MOUNT VERNON — The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County is delighted to
announce a don’t-miss author event with Jerry Kelly, a uniquely talented local author, editor and publisher.
“Hitch Haikoo” is a memoir inspired by the author’s vivid memories of hitchhiking adventures as a youth and young adult, then later as an older adult traveling abroad.
“‘Hitch Haikoo’ immediately drew me in,” says says Library staffer Jamie Lyn Smith Fletcher. “Kelly’s varied life experiences load this book with fascinating insights that range from the weird and frightening, to tender observations of unexpected kindness and connection.”
Once a common sight, hitchhikers have largely disappeared from American roads. The reasons for this are many and varied, but Kelly suggests the explanation rests largely upon diminishing levels of common trust.
There’s also a growth in the perception of “stranger danger” fed by media representations of horror stories and, in particular, hitchhiking horror stories.
Despite data showing that hitchhikers are not disproportionately more likely to become victims or perpetrators of crime, what was once an expression of trust and generosity is now commonly seen as an incredibly dangerous practice.
While gathering early versions of some of the stories in “Hitch Haikoo,” the author decided to try hitchhiking abroad to see if it was still a viable means of transport and social contact in other countries.
A hitchhiking trip through Ireland in 2000 led Kelly to compose a series of short poems that make up the final section of “Hitch Haikoo.”
A 2016 hitchhiking trip through Portugal provided some of the narrative stories in the book, and reaffirmed for Kelly that trust, generosity, and basic human decency are still alive in this world.
The Library is offering a book giveaway of “Hitch Haikoo” at the Mount Vernon Library, 201 North Main Street in Mount Vernon.
Complimentary copies are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. A limited number of free copies of “Hitch Haikoo” will also be available on the same terms at the reading and author talk with Jerry Kelly on Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Brown Family Environmental Center, 9781 Laymon Road in Gambier.
Jerry Kelly’s “Hitch Haikoo” reading and author talk is geared for audiences age 18 and up, but younger patrons are more than welcome to attend with an adult parent or guardian. All Library programs are free and open to the public.
For more information about Literary and Writing Programs, please visit www.knox.net, email Jamie Lyn Smith-Fletcher at knoxwrites1@gmail.com or call 740-392-2665 EXT. 8259.