In This Newsletter:
Hugh Raffles - Tuesday, April 6
Dana Sachs - Thursday, April 15
More Upcoming Events
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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
April is National Poetry Month. Come celebrate poetry with us - bring a friend or family member and check out our poetry sections — for adults and for children — and save 20% on any poetry book purchase. This offer is good throughout the month of April.
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HUGH RAFFLES will discuss
Insectopedia
Tuesday, April 6th 7 PM
Join us for a fascinating evening with anthropologist Hugh Raffles, who has created an erudite and entertaining paean to bugs with his new book. Called "miraculous" by the New York Times, Insectopedia is "as inventive and wide ranging and full of astonishing surprises as the vast insect world itself."
Insectopedia is not an actual encyclopedia, but rather an assemblage of 26 offbeat, sometimes bizarre, and highly original essays and philosophical musings. Raffles explores history and science, anthropology and travel, economics, philosophy, and popular culture to show us how insects have triggered our obsessions, stirred our passions, and captivated our imaginations. He covers topics such as crop-destroying locusts in Niger, a protein staple when salted and fried or boiled like shrimp; a glimpse into the world of Chinese cricket fighting, and the Japanese craze for keeping stag and rhinoceros beetles as pets. He also features individuals who have dedicated their lives to the contemplation of insects, including an Austrian painter who draws inspiration from radiation-deformed leaf bugs.
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DANA SACHS will discuss
The Life We Were Given
Thursday, April 15th 7 PM
In April 1975, the U.S. government evacuated nearly 3,000 displaced Vietnamese children just before the fall of Saigon. "Operation Babylift" was a highly publicized plan to bring Vietnamese orphans to the U.S. and other countries for adoption. Sachs, author of the memoir The House on Dream Street, conducted extensive research and countless interviews in both the U.S. and Vietnam to offer fresh insight into this complex and often controversial mission.
With sensitivity and balance, Sachs includes multiple perspectives, including that of the adopted children themselves. The book follows one child in particular, Anh Hansen, who left Vietnam through Operation Babylift and, decades later, returned to reunite with her birth mother. Through Anh's story, and those of many others, The Life We Were Given will inspire impassioned discussion and spur dialogue on the human cost of war, international adoption and aid efforts, and U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
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More Upcoming April Events...
- RON SLATE and JIM POWELL will read
from their latest works
Tuesday, April 27th at 7 PM
- JACQUELINE WINSPEAR will read from
The Mapping of Love and Death
Thursday, April 29th at 7 PM
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