An Evening With Julia Alvarez
Thursday, March 25th - 6:00pm

Join us for the NEA Big Read keynote event, an evening with Julia Alvarez in conversation with Connecticut writer and poet Sarahí Almonte Caraballo. Featuring Dominican music from Connecticut’s own Rey Kellys Band.


Honoring Revolutionary Latinas in Hartford: A Virtual Performance
Thursday, March 18th: 7- 8:00 pm

Join us in celebrating revolutionary Latinas from throughout Hartford's history, featuring poets Glaisma Perez-Silva, Zulynette, and Cin Martinez; choreographers Addys Castillo and Luzy Rivera; and percussionists I-SHEA and Victor Sterling.
Sarahí Almonte Caraballo is a Dominican-Puerto Rican poet, writer, performer, and nurse raised in New York City who has been writing since the age of fifteen. She is working on her memoir in prose, "Louder than Love."
 
Sarahí currently lives in Connecticut. When she is not writing, Sarahi is a public health nurse who builds community trust one patient at a time. She is also a very tired mother of twin toddlers, known for making amazing forts out of bedsheets and sofa cushions. 

Longtime Hartford educator Glaisma Perez Silva has muses that inspire her poetry – her identity as a black Puerto Rican woman, her migration from Puerto Rico, the things she sees around her.

Perez Silva will share her poetry at Hartford Public Library’s Revolutionary Latinas performance.

FOR CHILDREN
Read Aloud Adventure with Ms. Lina: Destination, Dominican Republic 
Virtual
Zoom & Google Meets
Thursday, March 25: 3:30pm
Ages 8-12
Let's celebrate Dominican culture, identity, and family with a fun weekly read-aloud of "How Tía Lola Came to (Visit) Stay" by Julia Alvarez. 
Register here 

Big Read Art Club with Miss Katherine: If Dominican Were a Color
Virtual, Zoom/ Google Meets
Tuesday, March 30th: 4:00pm
All ages 
Join us for music and painting as we celebrate our Big Read book, "If Dominican Were a Color" by Sili Recio.
Register here

ADULT PROGRAMS
La Cocina Dominicana
Friday, March 29: 3:00pm
Virtual series: Facebook and YouTube
Join the chefs from Caribe, Hartford’s own loved Dominican restaurant on Park Street, as they teach us how to make traditional dishes.

Influenced by John Coltrane, Ahmad Jamal, Miles Davis and other jazz greats, Jimmy Gavagan joins his classmates from the University of Hartford to create an evening of jazz standards and original compositions.
 
 
Sunday, March 21 at 3 pm on Facebook and YouTube.
Wednesday, March 31
2-3 pm
Zoom
Enjoy an hour of relaxation and awe-inspiring photos of owls, listen to their distinctive calls, and learn some fascinating owl facts, while coloring an intricate owl-themed printed design.

Registration required. Coloring sheets and crayons will be provided by appointment using contact-free pickup.

We've added a Vaccine Information page to our comprehensive collection of Covid-19 related materials. Learn the facts about the virus and how to protect yourself and your family. There is also information available about housing assistance, financial help and the latest from the Hartford Public Schools.
Women's History Month Book and Movie Suggestions
"The Code Girls"
by Liza Mundy
The award-winning New York Times bestseller about the American women who secretly served as codebreakers during World War II.
Selena
Selena is the story of the Grammy Award-winning South Texas singer whose life tragically ended just as she was taking Tejano music where it had never gone into - mainstream America.
"The Story of Simone Biles"
by Rachelle Burk
Discover the life of Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time. Before she wowed the world with her incredible gymnastics skills, Simone was an energetic young girl who dreamed of becoming a top gymnast. For ages 6 to 9.
The Kyoko Oyobe Quartet brought their unique energy and stylish sound to Baby Grand Jazz last week.
 
African American Literature Book Club, March 23
Tuesday, March 23
7 to 8:30 pm
Zoom

The African-American Book Club will be reading Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward P. Jones' novel "The Known World," the story of Henry Townsend, a former slave who, through the surprising twists and unforeseen turns of life in antebellum Virginia, becomes proprietor of his own plantation―as well his own slaves.

To register, please email Carolyn Korber at memwhite@gmail.com
now through March 26
When an actor turns to teaching for a steady paycheck, he learns that it’s less of a job and more of a constant, visceral reminder of one’s own success and/or failure. Mr. Parent is a hilarious, joyful, and heartbreakingly honest peek into the kids, adults, and systems of the Boston Public Schools.

March Program Calendars
“My grandfather says that's what books are for," Ashoke said, using the opportunity to open the volume in his hands. "To travel without moving an inch.”
― Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake