Lecture series in 2012 will focus on entertainers

KENT — Each year, the Kent Memorial Library presents a lecture series based around a theme. The 2012 series is entitled “Great Performances” and will feature opera singer Marilyn Horne in May and actress Meryl Streep in June.The performers will discuss, in an interview format, the moments that inspired their careers.“Given the mood of the country, the libraryis looking to the arts for a series to lift our spirits, inspire us and cause us to remember what great things we can achieve,” said Kenneth Cooper, president of the Kent Library Association. “We are asking these important artists to relate those experiences to what inspired them to great heights.”Marilyn Horne, May 13Horne is scheduled to appear Sunday, May 13. In 2002, after the performer had dominated her field for more than four decades, Opera News said, “Marilyn Horne — whose face and songs have been in the light in so many places, in so many styles, through so many media, for so many years — may be the most influential singer in American history.”Among many honors, Horne was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1992.In January 2009, Horne celebrated her 75th birthday and the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Marilyn Horne Foundation with a gala concert at Carnegie Hall.Horne will be interviewed by publisher Stephen Rubin.Meryl Streep, June 24On Sunday, June 24, Streep will discuss her work in theater, television and film.Streep is widely regarded as one of the most talented and respected actresses of the contemporary era. For almost four decades, she has portrayed an astonishing array of characters.Streep began her professional life on the New York stage. Within three years of graduation, Streep made her Broadway debut, won an Emmy (for “Holocaust”) and received her first Oscar nomination (for “The Deer Hunter”).In 2009, Streep earned her 16th Academy Award nomination as Julia Child in Nora Ephron’s “Julie and Julia.” In 2010, President Obama awarded Streep the National Medal of Arts. This year she was a Kennedy Center Honoree.Streep will be interviewed by author Frank Delaney.Details of the lecture series, including other participants, will be announced in the future. Initial registration for the lecture series, limited to members of the Kent Library Association, will begin in March.For more information, visit www.kentmemoriallibrary.org.

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