Dear Patrons,
Remembering Representative John Lewis
Last week the Country honored the life of Civil Rights leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis. CPL Archivist Alyssa Pacy did some research and found many accounts of Representative Lewis visiting Cambridge.
Kids Books to Go at the Valente Branch
The next Kids Books to Go pop-up event will take place at the Valente Branch Library, 826 Cambridge Street on Saturday, August 8 from 1-4 p.m.
At Kids Books to Go pop-up events, youth and families can borrow bags of library books for kids and teens without having to make an appointment or place catalog requests. Title selections are curated by Cambridge Public Library Youth Services librarians. Bins will also be available at each location for library returns during these events.
Community Yoga, Sundays in August
Mindfulness and yoga teacher Cap Aguilar will lead a
virtual community yoga class every Sunday in August, where you can practice yoga from the comfort of your own home. Class continues Sunday, August 9 at 10 a.m. Cap will provide various options and information to support your unique expression of yoga and to honor yoga’s Black and Brown roots. This series welcomes all bodies, ages, abilities, backgrounds, hopes, and dreams.
Registration is required to participate in this program.
Join us for Story Times
Upcoming Summer Reading Programs
Crafting at the CPL
Danez Smith Presents Homie
We are excited to host Danez Smith on Monday, August 17 from 7-8 p.m. Danez Smith (they/them) is a Black, Queer, Poz writer & performer from St. Paul, MN. Danez is the author of Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017), a finalist for the National Book Award, and, most recently, Homie (Graywolf Press, 2020). Danez is the winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Homie is Danez Smith’s magnificent anthem about the saving grace of friendship. Rooted in the loss of one of Smith’s close friends, this book comes out of the search for joy and intimacy within a nation where both can seem scarce and getting scarcer. In poems of rare power and generosity, Smith acknowledges that in a country overrun by violence, xenophobia, and disparity, and in a body defined by race, queerness, and diagnosis, it can be hard to survive, even harder to remember reasons for living. Registration is required to participate in this event.
What Makes a Good Writing Group? Learn more from the Chunky Monkeys
So you want to start a writing group, or perhaps improve how your existing group is working. What are some excellent tips and tricks? On Monday, August 24 from 7-8:30 p.m., join authors Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Celeste Ng, Christopher Castellani, Jennifer De Leon, Adam Stumacher, Whitney Scharer, Calvin Hennick, Grace Talusan, Chip Cheek, Becky Tuch, and Sonya Larson as they discuss what they've learned from their own writing group, the Chunky Monkeys, over the last 7+ years.
Registration is required to participate in this program.
Stay Connected
All best,
Dr. Maria McCauley, Director of Libraries