Pioneer Library System’s Spark a Change initiative is launching its Spring title and will include April events featuring New York Times bestselling author, actress, producer, screenwriter, and advocate Tembi Locke.
A special guest of the Pioneer Library System, Tembi Locke will tour Cleveland, McClain, and Pottawatomie counties, with four events happening April 20-22 that will include discussions of “From Scratch.”
In Cleveland County, Locke will appear April 20 at 3 pm at the Southwest Oklahoma City Public Library and April 21 at 12 pm at The Well in Norman.
Locke will appear in Mc-Clain County April 21 at 3:30 pm at the Blanchard Public Library.
Locke’s Pottawatomie County event will take place April 22 at 11:30 am at the Tecumseh Public Library. The Tecumseh event will include a lunch sponsored by First United Bank.
Registration is required for all events.
Spark a Change continues with its second community read, Locke’s “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home,” a poignant and transformative cross-cultural love story set against the lush backdrop of the Sicilian countryside, about how one woman discovered the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hour.
A New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick, “From Scratch” was adapted into a Netflix limited series, released in 2022, with Locke serving as co-creator and executive producer.
“Storytelling is how I engage with the world. It is the alchemy of all human experiences offered back to us in the form of narrative,” shared Locke. “Those stories sustain, uplift, challenge, inspire, soften, and fortify us. ‘From Scratch’ is such an offering.”
Spark a Change invites all residents of the PLS service area to spark curiosity and inspire change in themselves and their communities.
Each year, PLS identifies a critical topic in Oklahoma and selects titles that address that topic.
This year’s Spark a Change theme is resiliency and features two titles. The first title, Elizabeth Letts’ “The Ride of Her Life,” kicked off Spark a Change events in September 2023.
Community members can join in the conversation on “From Scratch” as they explore ways to cultivate resiliency with book discussions alongside programs featuring experts on the subject.
Aiden Street, director of Community Engagement and Learning at PLS, spoke of the theme of resiliency.
“In the past, topics such as poverty and the environment were chosen for their timeliness. This year the topic of resiliency is especially resonant with all of us as we look to resume our activities after the impact of the global pandemic,” Street said.
On dates prior to the author visits with Tembi Locke, PLS will offer “From Scratch” book discussion events as well as cooking demonstrations.
These related events will take place at several locations including the Newcastle Public Library, Blanchard Public Library, McLoud Public Library, Norman Public Library East, Norman Public Library West, and The Well in Norman.
For more information about Spark a Change and related events, and to access digital copies of “From Scratch,” visit https://pioneerlibrarysystem. org/services/ spark-a-change.
