During Valentine’s Day week, the Athenaeum Writing committee presents local storytellers sharing their true stories on the theme of “Love: Roses and Thorns.” Come in from the winter chill and hear these local lovers and writers tell it like it is, live, without notes, in the cozy Salem Athenaeum reading room. Hosted by Kali Lightfoot.

Lisa Fowler (she/her)
After graduating from Boston University with degrees in Biology and Fine Arts, one of Lisa’s first grown-up jobs was painting watercolors of the resident birds for the New England Zoological Society. This led to her being featured in a PBS short documentary about bird artists, which aired on John James Audubon’s anniversary. Then came a stint as a Production Manager for a start-up line of newspapers, followed by Design Director gigs at magazines, non-profit organizations, and textbook publishers. She eventually jumped ship to the editorial side of the printed page, retiring as VP/Publisher of professional books at a progressive educational house. She now writes, draws, and creates sculptures out of other people’s trash.

HaoHaoAllen Cheng (she/her)
Haohao Cheng, who also goes by Allen, is an international student from Nanjing, China. She’s now a junior with an English Literature major and Education minor. She ‘s in 1-2-1 Program which is held by her college, Nanjing Normal University in China, in collaboration with Salem State University. She loves music and digital drawing.

Joey Phoenix (they/them)
Joey is a queer transfae storyteller, photographer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist. While they live and sometimes sleep in Somerville, their playground is Salem. It is there that they have spent the last decade building community, creating art, and engaging in various flavors of magical mischief. They are the founder and co-lead of Faerie Performance troupe Moonrise Fae, and the squire of both the dance team WhistlePig Morris and the LGBT Social Network.They are currently working on their first book of essays about grief, bugs, and finding home called My Cicada Year.

Elise Towle Snow (she/her)
An artist in Salem since 2006, Montserrat Alumna, and Salem Main Streets Events Coordinator, Elise’s current project is a children’s book series celebrating neurodivergent characters.

Registration required.

In-person seating is limited to 50 people.

Free to members; $15 general admission