Author Talk: Joanne Lannin
Prince Memorial Library will host local author Joanne Lannin on Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m. She will read from and discuss her book, Finding a Way to Play: The Pioneering Spirit of Women in Basketball.
Finding a Way to Play is full of stories about women who have gone to great lengths to play the game of basketball. Within its pages is the story of early pioneers who played despite concerns about risks to health and femininity, Black and Native American women who endured racial discrimination as they searched for opportunities to play, lesbians who hid their identities for fear of being denied the chance to play or coach, and women over 50 who ignored aches and pains to rediscover the joys of a childhood passion. There also are stories about the Mighty Macs of the 1970s, Pat Summitt and the first U.S. women's Olympic team in 1976, as well as the struggles to establish a professional league for women in the 1980s and 1990s. Readers will come away with an understanding of the roads women have traveled to bring the game into the future. Those who grew up before Title IX may find themselves or loved ones in the stories of women who kept the earlier flame alive.
Joanne Lannin played basketball in high school and college and currently plays in a senior women’s league. She was a sports and feature writer for the Portland Press Herald for 23 years and won numerous awards for her reporting, including the New England Women's Press Association Award for sports writing. She also has been published in Boston Magazine, Yankee Magazine, and Women in Sports Magazine. Over the years, she has covered and written about the Olympic Games, the New Hampshire primary, and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four. She has a Master of Science in Journalism from Boston University and has taught writing at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Southern Maine, St. Joseph's College, and Bonny Eagle High School in Standish.
The Author Talk is part of a monthly series featuring local authors who discuss their latest book, their inspiration and the writing process. Light refreshments will be served. Prince Memorial Library is located at 266 Main Street in Cumberland. For more information, contact the library at 829-2215.