Dorothy Van Soest, an educator, writer, activist and lecturer with the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau, will lead a series of talks about capital punishment in the United States at libraries across Clallam County.
The free series is hosted by the North Olympic Library System in partnership with Humanities Washington, a nonprofit organization.
The first lecture will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St. The second lecture will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Forks Library, 171 S. Forks Ave. The final lecture will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave.
Van Soest will facilitate a group dialogue about the death penalty and weave together personal connections, scientific research, life experience and creative storytelling, according to a news release.
Van Soest also will share stories of ordinary people facing extraordinary situations and how they have found the courage to transform themselves and the world around them, according to the release.
Van Soest is professor emeritus and a former dean at the University of Washington. She has published nine books and more than 50 journal articles, essays and book chapters that tackle complex issues related to violence, oppression and injustice, according to the release.
Her 2014 novel, “Just Mercy,” personalizes the topic of the death penalty as told through the perspective of a family.
The book was informed by her widely acclaimed investigation of the lives of 37 men executed by Texas in 1997 and inspired by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Victim Offender Restorative Mediation Dialogue program, according to the release.
For more information, visit http://dorothyvansoest.com or call 360-417-8500.
