One Book Bradford:Author Coming to Bradford, WESB

One Book Bradford and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Spectrum Series will present David Laskin, author of “The Children’s Blizzard,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall.

One Book Bradford, the community-wide reading initiative that debuted last year, chose as its second selection Laskin’s “The Children’s Blizzard,” a nonfiction book about the Great Plains Blizzard of 1888, which took the lives of many children because of its suddenness and ferocity.

Laskin will give a talk titled “From Weather to Words: Behind the Scenes of ‘The Children’s Blizzard.’”

“‘The Children’s Blizzard’ was a great choice for One Book Bradford because winter is such a presence in this part of the country,” said Dr. Nancy McCabe, associate professor of writing at Pitt-Bradford. “While we rarely have to face the same hardships as the pioneers in this book, our long winters give us a window into the struggles of those who came before us. Laskin writes affectingly about the immigrant families who settled the Great Plains, and he writes informatively about weather and history in a way that conveys a lesson to all of us about the power of nature.”

Laskin’s visit is the culminating event for the One Book Bradford reading project, which encouraged everyone in the community to read Laskin’s book and partake in related activities for the past half year, including lectures, a dramatized poetry reading and fundraising craft fair.

Laskin’s visit is part co-sponsored by the Pitt-Bradford writing program and the Division of Communication and the Arts.

“The Children’s Blizzard” tells the story of a group of pioneers on the Great Plains and a blizzard that has been remembered for generations. After reading histories of the prairies, pioneer accounts and books about one-room schoolhouses, Laskin hit the road from his home in Washington state to interview descendants of those who lived through the blizzard and meteorological experts.

“I was struck at how emotional the history of the settlement of the prairie was and is,” Laskin said in an interview with his publisher, Harper Collins. “Many of the settlers of the region were tough, terse farmers who seldom spoke of their feelings and tended to be stoic in the face of tragedy. But even these people became quite eloquent and passionate when recalling the hardships of the early days -- the plagues of grasshoppers and prairie fires, the sickness and death of children, the near starvation they endured the first years.

“In a way it’s similar to the history of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony -- only this prairie history took place less than 150 years ago, so it’s still fresh in the minds of family members. It seems odd that there are people still living whose parents were pioneers, but it’s true. They’re elderly, of course, but that only makes their memories and impressions the more precious.”

A lifelong weather enthusiast and a student of history and literature, Laskin has written a number of nonfiction books about weather history, American writers, artists, gardens and travel. “The Children’s Blizzard” won the Washington State Book Award in 2005.

Laskin publishes regularly in The New York Times Travel Section and in Preservation Magazine, and has written for the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, Horticulture, Newsday and The Washington Post. He lives in Seattle with his wife, law professor Kate O’Neill, their three daughters, two unruly dogs and a large unruly garden.

Laskin will be available after the reading to sign copies of “The Children’s Blizzard,” which will also be for sale in the lobby.

One Book Bradford was started last year by the Friends of the Bradford Area Public Library and the Pitt-Bradford Spectrum Series in conjunction with the Friends of the Hanley Library and members of 11 local book groups.

Laskin will be my guest on the LiveLine at 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, February 4.