UMass Dartmouth’s Claire T. Carney Library will host a presentation from Mel Yoken, chancellor professor emeritus of French language and literature at the university, on his new book, “A History of Letters.”

The book features snippets from letters that Yoken has sent and received from writers, politicians, and celebrities over the years.

Yoken has been an avid letter writer for decades, corresponding with notable figures from all walks of life. He has gifted a collection of these letters, numbering some 400,000 individual documents, to Brown University.

Yoken’s presentation will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9 in the library’s Grand Reading Room. Refreshments will be provided and a Q&A and book signing will follow.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in Lot 13 on the UMass Dartmouth campus.

For more information, contact Maria Sanguinetti at msanguinetti@umassd.edu.