Jul
20
Thu
Adult Songwriting with Lisa
Jul 20 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Adult Songwriting with Lisa

Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/epl-adult-songwriting so we have an idea of how many folks will be attending. Recommended but not required.

Participants will listen to a few classic examples of powerfully vivid songwriting, and will generate ideas for new songs using a variety of writing exercises. No songwriting experience is required. Participants will be invited to share songs in process, time permitting.

Lisa Bastoni is a Northampton, MA-based singer-songwriter who has enjoyed a longtime presence in the northeast folk/Americana scene. She is a 2021 New England Music Award nominee (Roots), 2020 & 2019 Boston Music Award Nominee (Folk) and winner of 2019 New Folk at the esteemed Kerrville Folk Festival. In addition to her work in music, Lisa Bastoni is an accomplished visual artist and teacher, and mother to two young children. For more info, visit www.lisabastoni.com

Find Your Voice is sponsored by the Easthampton Public Library, Emily’s Friends of the Library, the Massachusetts Library System, the Boston Bruins, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Jul
26
Wed
Theater Improv Games with Heidi!
Jul 26 @ 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

We are delighted to have theater teacher, Heidi Haas, join us for this series! Every workshop includes warm-up exercises, scene work, and theater games. The workshop introduces the value of using drama to express feelings, playfully solve problems, and encourages children to challenge themselves and participate as fully as they feel comfortable. Team building and creating a sense of safety are integral parts of the process and draw on the strengths of the students to foster a sense of pride in what they can accomplish as a group. Come to one or all of these workshops; recommended ages 6-11. Registration is encouraged–register at the library in person or by calling us at 413-527-1031 or emailing us at youthdept@ewmlibrary.org

Aug
2
Wed
‘Speak Up’ Book Club
Aug 2 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Join Patti for a fun book club discussion of Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle. Registration encouraged, ages 7+.

Aug
7
Mon
Memories of Summer, Summer Reading Celebration
Aug 7 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Our celebration of summer includes a program of making special summer memory jars and an outdoor visit from Crooked Stick Pops! Complete your Summer Reading Program with a fabulous treat for reaching your goal! Make sure all your earned raffle tickets are entered for a chance to win one of our fun, experiential prizes. Registration for making the memory jar required; Sign up at the library in person or by calling us at 413-527-1031 or emailing us at youthdept@ewmlibrary.org.

Sep
13
Wed
Breath, Body, and Sound: Embodied Mindfulness with Kat Now
Sep 13 @ 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm
Breath, Body, and Sound: Embodied Mindfulness with Kat Now

RSVP encouraged at tinyurl.com/epl-bbs

Learn Embodied Mindfulness tools and practices that can be integrated into your daily life to gently guide you back to the present moment. This class includes group singing in English and Sanskrit, breathwork, and gentle movement. Absolutely no singing experience is necessary to benefit from this class, only the willingness to try!

What to bring to class:
*your curiosity
*water
*journal
*anything that would support your comfort for relaxation at the end of class (yoga mat, blanket, etc.)

Breath, Body, and Sound is guided and created by Kat Now, based on her many years of training and practice in voice, yoga, conscious dance, mindfulness, and trauma-informed facilitation. Read more about this creation here: embodiedmindfulness.wixsite.com/website/breathbodysound


Instructor Bio:

Kat Now (she/her) is an educator, creator, and lifelong singer. Kat has dedicated her life’s work to advancing access and inclusion in education and the arts. Kat is a teacher of the Embodied Mindfulness practices of Kripalu yoga, JourneyDance, and song. She is also ridiculously proud to be Polish & spends as much time in nature as she can.

Connect with Kat on Instagram @embodiedmindfulness (instagram.com/embodiedmindfulness/) & her website embodiedmindfulness.wixsite.com/website.
Oct
18
Wed
CANCELLED: Meat for Tea Author Reading with Christian Livermore
Oct 18 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Join us for this special event — A Meat for Tea author reading with Christian Livermore! Christian will read from her debut novel, The Very Special Dead, a spellbinding blend of fable and realism that examines lost love and the ruins of the American Dream. Copies of The Very Special Dead will be available for purchase.

