Central Skagit Library District

Watch the classic story by James Thurber, about a daydreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance, and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

When Paul Bowles moved to Tangiers, Morocco in 1949, it was a sanctuary for artists, writers and the wealthy to do as they pleased without fear of prosecution. Soon, his friends from America began visiting: Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Gore Vidal, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and many others. The Beats and the Hippies all searched him out, lured by the mysterious, exotic world he depicted in his books, notably The Sheltering...

Storymakers features internationally known Australian writers and illustrators of children's books. The series is designed to develop children's awareness of how books are conceived and created, and to encourage a love of books and reading. Each film in the series highlights different aspects of the process of creating a book. A Film Australia National Interest Program. 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Executive Producer: Janet Bell....

London's gambling world is the setting where aspiring writer Jack Manfred, suffering from writer's block, takes a job as a croupier to support his art. Knowing the dangers of the cards, Jack is adamant about remaining a professional outsider, but the temptations of the game inevitably swallow him deeper than he could have ever anticipated.

A literary biography of a seminal figure of 20th century American literature, Margaret Walker, who established one of the first Black Studies centers in the nation, and mentored the Black Arts movement of the 1960s. For My People: The Life and Writing of Margaret Walker gives the long-overdue recognition to one of the seminal figures of American literature. Margaret Walker has been described by scholar Jerry Ward as "a national treasure" and by Nikki...

Mark Twain was a lifelong creator and keeper of scrapbooks. He took them with him everywhere and filled them with souvenirs, pictures, and articles about his books and performances. But in time, he grew tired of the lost glue, rock-hard paste, and the swearing that resulted from the standard scrapbook process. So, he came up with the idea of printing thin strips of glue on the pages to make updates neat and easy to do. In 1872, he patented his “self-pasting”...

One of the few women to lead a large church of any denomination, Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell is a respected writer and sought-after speaker known for her progressive social vision; beneath the surface, she is lonely and yearns for change. This open, affectionate documentary follows her over two years as she considers leaving the ministry and her only social network as she questions her past, her relationship with God, and her ability to love....

British actor Sir Derek Jacobi narrates this portrait of author Graham Greene: a British spy, doubting Catholic, and manic-depressive who wrote critically acclaimed best-sellers including The quiet American, Brighton Rock, The end of the affair and The third man. Weaving Greene's novels and movies into the story of his life, Dangerous edge reveals an extraordinary and enigmatic man who traveled the globe to escape the boredom of ordinary existence....

Scandalous secrets from the past begin to reveal themselves when a commitment-shy writer and his old college buddies reunite for a wedding.

Alan Paton - teacher, author, politician - was one of South Africa's most remarkable sons. This documentary reveals the man and the complex relationship he had with his country. Repelled by the racism he saw all around him in his homeland, he wrote Cry, the Beloved Country, the novel that had the most profound effect in the worldwide struggle against apartheid. His Christian conscience, which would not allow him to be a mere commentator, propelled...