Washington Independent Review of Books

To submit your event to the Independent's Literary Events Calendar email events at wirobooks dot com

  Export Event

Local Author Showcase: Paula Whitacre

Location Busboys and Poets - Shirlington, 4251 South Campbell Ave., Arlington, VA
Date Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Duration   1 hours, 30 minutes
Link http://busboysandpoets.com/events/event/local-author-showcase-paula-whitacre
RSVP on Facebook
Repeats? No
Details Please join us for a local author showcase with Virginia author Paula Tarnapol Whitacre as she discusses her new book "A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time." Books will be available for purchase before and after the event. This event is co-hosted by The Energy Club. In the fall of 1862 Julia Wilbur left her family’s farm near Rochester, New York, and boarded a train to Washington DC. As an ardent abolitionist, the forty-seven-year-old Wilbur left a sad but stable life, headed toward the chaos of the Civil War, and spent most of the next several years in Alexandria, working alongside Harriet Jacobs and devising ways to aid recently escaped slaves and hospitalized Union soldiers. "A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time" shapes Wilbur’s diaries and other primary sources into a historical narrative sending the reader back 150 years to understand a woman who was alternately brave, self-pitying, foresighted, petty—and all too human. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre describes Wilbur’s experiences against the backdrop of Alexandria, Virginia, a southern town held by the Union from 1861 to 1865; of Washington DC, where Wilbur became active in the women’s suffrage movement and lived until her death in 1895; and of Rochester, New York, a hotbed of social reform and home to Wilbur’s acquaintances Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. In this second chapter of her life, Wilbur persisted in two things: improving conditions for African Americans who had escaped from slavery and creating a meaningful life for herself. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time is the captivating story of a woman who remade herself at midlife during a period of massive social upheaval and change. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre is a professional writer and editor for organizations including the National Institutes of Health and the National Academy of Sciences. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, she is a former Foreign Service officer and staff writer for the Washington Post. She participates in excavations, conducts archival research, and gives presentations on topics related to Alexandria, Virginia, where she lives with her family.

Logged In/Out Testing & Debugging

  • Are you Logged in?: Your are Logged Out
  • Currently Logged in Member ID: 0
  • Currently Logged in Username:
  • Currently Logged in Screen Name:
  • Currently Logged in Member Group ID: 3