Dr. G. Wayne Clough to discuss book, hold signing at SGSC library
Lecturer, author, and Douglas native Dr. G. Wayne Clough will present an author talk and sign copies of his latest book, Things New and Strange: A Southerner’s Journey Through the Smithsonian Collections, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, at 4 pm in the William S. Smith Library on the Douglas campus of South Georgia State College. The program is cosponsored by South Georgia State College, the William S. Smith Library and Douglas – Coffee County Chamber of Commerce.
Things New and Strange chronicles a research quest undertaken by G. Wayne Clough, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution born in the South. Soon after retiring from the Smithsonian, Clough decided to see what the Smithsonian collections could tell him about South Georgia, where he had spent most of his childhood in the 1940s and 1950s. The investigations that followed, which began as something of a quixotic scavenger hunt, expanded as Clough discovered that the collections had many more objects and documents from South Georgia than he had imagined. These objects illustrate important aspects of southern culture and history and also inspire reflections about how South Georgia has changed over time.
Clough’s discoveries―animal, plant, fossil, and rock specimens, along with cultural artifacts and works of art―not only serve as a springboard for reflections about the region and its history, they also bring Clough’s own memories of his boyhood in Douglas, Georgia, back to life. Clough interweaves memories of his own experiences, such as hair-raising escapes from poisonous snakes and selling boiled peanuts for a nickel a bag at the annual auction of the tobacco crop, with anecdotes from family lore, which launches an exploration of his forebears and their place in South Georgia history. In following his engaging and personal narrative, readers learn how nonspecialists can use museum archives and how family, community, and natural history are intertwined.
Things New and Strange is published by the University of Georgia Press. Signed copies of the book will be available for purchase. The library is located at 100 West College Park Drive in Douglas. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact SGSC Vice President for Institutional Advancement Walda Kight at (912) 260-4274 or by email at walda.kight@sgsc.edu.