From its founding, the Mercantile Library has served as a cultural center for the city. The first lecture series in the newly opened West was instituted by the members in the 1840s. The first speakers were prominent citizens of the young city and members themselves. As the city and Library prospered, they were able to attract ever more distinguished lecturers, including W. M. Thackeray, Herman Melville, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. That tradition continues with the annual Niehoff Lectures which have brought such distinguished writers and speakers as John Updike, Tom Wolfe, and Jonathan Winters to the Library. There are also courses, small concerts, author readings and book signings, a large number of which are scheduled at noon for the convenience of the many members who work and shop in the city's downtown.
The Mercantile Library is proud to be a partner in CETconnect.org, working with CET, Greater Cincinnati’s public television station, to connect our community to interviews, lectures, activities, special events and other unique presentations and programs. CETconnect.org, the first community public media website, engages, enriches, educates and entertains by bringing on-demand high-quality video and information to Greater Cincinnati—and the world. Experience it yourself at CETconnect.org.
Click here to see a complete list of Mercantile Library videos available on CETconnect.
First Wednesday Book Discussion
Book for discussion: Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Discussion leader: PLCH's Susanne Wells
Wed, Mar 3rd 2010 | 12:00 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
No charge for members; $5 for nonmembers. A box lunch is available by advance reservation for $8.
Walnut Street Poetry Society
Wed, Mar 10th 2010 | 12:00 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
Graphic Novel Discussion Group
Book for discussion: Maus, V. I & II by Art Spiegelman
Discussion leader: Jeff Suess
Sat, Mar 13th 2010 | 1:00 PM
Reading Room
No charge
Kamholtz Course: Literary Thrillers
Arthur Conan Doyle. “Boscombe Valley”, "The Speckled Band”, “Copper Beeches”, “Engineer’s Thumb”, “Twisted Lip.”
The origins of the modern thriller can be found in gothic literature and the 19th century novel of sensation. We’ll explore the roots of the genre in five pieces of short fiction from Doyle’s first collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. They have many of the defining elements the thriller can draw upon: identities compromised or lost; lively social and psychological drama; the empire and the shrinking world; confinements and escapes; and the fateful discovery that a character’s status can quickly change from social actor to potential victim.
Jonathan Kamholtz holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati
Fri, Mar 19th 2010 | 12:30 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
$50 series members;$55 nonmembers:individual session $15 members;$20 nonmembers
Book Launch and Lecture
The latest from the Mercantile press: At the Center: 175 Years at Cincinnati’s Mercantile Library written by historian ROBERT C. VITZ. The book is the culmination of two years of in-depth research. The author will share interesting facts and humorous anecdotes from the Library’s first 175 years. Copies of the history will be available for purchase and signing.
Thu, Mar 25th 2010 | 7:00 PM
Reading Room
No charge
Kamholtz Course: Literary Thrillers
Eric Ambler. Journey into Fear
Graham is a British weapons engineer who casts a cool eye on means of human destruction. He visits Turkey on company business shortly after war breaks out. Now he is on the run, set in motion by a single shot in his hotel room, and he must get home to England. The first time he has considered the life-and-death implications of his work comes when the life and potential death are his own.
Jonathan Kamholtz holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati
Fri, Mar 26th 2010 | 12:30 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
$50 series members;$55 nonmembers:individual session $15 members;$20 nonmembers
First Wednesday Book Discussion
Book for discussion: Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
Discussion leader: Polk Laffoon
Wed, Apr 7th 2010 | 12:00 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
No charge for members; $5 for nonmembers. A box lunch is available by advance reservation for $8.
Kamholtz Course: Literary Thrillers
Daphne du Maurier. The Scapegoat.
At a train station, John, a staid British history teacher, meets Jean, his exact double, a down-and-out French aristocrat. After an evening of drinking, the Englishman awakes to find that the Frenchman has disappeared, leaving John to take Jean’s place as head of the family and head of the family business. John works his way into and through the aristocrat’s complex life, understanding what he can and improvising the rest.
Jonathan Kamholtz holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati.
Fri, Apr 9th 2010 | 12:30 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
$50 series members;$55 nonmembers:individual session $15 members;$20 nonmembers
Kamholtz Course: Literary Thrillers
Cornelia Read. A Field of Darkness.
Madeline Dare is a tough—and maybe a little foul-mouthed—newspaper investigator, looking into the murder of the Rose Girls. She must try to understand the time of their deaths in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, and fend off her growing worry that maybe this long-past murder has something to do with her.
Jonathan Kamholtz holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati.
