Curtis Smith is a novelist and essayist who works at Etown College as the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and teaches in the English department and the First Year Seminar program. In this final episode of Season 2, Smith returns to the podcast to discuss his sixth novel, The Lost and the Blind. The novel centers on a 17-year-old boy named Mark Hayes who lives in a highly unstable family situation with a drug-addicted single mother who is often absent for long stretches of time, leaving Mark to fend for himself without many resources and very limited guidance.

Some of Smith's other recent publications include the novels The Magpie's Return and Lovepain as well as the essay collection Communion.

If you are interested in purchasing The Lost and the Blind, you can find a copy in print, ebook format, or as an audiobook from most online booksellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.

In the March episode of the library podcast, we welcome graduating senior, Samhar Almomani, to discuss his work creating an LGBTQ+ dictionary in Arabic. The dictionary includes both terminology and spotlights notable figures and events in LGBTQ+ history in the Middle East.

Samhar is a public health major at Etown College with a special interest in addressing healthcare disparities. He recently presented on his dictionary project at the American Public Health Association conference.

In celebration of Black History Month, this episode spotlights a notable, African American Etown College alumnus, W. Miller Barbour (also known as William Miller Barbour). Hailing from nearby Middletown, PA, Barbour was one of the college’s first African American graduates, studying in the liberal arts program and graduating in 1932. He then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in social work  at the University of Pennsylvania before embarking on a career as a scholar and activist, fighting for African American rights around housing and employment through leadership positions at the National Urban League. 

A group of Etown faculty, staff, and recent alums are working together on a research project about Barbour’s life, work, and legacy. Librarian Josh Cohen speaks with some of the team, including Jean-Paul Benowitz, director of prestigious scholarships and Public Heritage Studies; Peter Depuydt, a retired librarian and archivist; Abigail Sholes '23, a History and Social Studies Education major who graduated in December; and a returning guest to the podcast, Eric Schubert '23, who has been working as a forensic genetic genealogist for the company Othram Incorporated since graduating last May. 

It was a pleasure to be able to talk with them about their research, which they hope to publish prior to the college’s 125th anniversary celebration in the Fall 2024.