Ten years ago, amateur photographer and school bus driver Cynthia Stewart dropped off eleven rolls of film at a drugstore near her home in Oberlin, OH. The rolls contained photographs of her eight-year-old daughter Nora, including two of the child in the shower—photos that would cause the county prosecutor to arrest Cynthia, take her away in handcuffs, threaten to remove her daughter from her home, and charge her with crimes that carried the possibility of sixteen years in prison.
The disturbing case would ultimately attract national attention—including stories in USA Today and on NPR—and supporters including the famed photographer Sally Mann, Katha Pollitt, and the ACLU.
Written by poet Lynn Powell, a neighbor of Cynthia Stewart’s, this riveting and beautifully told story plumbs the perfect storm of events and people that threatened an ordinary family in a small American town - our very own Oberlin. Framing Innocence features a determined prosecutor; a fundamentalist Christian anti-porn crusader who is appointed as Cynthia’s daughter’s guardian; the local attorneys for whom the case would become a crucible; and the many neighbors—friends and strangers, Republican and Democrat— who come together to fight for sanity and for justice for Cynthia and her family.
Lynn Powell is the author of two books of poetry, Old & New Testaments and The Zones of Paradise, and has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council.
The disturbing case would ultimately attract national attention—including stories in USA Today and on NPR—and supporters including the famed photographer Sally Mann, Katha Pollitt, and the ACLU.
Written by poet Lynn Powell, a neighbor of Cynthia Stewart’s, this riveting and beautifully told story plumbs the perfect storm of events and people that threatened an ordinary family in a small American town - our very own Oberlin. Framing Innocence features a determined prosecutor; a fundamentalist Christian anti-porn crusader who is appointed as Cynthia’s daughter’s guardian; the local attorneys for whom the case would become a crucible; and the many neighbors—friends and strangers, Republican and Democrat— who come together to fight for sanity and for justice for Cynthia and her family.
Lynn Powell is the author of two books of poetry, Old & New Testaments and The Zones of Paradise, and has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council.
The book launch will be Monday, September 13, at 7:30, in the First Church Fellowship Hall in Oberlin. Lynn will read an excerpt from the book, Cynthia Stewart will speak briefly about the book, and Nora, the child at the center of the case, will speak for the first time about her family's experience. (Nora is now a rising sophomore at Yale.) Books will be available for purchase and signing. Afterwards, there will be a reception/celebration at Black River Cafe, open to all.
There are also two Cleveland bookstore readings/signings soon afterward:
Thursday, September 16, 7 p.m. at Mac's Backs, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights
http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/community/eventcal.html?sid=5817
Thursday, September 23, 7 p.m. at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village.
In November, Lynn will also be appearing at the Oberlin Bookstore as part of Parents Weekend on Saturday, November 13. More details to follow.
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