Brookline Eats! at Putterham
Until the end of March, the Putterham Library is host to “Food for Thought: the Origins of Massachusetts Food and Why it Matters”, a travelling exhibit on loan from the Commonwealth Museum. Stephen Kenney, Director of the Commonwealth Museum, will speak about this exhibit on Monday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m.
Bygone Badass Broads with Mackenzi Lee
On Monday, March 26, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., join adventurous Mackenzi Lee, author of the Stonewall Book Award Honor winner “The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue”, to discuss the too often overlooked ladies of history from her new nonfiction book, “Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World”. We will debate who to pick for a fictional all-women pirate ship crew, if given the option of women from history and fiction. Who would be your captain, first mate, doctor, or cook? Who might mutiny? Bring your top picks.
The Children’s Book Shop will be selling books at the event, held in the Village Library’s Teen Room, and Mackenzi Lee will be signing after the discussion.
Supported by a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation and generously sponsored by the Friends and the Trustees of the Public Library of Brookline, there will be a series of free Brookline Eats! events at various locations in town through May 19. Please register for all events at brooklinelibrary.org. Upcoming library events are: Cookie Decorating, Thursday, March 29, 3:00 p.m., BV; Myers+Chang at Home, Saturday, March 31, 2:00 p.m., CC; “Food for Thought” exhibit (described above) on view at CC throughout April; Boston Homebrew Supply, Tuesday, April 4, 6:30 p.m., CC; and Snacks of the World Blind Taste Test, Wednesday, April 4, 3:00 p.m., BV.
Women’s Journeys in Writing
In honor of Women’s History Month, join us to hear the stories of four women writers on Thursday, March 22, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., Brookline Village Library. Fiction writer Grace Talusan, journalist Firuzeh Shokooh-Valle, and poets Yara Liceaga-Rojas and Sharon Amuguni will discuss their work – and the challenges and opportunities they have faced in their fields. The panelists will share selections of their writing in multiple languages. Please register for this event online.
Women’s History Month Film Series
In honor of Women’s History Month, we will screen one more women-centric movie at the Village Library on Tuesday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. And we will provide the popcorn! For other films dedicated to Women’s History Month, check out Midday Movies at the Putterham Library and Movie Matinees at the Coolidge Corner Library.
Join us at Putterham Library’s Meeting Room, Wednesday, March 28, 6:30 p.m. for a fun adventure playing Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition. Dice and snacks will be provided. Use a library character or bring one from the Adventurer’s League. Registration is required.
Poets Jodie Hollander and Robert Mezey
You are invited to Jodie Hollander’s reading of her debut poetry collection, “My Dark Horses” (Liverpool University Press) at the Coolidge Corner Library, Thursday, March 29, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., alongside the acclaimed poet Robert Mezey, who will be reading new and selected poems.
Brookline Reads: “Our Mockingbird”
Join us at the Village Library, Wednesday, April 4, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., for a showing of the powerful and uplifting documentary “Our Mockingbird”. This ground-breaking film relates the experiences of students in two high schools in Birmingham, Alabama, one predominantly black and the other predominantly white, as they come together to put on a play based on the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”. The filmmaker, Sandra Jaffe, will be on hand to introduce the film and lead a conversation afterward. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Please register online.
Brookline Reads, a month-long, town-wide celebration of books, reading, and community, is sponsored by the Trustees of the Brookline Library. All events are free and open to the public.
Suzette Abbott of Hidden Brookline will lead a walking tour of local Underground Railroad sites and other landmarks of African-American history in Brookline. The tour begins at Brookline Town Hall, 333 Washington Street, Saturday, April 7, 2:00 p.m. Rain date: Sunday, April 8, 2:00 p.m. Registration required.
Brookline Library Music Association
The Brookline Library Music Association concludes its 66th season Sunday, April 8, when the Videri String Quartet will perform works by these composers: Nakamura, Williams, Haab, Kondo, Borodin, Schyman, Santaolalla, Coker, and Wintory at the Village Library. This concert is free and everyone is welcome though seating is limited in our handicapped-accessible Hunneman Hall. Doors open at 2:00 p.m.; the concert begins at 2:30 p.m.
Brookline Reads: “The Economic Realities of Racism”
Team Brookline running marathon for Library
Five Team Brookline runners have been training all winter to be ready to run the Boston Marathon on April 16. They are raising money for the Library Foundation’s programs. Encourage their hard work by checking out their individual pages here, and make a donation to bring them closer to their fundraising goals! Cheer for them on April 16, Patriots’ Day and Marathon Day, as they make their way down Beacon Street.
Kentucky Derby Day at Coolidge Corner
March your calendar: On Saturday, May 5, the Library Foundation is hosting a fun party at the Coolidge Corner Library – just before closing for a brief renovation. We will sip mint juleps, listen to Bluegrass music and watch the 144th running of The Kentucky Derby – all while raising money to support the renovation, and also fund technology at each of our libraries. When we heard that the Coolidge Corner Library would temporarily close for repairs this summer, the Library Foundation offered to contribute additional capital to make significant upgrades for the future. So, get your Derby hats ready and join your friends and neighbors to watch the most exciting two minutes in sports! Help us set the pace early by taking two minutes now to pledge advance support by March 22 and be listed on the invitation. Click on DerbyDay@Coolidge for more information and watch for ticket sales to begin April 1.
