The College of Central Florida Library is thrilled to announce an upcoming speaking engagement featuring a fascinating discussion of the works of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Our speakers will explore how the landscape and culture of our region inspired Rawlings’ literary imagination and found their way into her writing. Join us on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. in Building 3 (Stearns Learning Resources Center) on CF’s Ocala Campus. Refreshments will be offered, and the first 25 students will receive a copy of The Yearling, Rawlings’ 1939 Pulitzer Prize winning story.

RSVP at ruizf@cf.edu. Appreciated but not required.

Presenters:

Florence M. Turcotte is the Literary Manuscripts Archivist and Curator of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Papers at the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. Flo also serves as the Executive Director of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society, and is on the board of the Friends of the MKR Farm, Inc. She has published two books of correspondence from her literary collections, and an award-winning article about Rawlings in the Florida Historical Quarterly.

Anne Pierce retired from Georgia Southern University and moved to this area, being originally from rural eastern North Carolina. She developed an interest in this region particularly the Big Scrub. Anne’s appreciation of the history and beauty of the area was enhanced through reading and studying Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ body of work. She is an active member and officer in the MKR Society and the Friends of the MKR Farm, Inc.