‘A Land Remembered’ comes to Fort Myers Library
Few if any books have captured the spirit and colorful history of Florida’s past as has Patrick Smith’s beloved novel, A Land Remembered. It has been said many times that people should be issued a copy when they cross the Florida state line. It shows you the real Florida, not the vacation destination so many people think it.
On Monday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. the Friends of the Fort Myers Library will host a special multimedia presentation entitled “Patrick Smith’s Florida is A Land Remembered.” The speaker is Patrick Smith’s son, Rick, who doesn’t do this show alone. His late father, Patrick, makes video appearances throughout the program to entertain and enlighten the audience about his extraordinary life as a writer and his thoughts about Florida.
He’ll explain things such as how his first Florida book, Forever Island, gained him international attention and resulted in two trips to the USSR and a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize in Literature. This was a crucial step in his writing career and actually inspired him to write a true chronicle of that trip to the USSR. He’ll explain how he worked alongside migrant workers in order to write Angel City, which helped improve the lives of migrant workers everywhere. You’ll learn how he researched A Land Remembered for over two years before he could write it. He’ll share his thoughts about the “real” Florida.
This program is free to the public and will be held at the library’s South Building, 1651 Lee St.
Funding for this program has been provided by the Florida Humanities Council and is sponsored by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.