The Quiet Power of Libraries: Rediscovering a Lost Voice in Early America

Literary scholar and former Laurel Ridge Community College professor Dr. Brent L. Kendrick shares the story behind Unmasking The Humourist, the research that identified the long-unknown author of a series of colonial American essays published in The South-Carolina Gazette (1753–54).

Drawing on decades of work in libraries and archives — from local collections to the Library of Congress — this engaging presentation reveals how libraries preserve the materials that allow new discoveries to emerge centuries later. Blending storytelling, history, and humor, the program offers a behind-the-scenes look at literary detective work and the enduring role of libraries as centers of learning and discovery.