Folk singer-songwriter Mark Dvorak to perform Nov. 12 at Wheaton library

Wheaton Public Library, 225 Cross St., will present "The American Folk Song with Mark Dvorak" at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.

"I try to mix it up," said Dvorak who accompanies himself on guitar, 5-string banjo, 12-string guitar and other instruments. "The subject of 'The American Folk Song' has always been fascinating to me. It all started by listening to Bob Dylan while in high school. I read the 1972 biography by Anthony Scaduto which led me to Pete Seeger. Seeger's recordings and books opened the door to the music of Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and a whole bunch of others. The songs represent a kind of an ongoing patchwork quilt of struggle, celebration, loss and triumph. And at the very core of these song - is storytelling."

Dvorak is busy at work on his 20th CD release "Live & Alone," recorded in an empty concert hall during the height of the pandemic lock down. He is also planning to publish his fourth book of essays, "31 Winters," which reflects on his long journey through music and teaching.

The Chicago Tribune has called Dvorak "masterful," and the Fox Valley Folk Festival describes him as "a living archive of song and style." Dvorak has won awards for journalism and children's music, and was honored in 2013 with the FARM Lantern Bearer Award from Folk Alliance International. In 2008 he received the Woodstock Folk Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2012 Rich Warren, longtime host of "The Midnight Special" radio program named Dvorak "Chicago's official troubadour."

For information, call (630) 868-7526 or visit www.wheatonlibrary.org.

Learn more about Mark Dvorak at www.markdvorak.com.