The Roebling Museum’s Saturday Lecture Series returns this month with a discussion and book signing event on New Jersey Makers Day with author, Tadzio Koelb, for his novel “Trenton Makes.”
Locals are invited to meet the author, hear about his research process for the book, and take part in what is anticipated to be a lively discussion on March 23 at 1 p.m. The preceding events will be followed by a book signing.
Koelb’s novel includes elements of “intrigue, secrets and industry” and “midcentury triumphalism” in a new piece of fiction written against the backdrop of the place in New Jersey where the popular slogan, “Trenton makes, the world takes,” was born.
The discussion with Koelb will be moderated by Jon Michaud, a writer and librarian. His novel, “When Tito Loved Clara” was published by Algonquin in 2011. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and The Washington Post. Michaud lives in Maplewood and is currently writing a nonfiction book about the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.
Visitors who attend the lecture can also participate in New Jersey Makers Day, a statewide celebration of making and maker culture that takes place every March in the Garden State.
According to the Roebling Museum, the primary goal of the event is to enhance community engagement and facilitate connections among New Jersey residents by “exploring new and interesting opportunities for community-wide education, entrepreneurship and hands-on learning experiences.” Makers Day activities are included with the lecture admission price.
Admission prices for the event are $7 for general admission and $6 for museum members.
Koelb is a novelist, translator, painter and essayist. He has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, Caldera Arts, and I-Park, and for three years was an artist-in-residence at the Maison d’Art Actuel des Chartreux in Brussels, Belgium.
He reviews fiction, non-fiction, and art for a number of publications including the New York Times and the Times Literary Supplement. His short critical biography of Lawrence Durrell appeared in Scribner’s Sons’ British Writers series, and Morasses, his translation of André Gide’s Paludes, was published in 2015.
He has lived in Belgium, France, Spain, Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Rwanda, and Tunisia, but currently resides in New York and teaches creative writing at Rutgers University and the New School.
The Museum is located at 100 Second Ave. in Roebling. Ample parking is available in the Museum lot off Hornberger Avenue, adjacent to the Roebling River Line parking area. The River Line has a Roebling stop just behind the museum.
Visitors are encouraged not to park on 2nd Avenue, on the residential side of the building.
For more on this and other upcoming Roebling Museum programs, events, group tours, facility rentals and volunteer opportunities, locals are encouraged to call the museum at 609-499-7200 or visit their website at www.roeblingmuseum.org.