Thurber House

Tomorrow 6/24, don't miss WCBE 90.5 FM's Jack Marchbanks as he brings jazz to life on the Thurber House lawn! 😁 Join us for an evening of music, great food, and Jack's new book, Art and Activism. 🏡🥪🍎📖

Learn more and register ➡️ thurberhouse.org/events

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Columbus Jazz A Tribe for Jazz Greater Columbus Arts Council Experience Columbus

Happy Father's Day! ❤️ Pictured here are Mame and Charles Thurber, James Thurber's parents, who first met in elementary school.

Coming from modest means, Charles became a hard-working civil clerk who changed jobs frequently as the politicians he worked for won and lost their campaigns. 💼 Charles had unrealized dreams of becoming an actor or attending law school. He loved baseball, puzzles, and riddles and was an expert bowler. 🎳

A friend once noted that in the midst of the "endless domestic uproar" that his wife and sons normally maintained, Charles could often be found muttering humorous asides. 😏 Charles features prominently in James Thurber's short story "The Night the Bed Fell" (among many others). He died in 1939 and is buried in Columbus's Green Lawn Cemetery. 💐

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One week down, one to go! 🎉 Adult Writers' Studio: Beginner Intensive is off to a superb start. We're happy to see both new faces and returnees from our workshops connecting with each other. 😄

Want to mingle with other writers, get feedback on your work, and hone your craft? ✍️ Check out our other summer AWS intensives! 📆

AWS Fiction Intensive (July) ➡️ thurberhouse.org/aws-fiction-intensive-2026

AWS Memoir Intensive (July/August) ➡️ thurberhouse.org/aws-memoir-intensive-2026

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Jen Knox

Six days until WCBE 90.5 FM's Jack Marchbanks brings jazz to the Thurber House lawn! 😁 Join us next Wednesday, June 24 for an evening of music, great food, and Jack's new book, Art and Activism. 🏡🥪🍎📖

Learn more and register ➡️ thurberhouse.org/events

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Dear Thurber friends,

We are deeply saddened to share that Rosemary Thurber, James Thurber's only child, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 8th, at the age of 94.

Since Thurber House’s founding in 1984, Rosie has been a stalwart supporter of our mission to uphold her father’s legacy. An incredible contributor and beloved friend to Thurber House, Rosie played a pivotal role in the establishment and development of our organization. Her loss will be felt deeply by friends, family, and the entire Thurber community.

You can read Rosemary's obituary here: https://www.starksfamilyfh.com/obituaries/Rosemary-Rosie-Adams-Thurber?obId=48712344

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The Jefferson Avenue Center

Ahh... enjoying the simple life of Windows XP! 😌

For over a decade, this PC was tucked in a corner of our storage room until we finally booted it up to download the data. Here is Jess in pre-AI bliss. 🙂

Does anyone still have a copy of Oregon Trail? 😢🐂🐃🐍😵

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⚠️ JUST ANNOUNCED! ⚠️ Alexander McCall Smith, a quartet of four powerhouse authors, New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, and a writing submission party! 🤩🎉 Don't even THINK about missing out!

🔵 Aug 5: New Yorker Cartoonist Tom Toro Workshop
🟡 Aug 22: Writing Submission Party with Diane Callahan (FREE)
🟠 Sept 6: Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz with Special Guests Ernest Cline (Author of Ready Player One), Hanif Abdurraqib (Author of They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us), and Scott Woods (Author of Black Night Is Falling)
🟢 Sept 22: Internationally Bestselling Author Alexander McCall Smith

Learn more and register! ➡️ thurberhouse.org/events

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Tom Toro Scott Woods Hanif Abdurraqib Poetry Alexander McCall Smith

"There are two kinds of light, the glow that illumines and the glare that obscures." — James Thurber

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It's release party day! 😁 Take a look at the GORGEOUS cover of 2026 Flip the Page: Central Ohio's Teen Literary Journal. 📘😍

Flip the Page features writing and artwork from teens ages 13-19 and is compiled annually by a teen committee. Get a copy of the 2026 edition! ➡️ amazon.com/Flip-Page-2026-Thurber-House/dp/B0H2HSYMR3

📅 Today 6/13 from 12:30-1:30 pm: don't miss our Flip the Page teen writers reading their work at the Columbus Arts Festival's Cultural Arts Center stage! 📖🎤

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Okay, it's time to spill the beans on last week's mysterious "moving day" post... 📦🏡 We're excited to share that fellow nonprofit Ohio Humanities has relocated its offices to Thurber House! 🎉

This new partnership is full of possibilities and mutual benefits for both organizations, and we invite you to be part of it in the months ahead. (And don't worry, our museum isn't going anywhere! 🙂)

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The Jefferson Avenue Center