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The University of West Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Library will host a book talk by author Dr. G. Ward Hubbs on Sunday, Oct. 27, from 2 until 4 p.m. The public is invited to attend. A wine and cheese reception will follow the reading, and Hubbs will sign copies of his works.

Hubbs will share excerpts from “Searching for Freedom after the Civil War,” in which he uses a stark and iconic political cartoon to illuminate postwar conflicts of the meaning of freedom in the American South. Using a dynamic and unprecedented approach that interprets the same events through four points of view, Hubbs artfully unpacks numerous layers of meaning behind this brutal two-dimensional image.

The four men associated with the cartoon—Ryland Randolph, Rev. Arad S. Lakin, Dr. Noah B. Cloud, and Shandy Jones—were archetypes of those who were seeking to rebuild a South shattered by war. Hubbs explores these broad archetypes and delves deeply into the men’s life stories to recreate each one’s complex worldview and quest to live freely.

Hubbs is a featured author on Read Alabama 200, a list of authors of recently published books offering new information and insight in the Alabama history and culture. He is professor emeritus at Birmingham-Southern College and archivist for the north Alabama Methodists.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, October 23 issue of the Demopolis Times.)