Fri, Apr 16th 2010 | 12:30 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
$50 series members;$55 nonmembers:individual session $15 members;$20 nonmembers
Big Noise at the Library
It’s not every day that an institution celebrates its 175th anniversary! Few organizations have had the perseverance, adaptability, or good fortune it takes to achieve such longevity, so we’re throwing a party to mark the occasion. It’ll be an evening of great food and fun, music and dancing with performances by Queen City Brass, Tropicoso, Patricia Linhart, and the Faux Frenchman. A good time will be had by all!
Sponsors:
David and Randol Haffner
Karen and Bill Hoeb
Bob and Kathleen Prangley
Elizabeth C.B. and Paul G. Sittenfeld
George and Kathy Wilkinson
Cincinnati Equitable Insurance Company
Johnson Investment Counsel
Krombholz Jewelers
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum
Western & Southern Financial Group
Act I (7:20p.m.-7:50 p.m.): Queen City Brass
Act II (8:20p.m.- 9:00 p.m.) Patricia Linhart accompanied by Julie Spangler on piano
Act III (9:30 p.m.- 10:10 p.m) Tropicoso
Toasts/Remarks (10:15 p.m.)
Act IV (10:30 p.m.-12 p.m.) Faux Frenchmen
Sat, Apr 17th 2010 | 7:00 PM
Reading Room
$100 per ticket or 2 for $175. Reservations accepted beginning March 8th.
Kamholtz Course: Literary Thrillers
Geoff Nicholson. Bedlam Burning
Maybe this one is more literary than thriller, but it’s the wonderful story of Mike Smith who gives in (too readily) to an invitation to impersonate a suddenly successful young novelist, Gregory Collins. How closely will Mike follow the script that Collins has drafted for his new life? And how out of place is a creative writing instructor in the world of the psychotic and anti-social?
Jonathan Kamholtz holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cincinnati
Fri, Apr 23rd 2010 | 12:30 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
$50 series members;$55 nonmembers:individual session $15 members;$20 nonmembers
By the Book: Jerome Kathman
The best in their field talk about the books on their shelves and how those books influence their lives and careers.
Jerry Kathman is President and Chief Executive Officer of LPK, the largest independent brand design agency in the world with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Mr. Kathman is recognized within the industry as a leading authority on the role of design in brand building. His global experience has provided Fortune 500 companies with insights into both the opportunities and pitfalls of taking a brand beyond national boundaries.
Mr. Kathman sits on the Board of the Design Management Institute and is a faculty member of the In-Store Marketing Institute. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC and is often quoted or published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, Design Management Review, Die Welt (a leading national German newspaper), CB News (a leading French business magazine), and Hong Kong Economic Times. Mr. Kathman has authored numerous white papers in academic and professional journals on topical issues in brand design development and management.
He lectures frequently to business and academic audiences in North America, Europe and Asia, including Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, New York University, the Hong Kong Design Centre, Singapore Design Festival, the Design Management Institute and the In-Store Marketing Institute.
Mr. Kathman is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees for CET, Cincinnati’s Public Television, and serves on the Board of Trustees for both the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. He has been named among the “100 Most Powerful People in the Tristate” by CincyBusiness magazine. Mr. Kathman continues to support his alma mater, the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning at the University of Cincinnati, recently serving on the search committee to appoint a new dean for the college.
LPK is an international design agency with a proven track record in Building Leadership Brands. By integrating strategy, design and innovation, LPK leverages relevant consumer, shopper and market insights to create value, sustain leadership and transform businesses.
The agency’s portfolio of category-leading brands and long-term client relationships attracts some of the best and brightest creative minds in the world. LPK’s combination of strategic skills, creative disciplines and cross-cultural perspectives results in brand-building innovation across media, geography and time.
With a presence in North America, Europe and Asia, LPK is the world’s largest employee-owned brand design agency. LPK has developed and managed brand design franchises for some of the world’s most successful businesses, including IBM, Pantene, Pampers, Olay, Hershey, Valvoline, Quicken, Heinz, AT&T, Hallmark, US Bank, Samsung, Novartis and Kellogg.
LPK has been recognized in The Wall Street Journal as a “Winning Workplace,” and by Inc. Magazine as “one of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.”
Locally, LPK, through the LPK Foundation, is committed to the Greater Cincinnati community by providing gifts of time, talent and monetary support to the arts, environmental causes and non-profit organizations that provide for those in need. LPK has developed the brand design franchises for some of the area’s most beloved institutions including Cincinnati Opera, CET, Cincinnati Art Museum, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati Public Schools and United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
MEDIA SPONSOR: BUSINESS COURIER
Thu, Apr 29th 2010 | 12:00 PM
Reading Room
$10 for members; $15 for others (price includes lunch)
First Wednesday Book Discussion Group
Book for discussion:American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Discussion Group leader: Linda Vaccarriello
Curtis Sittenfeld will visit the Library for a reading and
discussion of her work on May 20th.
