An evening with author Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 07:00 PM
Hilton Fort Collins, 425 W Prospect

Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers, will be speaking in Fort Collins at 7 p.m. May 2, at the Hilton Fort Collins, 425 W. Prospect.

The event is free and open to the public – no tickets are required. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and seating will be on a first come, first served basis (maximum capacity of 500 people).

A book signing and sales will follow the program. The Language of Flowers is Diffenbaugh’s debut novel – a moving portrait of an unforgettable young woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, aster for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Diffenbaugh was born in San Francisco and raised in Chico, California. After studying creative writing and education at Stanford, she went on to teach art and writing to youth in low-income communities. She and her husband, PK, have three children: Tre’von, eighteen; Chela, four; and Miles, three. Tre’von, a former foster child, is attending New York University on a Gates Millennium Scholarship. Diffenbaugh and her family currently live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her husband is studying urban school reform at Harvard.

Diffenbaugh is also the founder of the Camellia Network. The mission of the Camellia Network is to create a nationwide movement to support youth transitioning from foster care. In The Language of Flowers, Camellia [kuh-meel-yuh] means “My Destiny is in Your Hands.” The network’s name emphasizes the belief in the interconnectedness of humanity: each gift a young person receives will be accompanied by a camellia, a reminder that the destiny of our nation lies in the hands of our youngest citizens.

For more information visit www.camellianetwork.org This is part of a series of free author evenings presented by sponsored by Friends of the CSU Libraries the Poudre River Friends of the Library, and sponsored by KUNC Radio and Hilton Fort Collins.

More about the Spring Author Series.

More about Vanessa Diffenbaugh. 

Video of Diffenbaugh discussing The Language of Flowers. 

------------------------------

Event Contact: Jane Barber can be reached at (970) 491-5712

Sponsored by University Libraries.