• SOLD OUT • J.R. McDowell Speaker • Joy Harjo

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    An Evening with Joy Harjo Wednesday, October 29, 7:00 pmPorter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard CollegeDoors open at 6:30 pm The Fall 2025 J.R. McDowell Speaker will be Joy Harjo, the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States and the first Native American to hold the position. A poet, musician, and author of nine books of […]

  • Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle: Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference Author Readings

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference faculty member Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle will give a public reading of her work at the Porter Center on the Brevard College campus on Friday, May 16, at 7:30 pm.  Sponsored by the Transylvania County Library Foundation and Brevard College, The Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference (LGRWC) offers a unique creative experience […]

  • SOLD OUT: J.R. McDowell Speaker • Rick Steves

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    "Travel as a Political Act" Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT. Best-selling guidebook author and public television host, Rick Steves will be the Fall 2024 J.R. McDowell speaker.  The speaker series is designed to present a wide array of viewpoints on challenging and thought-provoking topics.  Steves’ talk, “Travel as a Political Act,” will be […]

  • PAM HOUSTON + REBECCA GAYLE HOWELL: Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference Public Readings

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference faculty, Pam Houston and Rebecca Gayle Howell, will give public readings of their work at the Porter Center on the Brevard College campus on Friday, May 17 at 7:30 pm. Pam Houston is the author of two collections of short stories “Cowboys Are My Weakness,” which was the winner of […]

  • J.R. McDowell Speaker • Drew Lanham

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Birder, naturalist, and hunter-conservationist, Drew Lanham, will be the Spring 2024 J.R. McDowell speaker.  Free, general admission tickets will be available at the Transylvania County Library beginning Monday, March 11. Sponsored by the Transylvania County Library Foundation in partnership with Brevard College, the speaker series is designed to present a wide array of viewpoints on […]

  • J. R. McDowell Speaker • Annette Gordon-Reed

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    American Historian and Law Professor Annette Gordon-Reed will be the Fall 2023 J. R. McDowell speaker.  Free general admission tickets will be available at the Library beginning Monday, August 21st. Sponsored by the Transylvania County Library Foundation in partnership with Brevard College, the speaker series is designed to present a wide array of viewpoints on […]

  • CAMILLE DUNGY + JAMIE FORD: Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference Public Readings

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference faculty, Camille Dungy and Jaime Ford, will give public readings of their work at the Porter Center on the Brevard College campus on May 19 at 7:30 pm. Camille T. Dungy’s debut collection of personal essays is Guidebook to Relative Strangers, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. […]

  • J.R. McDowell Speaker: Kelly Corrigan

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Kelly Corrigan, host of the PBS series Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan, will be the Transylvania County Library Foundation’s Spring 2023 J.R. McDowell Speaker. The speaker series is designed to present a wide array of viewpoints on challenging and thought-provoking topics. Her talk, Glitter & Glue: The Family Ties That Bind Us Together, will […]

  • J.R. McDowell Speaker – Admiral James Stavridis

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Admiral James Stavridis, bestselling author and former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, will be the Transylvania County Library Foundation’s Fall 2022 J.R. McDowell Speaker. The annual speaker series is designed to present a wide array of viewpoints on challenging and thought-provoking topics. His timely talk, Global Geopolitics and the Ukraine War, will be held on […]

    $10.00
  • 2019 J. R. McDowell Speaker – Judy Woodruff SOLD OUT

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour will be the 2019 J.R. McDowell Speaker on Thursday, September 19th. Her presentation “Inside Politics" will begin at 6:30 pm at the Porter Center for Performing Arts at Brevard College.  The event is sponsored by the Transylvania County Library Foundation in partnership with Brevard College. The program […]

  • Astronaut Dr. Mike Massimino

    Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College 1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard, NC, United States

    Dr. Mike Massimino, a former NASA astronaut, is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University, and the senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. His Thursday, September 20th presentation, "Views from Space: Leadership, Teamwork, Determination" will be the fall event for the 2018 J.R. McDowell Speaker Series sponsored […]