Illumination Series ft. Kris Spisak

Sponsored by Fountain Bookstore, join us on Wednesday, September 18th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm for an evening with Kris Spisak! 

This lecture is the sixth installment of our seven-part 2024 Illumination Series: Out of SPACE – Out of TIME.

TRICKSTER, FEMINIST, AND WITCH OF THE WOODS…

Whether you know Baba Yaga as a Slavic witch, an earth goddess, or a monster in modern media, she is a force with secrets to divulge. The roots of her stories stretch back over a thousand years, and her chicken-legged hut is only the beginning of her intrigue. 

Darkness, fear, and instability sometimes inundate our daily lives, but folktale figures like Baba Yaga speak to the dichotomy of our existence—the hope and the horror, the magic and the mundane. She is at once an old hag and an enchantress, a demon and wish granter, a feminist and nothing more than a fairytale. Yet her multifaceted presence ripples through the present day. Stories that linger have something to teach us, and Baba Yaga’s tales don’t disappoint. Understanding ourselves, our complex world, and our place within history are only a matter of turning to a boney-legged old woman who lives deep in the Eastern European woods.  

About September’s Speaker:

Kris Spisak wrote her first three books—Get a Grip on Your Grammar, The Novel Editing Workbook, and The Family Story Workbook—to help writers of all kinds sharpen their storytelling and empower their communications. Her award-winning debut novel, The Baba Yaga Mask (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing), was inspired by her family’s experience in the post-WWII Ukrainian diaspora and has been called “A complex, poetic tale” by Kirkus Reviews and “edu-tainment at its best” by the Historical Novel Society. Her fifth book, Becoming Baba Yaga: Trickster, Feminist, and Witch of the Woods (nonfiction), is an exploration of the complex origins of this Slavic folktale character and her lingering lessons for empowering us all. Kris knows well-written words and well-told stories can change the world, and she cannot wait to tell you her next story. Learn more at https://kris-spisak.com/. 

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Exhibits remain open. Wine available for purchase.

Limited parking available in the Poe Museum parking lot. Additional parking available at the Holocaust Museum’s parking lot, accessible by 21st and Dock St.