The Nation magazine is 150 years old this year, and Tucson is playing a major role in the celebration.
The Blog for Arizona Calendar has a complete list of The Nation events that are connected to the Tucson Festival of Books.
Two events worth highlighting that are not connected with the Book Festival are the John Nichols presentation at the IBEW Hall tonight and the regional premiere of the award-winning documentary Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation at The Loft on Sunday night.
PDA/PALF Event March 14
PDA Tucson and the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF) will be hosting their traditional evening with John Nichols tonight, March 14, at the IBEW Hall. Often it’s difficut to get into Book Festival venues with popular speakers like Nichols. The PDA/PALF event offers a unique opportunity to hear Nichols in a relaxed atmosphere. (And there’f plenty of free parking!) Doors open at 6:30 with finger foods and mingling. Nichols presentation begins at 7 p.m. The event is free, but donations to PDA are greatly appreciated. (Facebook event here.)
Hot Type Regional Premiere March 15
Sunday, March 15 is the regional premiere of Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation with Oscar-winner Barbara Kopple and The Nation’s John Nichols in person! The screening will be preceded by a reception on The Loft patio, starting at 6 p.m. This reception is FREE with the purchase of a ticket to the film, and will feature free light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. (Buy tickets here.)
More from The Loft…
At this reception,The Loft Cinema will present Barbara Kopple with the Lofty Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her important and influential contributions to the world of documentary filmmaking. This reception is “first-come, first-admitted” with proof of movie ticket purchase, and seating is limited. All reception attendees will be offered the opportunity to register for a free subscription to The Nation.
The new film from Academy Award-wining documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple (Harlan County, USA; Shut Up and Sing) tells the story of The Nation. The oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States, founded in 1865 and now in its 150th year, The Nation covers politics and culture from a liberal point of view. The film captures daily life working on the periodical, introduces staff writers and editors past and present, and follows inductees in the much-sought-after internship program. At the heart of the film are the reporters covering stories in the field, and the in-depth coverage and long-term perspectives that The Nation provides. (Dir. by Barbara Kopple, 2015, USA, 94 mins., Not Rated)
Barbara Kopple produced and directed Harlan County USA and American Dream, both winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 1991, Harlan County USA was named to the National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress and designated an American Film Classic. Harlan County USA was recently restored and preserved by the Women’s Preservation Fund and the Academy Film Archive, and was featured as part of the Sundance Collection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. The Criterion Collection released a DVD of Harlan County USA in 2006. Other works include Running from Crazy, Fight to Live, A Force of Nature, Gun Fight, The House of Steinbenner, Woodstock: Now and Then, Shut Up and Sing, Wild Man Blues, and Havoc.
John Nichols writes about politics for The Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent. A contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times, he is also the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and dozens of other newspapers and he is a frequent guest on radio and television programs as a commentator on politics and media issues. Of Nichols, author Gore Vidal said: “Of all the giant slayers now afoot in the great American desert John Nichols’s sword is the sharpest.”