WOUNDED TIGRIS | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
Nov 7, 2023 6:00 pm
Location
450K
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Nov 7, 2023 6:00 pm
450K
The River Tigris – the birthplace of civilization – has been the lifeblood of ancient Mesopotamia and modern Iraq, but geopolitics and climate change have left it at risk of becoming uninhabitable. Writer, broadcaster, and explorer Leon McCarron shares stories from his incredible, beautiful, and occasionally dangerous journey by boat along the full length of the river, recounted in his book Wounded Tigris. Sometimes harassed by militias and relying on the generosity of a network of strangers to reach the Persian Gulf, McCarron explains why it’s crucial to save this extraordinary river, and what its survival, or destruction, could mean for us all.
Leon McCarron and Anisa Mehdi are joining us on the Busboys stage to share stories from Leon’s incredible, beautiful, and occasionally dangerous journey by boat along the full length of the river. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and McCarron will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of WOUNDED TIGRIS will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is IN PERSON and will NOT be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
Leon McCarron is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and explorer from Northern Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Abraham Path Initiative, the Geographical Society of Philadelphia's Explorer of the Year (2022) and is known for long-distance expeditions and immersive multimedia storytelling. In the past decade he has travelled over 50,000km by human power, and is currently based in Iraq.
McCarron’s bylines are in National Geographic, Noema, New Scientist, Smithsonian, BBC, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and The Telegraph. His two previous books have been Top Ten Bestsellers on Amazon and shortlisted for both the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award and the Adventure Travel prize at the Banff Mountain Book competition. Leon has also presented films for the BBC, National Geographic, and Discovery. Leon lectures regularly in the UK, US and around the world.
Emmy Award-winning journalist Anisa Mehdi is executive director of the Abraham Path Initiative, a not-for-profit dedicated to developing walking trails in the Middle East and using them to build bridges among global communities.
For more than 20 years Anisa worked in broadcasting at CBS News, PBS Frontline, ABC News Nightline, and National Geographic. In addition to two Emmys, she has multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, a CINE Golden Eagle, and other film festival accolades. Anisa is the first American broadcaster to cover the hajj pilgrimage from Mecca (1998) and made documentaries on the hajj for National Geographic and PBS. She was a commentator for “All Things Considered” and a global affairs critic for Stratfor.com
Anisa holds a BA in Spanish Language and Literature from Wellesley College and has a master’s degree from the Journalism School at Columbia University. She served as a Fulbright Scholar in Jordan.
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