Northville District Library, 7 p.m., April 13. Joel Thurtell will lecture on the 27-mile canoe trip he made in 2005 with Patricia Beck up the Rouge River. Their journey was the subject of a Wayne State University Press book, UP THE ROUGE! PADDLING DETROIT’S HIDDEN RIVER. In 2005, the project led to a Detroit Free Press series that won the 2006 Harry E. Schlenz Medal of the Water Environment Federation.
West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation, 2 p.m., May 1. Joel Thurtell talk about canoeing on the Rouge River and what is being done — and NOT being done about restoring the river to a swimmable state. In addition to the May 1 talk, there will be a display of photos Patricia Beck took on the Rouge trip along with an exhibit of objects they used on the trip, from hip boots to rubber gloves and more.
REI store, 17559 Haggerty Rd., Northville Township, 11 a.m., May 14. UP THE ROUGE! writer Joel Thurtell will show a video and discuss the 2005 canoe trip up the Rouge River in metro Detroit that was the foundation for an award-winning Detroit Free Press newspaper series and the award-winning Wayne State University Press book, UP THE ROUGE!
St. Christopher’s Church Community Center, McGregor Bay, Ontario, July 20. Time to be announced. It’s the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. Joel Thurtell will reflect about his experiences in the Peace Corps in West Africa and his book, SEYDOU’S CHRISTMAS TREE.
UP THE ROUGE! will be for sale after the talks, along with other books by Joel Thurtell and an audio book of UP THE ROUGE!
In addition to UP THE ROUGE!, Thurtell has published:
PLUG NICKEL, about his adventures restoring a classic wooden sailboat.
SEYDOU’S CHRISTMAS TREE, the story of a Muslim youth who taught the author and his wife important lessons about Christmas when they were Peace Corps volunteers in West Africa.
SHOESTRING REPORTER, how-to break into news reporting without going to Journalism school. Subtitle: HOW I GOT TO BE A BIG CITY REPORTER WITHOUT GOING TO J SCHOOL AND HOW YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
CROSS PURPOSES, a novel about the news industry subtitled: IF NEWSPAPERS HAD COVERED THE CRUCIFIXION.
CROSS PURPOSES will be published April 22, 2011, but should be available in early April.
