WEST PARIS — West Paris Public Library has been awarded a five-book reading and discussion program, “Re-imagining the American Family” sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council, beginning Thursday, October 21, at 6 p.m., on Zoom. Our discussion facilitator is librarian Jennifer Lance.

This series offers a compilation of memoirs by contemporary American writers who imaginatively represent, shape, and challenge our conceptions of the American family. Alison Bechdel, J.D. Vance, Marie Howe, Roz Chast, and John Edgar Wideman share a fundamental interest in the formation of identity–familial, individual, national, and global. Together, we will investigate the possibilities and limits of literature to shape identity and to construct (or deconstruct) categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality.

Discussions will be on Zoom Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Meeting dates and titles are as follows.

October 21: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
November 4: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
November 18: Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
December 2: What The Living Do by Marie Howe
December 16: Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman

All books are available to borrow now at the West Paris Public Library. There is no charge for books or to participate. For more information and to register, call West Paris Public Library at 207-674-2004 or email librarian@westparislibrary.org.  People and organizations all over Maine host Discussion Projects – text-based discussions that meet the needs of their communities. Please join us for this series of five discussions grounded in compelling readings that invite reflection on things that really matter. The discussion will be richer with you there.

Re-imagining the American Family

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