Wed, May 5th 2010 | 12:00 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
No charge for members; $5 for nonmembers. A box lunch is available by advance reservation for $8.
By the Book: Doug Bolton
The best in their field talk about the books on their shelves and how those books influence their lives and careers.
Doug Bolton has been publisher of the Business Courier since August 2000. A 25-year veteran of the newspaper business, Doug began his career as a newspaper reporter and worked at the Cincinnati/Kentucky Post for five years. Doug first started working for the Courier in 1987. He was named editor of the Courier in 1996, and was promoted to publisher of the Dayton Business Journal in 1997. A native of Piqua, Ohio, Doug received a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Morehead State University.
MEDIA SPONSOR: BUSINESS COURIER
Wed, May 19th 2010 | 12:00 PM
Reading Room
$10 for members; $15 for others (price includes lunch)
Reading and signing
Cincinnati’s own
CURTIS SITTENFELD, author of the bestselling novels American Wife, Prep, and The Man of My Dreams, will read from and discuss her work at this literary evening. Prep was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of 2005 by The New York Times, and American Wife was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of 2008 by Time. Sittenfeld’s non-fiction has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Salon, and Slate.
Thu, May 20th 2010 | 7:00 PM
Reading Room
$10 for members; $15 for nonmembers.
First Wednesday Book Discussion Group
Book for discussion: The Corner by David Simon and Edward Burns
Discussion leader: Susan Wheatley
David Simon will deliver the H.B. Stowe Lecture on June 7th.
Wed, Jun 2nd 2010 | 12:00 PM
12th Floor Lecture Room
No charge for members; $5 for nonmembers. A box lunch is available by advance reservation for $8.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Lecture:Writing to Change the World
DAVID SIMON, best known as the creator of the highly acclaimed HBO series The Wire, will deliver the eighth installment of the Harriet Beecher Stowe lecture.
Simon is a Baltimore-based author, journalist and writer-producer of television, specializing in criminal justice and urban issues. In its 5 seasons, The Wire chronicled with graphic reality and memorable characters Baltimore’s streets, politics, police department, schools, and
newspaper.
Born in Washington, he came to Baltimore after graduating from the University of Maryland, to work as a police reporter at the Baltimore Sun. In 1988 he took a leave of absence from newspaper to write Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Published in 1991, the Edgar-award winning account of a year inside the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit became the basis for NBC's Homicide: Life on The Street, which was broadcast from 1993 to 1999. Simon worked as a writer, and later as a producer on the award-winning drama and won a Humanitas Award and the WGA Award for best writing in an episodic drama.
In 1993, Simon took a second leave from the Baltimore Sun to research and write The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood. Published in 1997 and co-authored with Edward Burns, the true account of life in a West Baltimore community dominated by an open-air drug market was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. Simon then co-wrote and produced The Corner as a six-hour miniseries for HBO. That production, which aired in 2000, won an Emmy as the year's best miniseries. Simon won an Emmy for best writing in a movie or miniseries.
Simon continues to work as a freelance journalist and author, writing for publications as varied as the Washington Post, the New Republic and Details.
Mon, Jun 7th 2010 | 7:00 PM
Reading Room
$20 members;$25 nonmembers
The Modern Novel
Meet one of the most imaginative and unique writers at work today. MARY DORIA RUSSELL is the author of The Sparrow, Children of God, A Thread of Grace, and Dreamers of the Day. Her novels have won numerous awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The Sparrow was selected as one of Entertainment Weekly’s ten best books of the year, and
A Thread of Grace was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Tue, Sep 14th 2010 | 7:00 PM
Reading Room
$15 for members;$20 for nonmembers
Niehoff Lecture XXIII
Humorist, memoirist, world traveler, and traveler writer par excellence BILL BRYSON headlines the Library’s 2010 season as the twenty-third Niehoff Lecturer on Saturday, November 13th in the Hall of Mirrors.
Regaling audiences with his funny, truthful, and eye-opening tales, Bryson charms with the same warmth, wit, and dry, self-effacing humor that has made his writing so appealing.
Bryson’s works include A Walk in the Woods, I’m A Stranger Here Myself, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid and his latest book, At Home: A Short History of Private Life, to be
released in 2010.
"A cross between de Tocqueville and Dave Barry, Bryson writes about…America in a way that’s both trenchantly observant and pound-on-the-floor, snort-root-beer-out-of-your-nose funny.”
—San Francisco Examiner
“Bill Bryson could write an essay about dryer lint or fever reducers and still make us laugh out loud.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“Bill Bryson’s laugh-out-loud pilgrimage through his Fifties childhood in heartland America is a national treasure. It’s full of insights, wit, and wicked adolescent fantasies.”
—Tom Brokaw
Title Sponsors: Buck and Patricia Niehoff
