Join us on Saturday, November 1, at 2 p.m. at the Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Hwy., as we continue The Local Chapter series with a program by Charles W. Maynard. If anything captures the imagination around here, it’s a good storyteller and the Great Smoky Mountains. And that says a lot. These hills are full of talented storytellers, but Charles Maynard is a standout. Maynard is a master storyteller with deep roots in the Smokies.
With more than 32 books to his name — including 22 for children — and countless articles on national parks and Appalachian culture, Maynard brings both experience and heart to his work. As the first executive director of Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the history of the park.
Titled “Smoky Mountain Tales – A Conversation on Writing Books and Articles on the Smokies,” this talk invites readers, writers, and nature lovers to explore the intersection of storytelling, environmental advocacy, and regional history.
Maynard is a native of Chattanooga, a graduate of Emory & Henry University, and an ordained United Methodist minister. His work spans genres and generations and has earned him the Reed Environmental Writing Award for his essays in The Blue Ridge — Ancient and Majestic. Other recent titles include Tidings of Comfort and Joy, A Storyteller Looks at The Parables, and A Storyteller Looks at the Gospel of John. In his spare time, he has served on the board of directors of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Discover Life in America, and the Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. He worked as director of advancement for the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
So come on over and sit a spell. You’ll be in for a treat, and we’d love to see you.
Mary Pom Claiborne is assistant director for marketing, communications and development for Knox County Public Library.
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