Christian Livermore is a novelist, essayist and short story writer. Christian’s stories and essays have appeared in anthologies and literary journals including Longreads, Santa Fe Writers Project, Salt Hill Journal, The Texas Review, Meat for Tea, and Witch-Pricker. Her memoir in essays, We Are Not Okay, is out now. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of St Andrews with an academic focus on medieval English literature and has taught creative writing at Newcastle University and medieval literature at the University of St Andrews. Learn more at christianlivermore.com

Nov
15
Wed
Embodied Mindfulness: Breath, Body, and Sound with Kat Now
Nov 15 @ 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm
Embodied Mindfulness: Breath, Body, and Sound with Kat Now

RSVP encouraged at tinyurl.com/epl-bbs

Curious about mindfulness practices but not sure if you are up for the task of sitting silently? Learn Embodied Mindfulness tools as active mindfulness practices that are often more accessible than silent meditation. These tools can be integrated into your daily life to gently guide you back to the present moment. This class includes group singing in English and Sanskrit, breathwork, gentle and accessible movement. Absolutely no singing experience is necessary to benefit from this class, only the willingness to try!

What to bring to class:
*your curiosity
*water
*journal
*anything that would support your comfort for relaxation at the end of class (yoga mat, blanket, etc.)
Breath, Body, and Sound is guided and created by Kat Now, based on her many years of training and practice in voice, yoga, conscious dance, mindfulness, and trauma-informed facilitation.

Instructor Bio:
Kat Now (she/her) is an educator, creator, and lifelong singer. Kat has dedicated her life’s work to advancing access and inclusion in education and the arts. Kat is a teacher of the Embodied Mindfulness practices of Kripalu yoga, JourneyDance, and mindful singing. She is also ridiculously proud to be Polish & spends as much time in nature as she can.

Connect with Kat on Instagram @embodiedmindfulness (https://www.instagram.com/embodiedmindfulness/) & her website https://embodiedmindfulness.wixsite.com/website.
Dec
6
Wed
Storytime with Peter Rosnick
Dec 6 @ 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

It’s a half-day for Easthampton Public Schools–come enjoy an afternoon family storytime with Peter Rosnick, local author of JoJo and the Gazork and JoJo and the Eagle. Program is geared for ages 3-8, but all are welcome.

Feb
14
Wed
Meat for Tea Author Reading with John Sheirer
Feb 14 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Meat for Tea Author Reading with John Sheirer

Can an author tell a complete story in just 100 words? John Sheirer answers that question as he reads from and discusses his new book, For Now: One Hundred 100-Word Stories. These stories combine humor, depth, meaning, love, loss, and connection–all in exactly 100 words each. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

“Here, in these finely wrought tales, is a universal current of humanity that connects us all.” – Robert Scotellaro, author of Ways to Read the World. “Unsettling in their precise focus, Sheirer’s brief and crystalline works sharpen the reader’s awareness of the irrevocable. – Gina Barreca, author of They Used to Call Me Snow White, but I Drifted. “With so many big stories in such compact spaces, John Sheirer will titillate and delight you.” – Joshua Michael Stewart, author of Love Something.

Author Bio: John Sheirer lives in Western Massachusetts and is in his 31st year of teaching at Asnuntuck Community College in Northern Connecticut. He writes a monthly column for The Daily Hampshire Gazette. His most recent books are For Now: One Hundred 100-Word Stories and Stumbling Through Adulthood: Linked StoriesFind him at JohnSheirer.com.

Feb
15
Thu
ZOOM – Author Talk with Julie Gerstenblatt
Feb 15 @ 2:00 pm
ZOOM - Author Talk with Julie Gerstenblatt
Register for Zoom info at tinyurl.com/author215

Join the Easthampton Public Library and the Easthampton Council on Aging book group for a discussion with author Julie Gerstenblatt about her book Daughters of Nantucket.

Learn more about the book at https://www.juliegerstenblatt.com/daughters-of-nantucket