Stonich visits Minnehaha, gives insight on her writing process
“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” No seriously, read all about it.
It was the annual Thanks-a-Latte event on 12 Apr. given in the MA library by the Friends of the Library.
As all public events start, it all began with an idea…and a magazine. Librarian Bonnie Morris said that she found the idea of serving coffee and cookies in a magazine about 20 years ago.
“The first year we served free coffee and cookies and our speaker was Lorna Lanvig, who read aloud her book about a Minnehaha Academy Prom,” said Morris.
A lot of preparation went into this event. The books that were displayed had been bought by Christmas and kept on the down-low, so that the material was relatively new.
Everything had been set up the night before and the food had been bought in advance by the Friends of the Library members. Senior Jenny Finch did most of the organizing and it consisted mainly of talking to the members about what they should bring and the cost of the items they brought in.
President of Friends of the Library, senior Wesley Peterson, said that this was an important event because it provided the library with much needed new books and materials. “Mostly new research books and newer releases,” said Peterson regarding the new material, “we’re basically modernizing the library’s books.”
Every year a new author visits Minnehaha. This year, Sarah Stonich, bestselling author of These Granite Islands, which was acclaimed by big press names such as the Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune, came by invitation of Keith Kostman, Minnehaha technology specialist. A young art student spending her time in painting class, Stonich had many ideas.
“For some reason though, I was never able to transfer those ideas from my mind to the canvas,” said Stonich, “but I was able to do that through writing.”
Stonich left Minnehaha with the advice that reading can make your life better and elevate your thinking.
“Inspiration is life,” she said, “and all you have to do is pluck things out of your experiences.”