Jeff McGuiness
St. Michaels branch welcomes local photographer and writer Jeff McGuiness who will speak about his recent book, “Bear Me Into Freedom: The Talbot County of Frederick Douglass.”
The Lunch & Learn will take place on Monday, February 6 at noon. For five years, McGuiness worked on a photographic essay of the places in Talbot County where Frederick Douglass lived, traveled through and visited.
His book puts a new perspective on Douglass’ Talbot experiences. “Bear Me Into Freedom: The Talbot County of Frederick Douglass,” was published by the St. Michaels Museum in October of 2022.
Thousands of words have been written by Douglass and others documenting his time in Talbot County. “Bear Me Into Freedom,” for the first time, tells Douglass’ Talbot story using his moving words illustrated by stunning photography made in the same places and seasons Douglass describes.
Douglass was born in Talbot County and lived there for eleven years during the first twenty years of his life before he sought his freedom in New England. His Talbot experiences, eloquently documented in his three autobiographies, became the most powerful slave narrative in American literature. Douglass was also one of the most popular speakers in the nineteenth century, and his narrative was the oratory’s driving force.
McGuiness is a photographer and writer living in St. Michaels on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The writer was born in California and grew up in suburban Washington, D.C.
After graduating from college with an art degree in 1969, he spent the next four years in the U.S. Air Force as a photographer during the Vietnam conflict. He then worked for a commercial photographer in St. Louis for a time before deciding to pursue a law degree.
McGuiness was a practicing attorney in Washington, DC, for more than four decades, concentrating on public policy and managing non-profit organizations. These days, McGuiness does what he enjoys most. An avid boater, he explores his beloved Chesapeake Bay in his powerboat while using his varied experiences to pursue photography and writing projects through his company, Bay Photographic Works.
The Lunch & Learn Speakers series is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Coffee and dessert will be provided. For more information, visit www.tcfl.org or call 410-745-5877.
About Talbot County Free Library
It is the mission of the Talbot County Free Library to enrich and renew the lives of the people it serves. There are two locations: The main library in Easton is located at 100 W. Dover St.; and the St. Michael branch is at 106 Fremont St. The Maryland Room in the Easton branch holds a voluminous collection of genealogical resources and historical documents. Services at both locations include the circulation of books, DVDs, and digital devices, as well as free Wi-Fi, public computers, exhibits, and programs for both children and adults.Many of the Talbot County Free Library’s programs are made possible by the generous support of the local community. For more information, please visit www.tcfl.org. Be sure to like the library on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @Talbotcountyfreelibrary.
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