Living history interpreter to visit county library
Living history interpreter Sandra Quick portrays Phillis Wheatley, an author and slave in Colonial America.
The Tuscarawas County Public Library System Main Library will host living history interpreter Sandra Quick on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. as she presents the program, “Phillis Wheatley: Finding Her Voice.”
Quick will portray Phillis Wheatley, the first black female and first slave to publish a volume of poetry in Colonial America. Wheatley was kidnapped from her home in Senegal/Gambia and then purchased as a slave at age 7. She learned to read within 16 months of her arrival in America, and by age 12 she was studying English and Latin literature.
”Quick’s emotional portrayal of this significant historical and literary figure will be an eye-opening experience for anyone who attends,” library public service associate Laura Hanna said. “It is sure to bring to life the plight of the earliest slaves in America and the triumph of the desire for intellectual freedom.”
Quick is the founding member of “Our History Awakens,” a theater company based in Columbus. According to its founder, their mission is “to commemorate the African American experience in American history.”
Quick has written a book titled "Our History Awakens: Creating My Living History Avatar," which she will have available to purchase following the program.
As a part of this program, the Main Library’s It’s a Classicbook club’s January selection is "Phillis Wheatley: Complete Writing" by Phillis Wheatley in anticipation of this program. Copies of this book are available to check out at the Main Library’s adult service desk.
To register for this free program, visit the library’s online event calendar at www.tusclibrary.org or call 330-364-4474 ext. 101. The Main Library is located at 121 Fair Ave. NW, New Philadelphia.