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A collaborative community reading event will come back to Quincy this fall. Quincy Public Library will be presenting Quincy Reads. The goal of Quincy Reads is simple; everyone in the community comes together to read the same book to inspire conversation and discovery. This year the library has chosen “An American Sunrise” by US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo as the community read title.
In this stunning collection, Joy Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where the Mvskoke people, including her ancestors, were forcibly displaced. From her memory of her mother’s death, to her beginnings in the Native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo’s personal life intertwines with tribal histories to create a space for renewed beginnings.
Copies of the book will be available at kickoff and other activities in September and October for patrons to add to their home library as long as supplies last. Library users will also have access to the ebook via the Libby app, where the book will be available for unlimited users to checkout.
The month-long event will start with a kickoff on Saturday, September 18, from 10 am to noon at the library. This event is free and open to the public.
Storytime
10 am in the Children’s Theater
For children and families, the library will offer a special storytime, as well as crafts and games highlighting themes of the book.
Keynote – Standing Bear Council
10:30 am in the Large Meeting Room
Standing Bear Council will present a keynote about the unique cultural and social traditions of Native American Nations in the area.
This event will be a part of the Explore the Arts in Quincy on September 18. In addition to Quincy Reads Kickoff, visit one of our partner organizations throughout the day!
8 am-1 pm: Quincy Farmers Market in Washington Park
10 am-5 pm: Walk-in painting at The Budding Artist
1-4 pm ArtFest! at the Quincy Art Center
1-5 pm Quincy Museum open to the public
4-6 pm Free behind-the-scenes tours of Quincy Community Theatre
Unearthing Your Family Tree
Monday, Sept. 20 at 5:30 pm, Large Meeting Room
Join us and learn about library resources that can help you start your family tree research. We will explore the historical material in the Illinois Room, and the online resources library users can access for free with the library card.
Indigenous Oral Traditions
Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6 pm, Large Meeting Room
Internationally published, award-winning Ojibwa author and speaker Kim Sigafus McIver will present a program on the Native people who once called Illinois their home. Her presentation will include oral traditions and history. Everyone will get the chance to learn some Native language, and there will be a Q and A following the program.
An American Sunrise Open Discussion
Saturday, Sept. 25 at 3 pm & Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 6 pm, Small Conference Room
Be part of Quincy Reads at this open discussion of Joy Harjo’s poems in “An American Sunrise.” The following poems will be featured: Exile of Memory (pg 6-19), An American Sunrise (pg 105), Washing my Mother’s Body (pg 30-33), How to Write a Poem in a Time of War (pg 47-50), For Earth’s Grandsons, (pg 56), Bourbon and Blues (pg 61-62), My Man’s Feet (pg 70-71), I Wonder What You are Thinking (pg 72-75), and Redbird Love (pg 84-85).
Monday Movies
All movies are shown in the Large Meeting Room. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own snacks and beverages (no alcohol).
Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee
Monday, Sept. 27 at 5:30 pm
The true story of a Native American (Irene Bedard) who meets an activist (Pato Hoffmann) and joins him in a fight to reclaim a plot of sacred land. Not Rated, 1994, 100 minutes
Gather
Monday, Oct. 11 at 5:30 pm
Gather follows the stories of natives on the frontlines of a growing movement to reconnect with spiritual and cultural identities that were devastated by genocide. Documentary, 75 minutes, not rated. This screening is made possible by Kanopy Public Performance Rights.
“Look in Thy Heart & Write”: Poetry and Song, Then and Now
Thursday, Sept. 30 at 6 pm, Large Meeting Room
Although the modern world considers poetry and music separate art forms, they emerged from the same literary tradition: lyric. This talk will provide a brief history of the relationship between poetry and music through the lens of lyric, moving from Ancient Greece to the English Renaissance to modern American and Native American poets and musicians. We will consider the relationship between poetry and music today through such modern musicians as Bob Dylan and Tupac Shakur.
Creating Meaningful Family Traditions
Monday, Oct. 4 at 5:30 pm, Large Meeting Room
Listen to Nakita Hughes from Cornerstone describe the social and cultural importance of rituals and traditions in our lives. Explore what these rituals might look like in your own family or friend group: fellowship, recognition, the passage of time, personal achievements, or for closure of a time in our lives that is past.
Native Americans in Adams County
Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 5:30 pm, Large Meeting Room
Travel 200 years into the past to learn about the Native American cultures in this region with the Quincy Museum. The Quincy Museum houses artifacts and exhibits from pieces uncovered in Indian Mounds and other local sites. Items from their permanent collection will be on display during the discussion.
Found Poetry Workshop for Teens
Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 2:30 pm, Large Meeting Room
Found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them by making changes in spacing and lines, or by adding or deleting text, thus imparting new meaning. This will be an opportunity to take a closer look at Joy Harjo’s words and finding different personal meanings within them.
For more information on all of these events, visit quincylibrary.org/events!