discussion and Q&A session. On Common Ground is a place-based, multidisciplinary examination of Iowa’s northern Loess Hills. Inspired by a similar event on Mount St. Helens, On Common Ground convened over two dozen artists, writers, and naturalists to Iowa’s northern Loess Hills during a weekend at Joy Hollow Girl Scout Camp in early Fall 2021. The Loess Hills are an exceptional natural landscape and a worthy environment for interdisciplinary interaction. The landform, sculpted from the deepest deposits of wind-borne glacial silt in the U.S., is home to a significant collection, both in size and number, of Iowa’s remnant prairies. The group shared space and stories, participated in a prairie burn, and encountered a bison herd. This place-based collaboration among the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences has inspired a 30-minute documentary, an anthology of poems, essays, and artwork, an indoor mural, and educational material.

Where: Aalfs Downtown Library
When: Wednesday, June 12 from 6 – 7:30 pm
Who: For All Ages!

Visit our Adult Summer Reading webpage to learn more about our exciting upcoming Adult Summer Reading events and how to read and win prizes this summer!

Find the book On Common Ground: Learning and Living the Loess Hills edited by Ryan Allen & Brian T. Hazlett in the Library catalog:

CLICK HERE to place a hold on On Common Ground.