“On a warm and humid day in June 2012, I decided to meet Daniel Boone.”

On Thursday, April 4, Milligan Libraries hosted a release party at the Welshimer Library for professor Jim Dahlman’s recently published book, A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boone’s Road. In this memoir of sorts, Dahlman records his explorations while hiking Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road and encounters with the people he met along the way who inhabit the southern Appalachian region.

Dahlman is professor of communications and humanities and faculty adviser to The Stampede student newspaper. At the conclusion of the current academic year he marks 20 years of teaching at Milligan College. The idea for the book grew out a manuscript assignment in his Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction (2014) at Goucher College, Maryland.

At the book release party, Dahlman gave a reading from the book, discussed his travels, answered some questions, and signed copies for attendees. Refreshments were provided by the library and the Milligan College Bookstore provided copies of the book for sale.

For more information on other signings and events related to A Familiar Wilderness, be sure to follow the book’s Facebook page!

On Tuesday, October 16, Welshimer Library hosted our first-ever book art workshop!

Later this month, we’ll have our Sixth Annual Book+Art Exhibit, when we showcase works of art created from old books that need a new life by Milligan students, faculty, staff, and community members. This year, we coordinated with Dr. Jil Smith (Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, skilled book artist, and frequent Book+Art exhibitor) to hold a drop-in workshop for those interested in learning how to turn books that have outlived their usefulness or been literally loved to pieces into something new. Dr. Joy Drinnon (Professor of Psychology, Director of Undergraduate Research, accomplished book artist, and inveterate Book+Art exhibitor) joined with Dr. Smith in providing suggestions and teaching techniques to bring their visions to life.

All materials were provided, and workshop participants were encouraged to think of way to incorporate various parts of the books, as well as other materials, to make something interesting.

We hope to see these creations and more in our Sixth Annual Book+Art Exhibit, which will be held, as usual, during Homecoming Weekend, October 26-28, at Welshimer Library. All are invited to participate – both to create something new and to come to see what others have made.