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In January 2020, the largest and most eagerly awaited cache of new materials written by the Nobel-Prize-winning poet T. S. Eliot was finally opened: the 1,131 letters he sent Emily Hale, his little-known American love, over the course of their lifetimes. Their relationship was, in their own words, an “unnatural” love affair, one that began in Cambridge in 1913, when Eliot was a graduate student at Harvard and Hale, an aspiring amateur actress, and that played out in Boston, England and California over the years. Named as one of its "Fifty Notable Non-fiction Books of 2024" by the Washington Post, Fitzgerald's biography of Hale is based on the embargoed letters and extensive research into Hale’s life and times. Hale was much more than just a muse to a literary celebrity. She overcame personal hardship to pursue a career as a professor of speech and drama at prominent American women’s colleges and schools, including Simmons and Smith Colleges and Abbot and Concord Academies. She was a talented amateur actress and director, who performed at many Boston area theaters and later guided Eliot as he tried his hand at playwriting. But in the end, Eliot disavowed her, sending a secret letter to Harvard in 1960 that claimed his love for Hale was that of “a ghost for a ghost,” and confirming that he had arranged for Hale’s side of their 27-year correspondence to be destroyed. In the words of The Washington Post reviewer, “Missing letters, a secret love affair, a famous poet, a beautiful actress—what else could you possibly want in a story?" Sara Fitzgerald is a retired journalist whose career included fifteen years as an editor and new media developer for The Washington Post. In 2020, she also published The Poet’s Girl: A Novel of Emily Hale and T. S. Eliot. Since then, her essays about Hale have appeared in multiple volumes of the Journal of the T. S. Eliot Society and the T. S. Eliot Studies Annual. She has presented at the annual meetings of the Modern Language Association, the American Historical Association, the International T. S. Eliot Society, and at the T. S. Eliot Summer School at Oxford. She is also the author of the biography, Elly Peterson: “Mother” of the Moderates and Conquering Heroines: How Women Fought Sex Bias at Michigan and Paved the Way for Title IX.

Need an accessory for a costume? Decorate a mosaic mask to disguise yourself as a jungle animal. Recommended for children ages 4-10 with a caregiver.

The community potluck returns after being delayed due to the February blizzard. Bring a savory dish to share as we celebrate spring and community. We'll provide a hot fudge sundae bar, popsicles, cups, plates, napkins, and cutlery.

Have a child birth to 4? Want ideas to support your child’s growth? Join other Cambridge parents to get fun and easy ideas for talking, reading, and counting with your child during your everyday activities!

Have a child birth to 4? Want ideas to support your child’s growth? Join other Cambridge parents to get fun and easy ideas for talking, reading, and counting with your child during your everyday activities!

Have a child birth to 4? Want ideas to support your child’s growth? Join other Cambridge parents to get fun and easy ideas for talking, reading, and counting with your child during your everyday activities!

Join us for a community building party at Valente as we build structures with LEGOS, wooden sticks, cards, and any other materials we can get our hands on! The library will provide all building materials. This event is recommended for children ages 5+ and their guardians.

Join us for a community building party at Valente as we build structures with LEGOS, wooden sticks, cards, and any other materials we can get our hands on! The library will provide all building materials. This event is recommended for children ages 5+ and their guardians.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Robert J. Sampson—Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard University, Affiliated Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences—for a discussion of his new book Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans. He will be joined in conversation by Robert D. Putnam—Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy, Emeritus at Harvard University and recipient of the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. Registration is required.

With magic, merry mayhem, and magnificent inflatable dinosaurs, Dinoman will take you on a trip through the Mesozoic Era. Recommended for children ages 4 and up and their caregivers. This program will be outdoors. Funding for Summer Reading has been generously provided by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library Foundation and Friends of the Cambridge Public Library.