Last week we highlighted several of the multi-volume book sets the Friends of the Brookline Public Library has for sale at the Brookline Village Book Sale. Most of those were of the literary genre but that is just a portion of our wares. We have sets regarding music, architecture, science, psychology, German, Judaica, and more. And for you historians, here’s a sampling of sets that are available: The American Nation: A History (20 volumes); and Commonwealth History of Massachusetts (six volumes), both edited by A. B. Hart; McMasters’ History of the People of the US (16 volumes); The Colonial Period of American History (CM Andrews, four volumes); and History of the United States (Channing, six volumes). Ready for a personal tour of these and more?! Send an e-mail to: friendsofbrooklinelibrary@gmail.com and we’ll make that happen!
Book discussion groups
BV: Monday, April 2, 7:00 p.m., “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith.
BV: Taste of Poetry, Thursday, April 5, noon, Common Threads will be discussed.
CC: (Mystery) Monday, April 9, 12:30 p.m., “Everything You Want Me to Be” by Mindy Mejia.
BV: Monday, April 9, 2:15 p.m., “Another Brooklyn” by Jacqueline Woodson.
BV: (Shelf Respect) Wednesday, April 11, 7:00 p.m., “The Hate U Give” by Leigh Angie Thomas.
CC: (New! Let Then Eat Baked Goods and baked goods will be shared!) Thursday, April 12, 6:30 p.m., “Dorie’s Cookies” by Dorie Greenspan.
BV: (Mystery) Tuesday, April 17, noon, “The Ice Princess” by Camilla Lackberg.
CC: (And the Award Goes to…) Wednesday, April 18, 2:00 p.m., “Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead.
CC: (Read and Meet), Thursday, April 19, 7:00 p.m., “Refrigerator Monologues” by Catherynne M. Valente.
PUTT: (Council on Aging), Monday, April 23, 2:00 p.m., “Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead.
Exhibits
In the Children’s Room at the Village Library, Izzy Park will display her Beanie Boos and Mei Davis will display her National Park Service patches until April 4.
This year, Brookline Open Studios Weekend will be held Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29. Since 1986, Open Studios has been an annual springtime event, held in locations all over Brookline. The Brookline Artists Open Studios Preview Show is on view at the Village Library in the Foundation case and Hunneman Hall through April 22. It features the work of many Brookline artists participating in Brookline Open Studios Weekend.
In the two lobby cases, “Iran 2017” by staff member Sima Hajhariri, highlights her recent trip to Iran, including visits to the historic cities of Isfahan and Shiraz. “With March 20 (the vernal equinox), just celebrated as the New Year (“Nowruz”) in Persian culture, I decided to share my experience with you.”
And, for the month of March, Gracie Gamwell, will show her Legos in the display case at the Putterham Library.
Book displays
Look for these March displays at the Coolidge Corner Library: “Women’s History Month”; “March Madness” on basketball; “Pi or “ie Day”, and “Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday” as well as displays for recently deceased Sue Grafton and Stephen Hawking. Coolidge staff member Catherine Saines is currently reading “Sing, Unburied Sing” by Jesmyn Ward: “This book follows the travels of an African-American family across Mississippi to pick-up the father after his release from jail. Ward describes the journey with beautiful language and moving characters. It’s a good complement to our upcoming Brookline Reads selection: Colson Whitehead’s Underground Railroad.”
Children’s programs late winter 2018
All programs are drop-in unless noted. Please come early to ensure a space. Special events and foreign language story times are posted on our website and on individual flyers.
Brookline Village (BV): Mother Goose on the Loose, 13- to 23-month-olds, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., through April 11.
BV: Terrific Twos (and Threes!), ages 2-3, Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m., through April 10.
BV: Storytime (2- to 3-year-olds), Thursdays, 10:30 a.m., through April 12.
BV: Storytime (3- to 5-year-olds), Wednesdays, 3:30 p.m., through April 11.
BV: Saturday Six to Eights (6- to 8-year-olds), Saturdays, 2:30 p.m., through April 7.
BV: Friday Flicks, Fridays at 10:30 a.m., 2nd floor, ongoing, for all ages.
BV: Grab Bag Craft, ages 5 and up, Thursdays, 3:00 p.m., through April 12.
CC: Come play with us, infants to 12 months, Mondays, 10:15 a.m., through April 9.
CC: Lego Club, ages 5 and up, Mondays, 3:00 p.m., through April 9.
CC: Mother Goose on the Loose for Ones and Twos, Tuesdays, 10:15 a.m., through April 10.
CC: Singalong, Dance, and Play for infants to 5-year-olds, Wednesdays, 10:15 a.m., through April 11 and Saturday, April 7 at 10:30 a.m.
CC: Playspace for ages 2-5, Wednesdays, 11:15 a.m., through April 11; and Fridays, 10 a.m., through April 13.
PUTT: Toddler Storytime, 2- to 3-year-olds, Tuesdays, 10:15 a.m., through April 10.
PUTT: Preschool Storytime, 3- to 6-year-olds, Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m., through April 10.