WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Officials with the Friends of the Garnett Library will host a book signing event for local author Marideth Sisco and her latest offering Crosspatch: Cranky Musings on Gardening on Rocky Ground from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 3, at Kellett Hall, 905 W. Main St., on the Missouri State University-West Plains campus.
Sisco, who also counts singer, songwriter, journalist and “unrepentant gardner” among her descriptive monikers, recently compiled the best of her gardening columns published in the West Plains Daily Quill, as well as selections from essays on gardening originally published in audio format on public radio station KSMU in Springfield, for this book.
“When she’s not being the singer and music consultant for projects like the Oscar-nominated film ‘Winter’s Bone,’ or touring with Blackberry Winter Band, or hosting the public radio series ‘These Ozarks Hills,’ or settling into her monthly live storytelling session ‘Come Set a Spell,’ retired journalist and folksinger Marideth Sisco is out in her garden, growing things. And from these activities, she has learned a valuable truth worth sharing – that whatever you do, especially if you garden, your choices create the tools for building a life worth having. As you engage with the earth, tending seeds. watching life spring forth, you begin to realize the garden is, at every second, also growing you,” according to publicity materials provided for the event.
For years, the veteran journalist and student of folklore has focused her attention on stories relevant to the Ozarks culture and history, according to the author’s online biography at Amazon.com. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Missouri State University and a master of arts degree from Antioch University. Currently, she is the host of the public radio show “These Ozarks Hills” on KSMU and is putting the finishing touches on a novel that prominently features the Ozarks.
Sisco spent 20 years as an environmental writer for the West Plains Daily Quill and was well known for her “Crosspatch” columns. She served as the music consultant and featured singer for the award-winning feature film “Winter’s Bone,” as well as music consultant for the Ozarks-based documentary “Stray Dog: The Movie.”
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, and refreshments will be served. For more information, call 417-255-7945.