Vermont-based cartoonist Rachel Lindsay. Submitted photo

FARMINGTON — Due to unforeseen circumstances, the keynote speaker previously announced for the upcoming “Persepolis” events has been changed in the New Commons project. Rachel Lindsay, a Vermont-based cartoonist, will be the new keynote presenter, according to a news release from the university.

The new keynote and workshop events featuring Lindsay are scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23, replacing the previously scheduled events on Wednesday, Feb. 16. All events are free and open to the public. According to UMF COVID protocol, masks are required in all campus indoor spaces. Attendees are asked to sign in at all events for contact tracing.

Updated keynote events:

• Keynote: Persepolis & the Graphic Memoir is set for 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, at Emery Community Arts Center on Main Street.

Lindsay examines why comics are a powerful narrative tool, and where “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, fits into the medium. Lindsay’s book, “RX: A Graphic Memoir,” was the featured book for US National Network of Libraries of Medicine’s mental health month in 2019, and was included that year on the American Association of Medical Colleges’ top 10 summer reads list.

• Make Your Own Comic Book! is planned from 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23, in the UMF North Dining Hall in the Olsen Student Center on South Street.

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Lindsay will teach how to create simple cartoon illustrations used to write and draw mini-comic memoir (and we do mean mini.) All skill levels are welcome.

In Lindsay’s book, “RX: A Graphic Memoir,” she wrote about her experience working in psychopharmaceutical advertising and subsequent hospitalization for bipolar mania. Her comic strip, “Rachel Lives Here Now,” appears weekly in Vermont’s alternative newspaper, Seven Days, and has gained acclaim for its humorous take on Vermont-centric themes.

She was named “a cartoonist to watch” by the Comics Reporter in 2017.

To learn more about the New Commons Project, visit newcommonsproject.org.

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