Blog: Author Talk

Author Talk: Hudson Valley Reckoning by Debra Bruno, with Eleanor C. Mire

The Malden Public Library is excited to be hosting an author talk with Debra Bruno and Malden resident Eleanor C. Mire on Monday, December 9th from 6-7pm, in the Maccario Room. This will be a compelling discussion on family history, slavery in the north-Atlantic, and the challenges of racial reconciliation. This event will be dual in-person and on Zoom; a Zoom link will be sent out the day of the event. Bruno will be joining us via Zoom, and Mire will be joining us in person. Registration is required. Register at: bit.ly/events-mpl.

From Cornell University Press:

A Hudson Valley Reckoning tells the long-ignored story of slavery’s history in upstate New York through Debra Bruno’s absorbing chronicle that uncovers her Dutch ancestors’ slave-holding past and leads to a deep connection with the descendants of the enslaved people her family owned.

Bruno, who grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley knowing little about her Dutch heritage, was shaken when a historian told her that her Dutch ancestors were almost certainly slaveholders. Driven by this knowledge, Bruno began to unearth her family’s past. In the last will and testament of her ancestor, she found the first evidence: human beings bequeathed to his family along with animals and furniture. The more she expanded her family tree, the more enslavers she found. She reached out to Black Americans tracing their own ancestry, and by serendipitous luck became friends with Eleanor C. Mire, a descendent of a woman enslaved by Bruno’s Dutch ancestors.

A Hudson Valley Reckoning recounts Bruno’s journey into the nearly forgotten history of Northern slavery and of the thousands of enslaved people brought in chains to Manhattan and the Hudson Valley. With the help of Mire, who provides a moving epilogue, Debra Bruno tells the story of white and Black lives impacted by the stain of slavery and its long legacy of racism, as she investigates the erasure of the uncomfortable truths about our family and national histories.”

Artificial Intelligence in our Daily Lives.

 

On Saturday Sept 28th  from 2-4pm the Malden Public Library will be hosting a unique workshop exploring the impact and implications of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives.  We will discuss beneficial, real-world applications and how to safeguard against the risks posed by AI enabled deep fakes, scams and misinformation.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Malden Public Library.

Everyone is welcome to attend and registration is encouraged.

To Register at :  https://bit.ly/malden-ai

 

 

 

 

Janet Applefield Author Talk

“Arriving in America in 1947, 12 year-old Gustawa Singer carried the heaviness of the three-year wartime separation from her father. Desperate to piece together their stolen years, he sat her down and meticulously transcribed her memories in a seven-page handwritten record. They never spoke about their collective torture again. Hidden in a basement for 35 years, this forgotten testimony became the blueprint for Singer Applefield’s journey of self-discovery.” From janetapplefield.com

Working with the non-profit, Facing History and Ourselves, and the
Massachusetts Cultural Council, she has spoken at hundreds of venues on
her experiences as a child hidden during the Holocaust and the importance
of standing up to bigotry and hate.

Janet Applefield will be at the Malden Public Library Monday September 23rd 6-7pm to discuss her book Becoming Janet. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Registration not required  but requested.
https://bit.ly/mpl-applefield

Mystic River for All! Mystic Valley Watershed Association

Thursday, Aug. 8th at 6pm! The Mystic Valley Watershed Association will be coming by to talk about the Malden River as a part of the Mystic Valley Watershed, and how a healthy environment and access to nature can benefit our community as a whole! This program will be held in the Maccario Room, and no registration is required. In the meantime, you can learn more about MyRWA here: https://mysticriver.org/

Let’s Talk About A Poem with Lloyd Schwartz April 13, at 11am

Attend our monthly online poetry discussion group led by Somerville’s Poet Laureate Lloyd Schwartz.

In April we will have a special guest, the poet Rosanna Warren will be joining us and reading her poem “Cotillion Photo.”

Registration is required and the link to join is sent out the day before the event.

