Joanne Fay Brown will read from her debut collection, Independence Day. Brown was born into a family of leftists during the scourge of the “McCarthy Era" blacklists; her father was blacklisted the year of her birth. She came of age amid civil rights and countercultural movements, political assassinations and anti-war protests. Her poems reflect her experience during those historic times and her growing beyond them. Brown's poems have appeared in Main Street Rag, Persimmon Tree, Evening Street Review, Peregrine, Pinesong, and Literacy North. Honors include Persimmon Tree Western States Poetry Contest Winner and Pinesong's Mary Ruffin Poole American Heritage Award. She is an Amherst Writers & Artists instructor, and a Master of Social Work, offering a workshop, Write to Heal, for cancer patients and survivors in Northern New Mexico.

Award-winning biographer and narrative historian James McGrath Morris will lead a Q+A and conversation focused on the through-line from the McCarthy era to today's political environment. Among Morris' many books, are: Tony Hillerman: A Life; and the New York Times bestselling Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, The First Lady of the Black Press — awarded the Benjamin Hooks National Book Prize. Morris is Executive Director of New Mexico Writers.

PRAISE FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY

"Brown’s fresh and inviting voice portrays her family, the McCarthy era, Viet Nam, the social and political moments of the 50’s and 60’s & the dreaming child versus the activist parents. She wonders if she’s pretty, wishes for a boyfriend or a Ladybug sweater; the poems use wonderful details, portray an important era, remind us to see deeply, and climb forward into a new life, one of spirit and love. The book’s a pleasure". ~Veronica Golos, author of Girl