Two Local Authors Set to Speak This Weekend

Charlotte author and poet Judy Goldman will give a free reading from her critically beloved memoir Losing My Sister Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, 7015 Morrison Blvd., beginning at 2 p.m.

The book follows the tumultuous relationship Goldman had with her sister and their eventual reconilliation after her sister's cancer diagnosis. The Charlotte Observer called the book "profound" for its ability to find capture authentic family dynamics. Charlotte Magazine ran an excerpt from the memoir titled Losing My Mother when the book was released in October.

Goldman has also written two novels and two books of poetry, all of which received numerous awards and critical acclaim.

Find out more about Goldman at her website.

Also on Saturday, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Professor John David Smith will give a free lecture titled Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation, and the U.S. Colored Troops. The talk will focus on Lincoln's evolution in thought on slavery and the governments role in recruiting and deploying black soldiers, a news release about the event said. Smith is currently working on a book on these subjects.

Smith is the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History at UNCC where he teaches courses on the American South, the Civil War, slavery and emancipation.

The lecture will begin at 2 p.m. in the Francis Auditorium of the Main Library branch at 310 N. Tryon St. It is expected to end at 3:30 p.m.