Let’s Talk About A Poem with Lloyd Schwartz – April

This program is made possible by the Malden Public Library and the Academy of American Poets and funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Please email Marita if you have questions. mcoombs@maldenpubliclibrary.org

Researching African American Genealogy with Genealogist Melanie McComb 2.13.24

This event is postponed due to weather.

Tuesday, February 13th at 6:30 pm join us for a lecture and Q&A about researching African American genealogy. This will be a hybrid event: you can either join us in the Maccario for a live stream with a moderated question and answer period, or join us from home via Zoom and ask your questions in the chat. We are really looking forward to learning more about the tools available to people researching their ancestry. This should be a fascinating and informative event for all members of the community. So please join us! Registration is required, please use the link here: bit.ly/AAGenealogyMPL

All registered participants (whether in person or online) will receive a recording of the program via email after the program concludes.

Getting Started in African American Genealogy 

Researching African American ancestors can be challenging, especially when trying to break through the 1870 brick wall to discover more about ancestors prior to the end of slavery. In this presentation, Genealogist Melanie McComb will discuss go-to records and demonstrate creative search strategies for piecing together your family history.

Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist, assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is an international lecturer who teaches on a variety of topics. Melanie holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She previously served as the social media coordinator for the NextGen Genealogy Network, a non-profit that creates a community for younger genealogists, where she managed the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She continues her interest in helping younger genealogists get involved at American Ancestors by assisting with educational programs from local schools, scout groups, and universities. Her areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, DNA, Atlantic Canada, Jewish genealogy, and military records.

Author Event – Dr. Jamie Wilson

Thursday January 11th from 7pm – 8pm.

Jamie Wilson is a Professor of History at Salem State University where he teaches courses in Black History, History of Race and Ethnicity, Race and Ethnicity Studies, and United States History. He is also the author and editor of half dozen books including a recently published biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., titled Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life in American History. For the 2023-2024 academic year Wilson is the lead historian with the National Council for History Education to help create a professional development program for teachers in the School District of Osceola County and Brevard Public Schools in Florida that centers around the theme The Power of Music During the Civil Rights Movement. He lives in Malden with his wife, Staci, and two challenging, but lovely daughters.

Let’s Talk About A Poem with Lloyd Schwartz

Our January program will feature two poems: Sonnet 23 : Methought I Saw My Late Espouse Saint by John Milton and Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth.

Lloyd will be reading the poems then leading the discussion for this online event.  Registration is required.

To register for monthly invites : Let’s Talk About A Poem with Lloyd Schwartz

If you are new to this program and would like to join us this month register here: https://bit.ly/LTAAPJan2024

This program is made possible by the Malden Public Library and the Academy of American Poets and funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Author Talk: David R. Surette November 30th @ 7pm

Incoming local author talk! Join the Library in welcoming home notable local poet: David R. Surette. He will be joining us on Thursday, November 30th to read his poetry and talk about his experiences as an author and Maldonian. Program starts at 7PM and all are welcome to attend.

About the author:

David R. Surette is the author of eight collections of poetry including Stable which was named an Honor Book at the 2016 Massachusetts Book Awards. His latest is TONIC. His poems have been featured in the anthologies French Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets, Cadence of Hooves: A Celebration of Horses, 3 Nations Anthology: Native, Canadian & New England Writers, From the Farther Shore: Discovering Cape Cod and the Islands Through Poetry, Look! Up in the Sky! An Anthology of Comic Book Poems, and Selected Poems from the Daily Grind. The first three chapters of his novel Favors are included in the 2022 March edition of The Lowell Review. David has been a contributing editor at Salamander, an instructor at the Cape Cod Writers’ Conference, a keynote speaker at New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf, and a contributor and scholarship recipient at the Bread Loaf Writing Conference. He has featured at poetry venues across New England. He was also the chief lyricist for the Boston punk band Boy’s Life. He attended Colby College. He taught high school for 33 years in Waltham and East Bridgewater. He grew up in Malden, MA and lives on Cape Cod.  ~Goodreads.com