Brooks Memorial Library - Brattleboro VT

Write A Ghost Story In 1 Hour For A Chance to Win $100!
2023-10-30 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
This is the 150th Anniversary of The Publication of “Edwin Drood, Complete” T.P. James, Brattleboro’s own spiritualist rogue who claimed he was channeling Dickens’ ghost to finish the novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which the famous English author had left uncompleted. James handwrote the novel and sold thousands of copies of his version.
We believe that whether you can channel a ghost to help you write your story or not, you can write a great story.
Charles Dickens will be the judge of the story, and this is what he is looking for; He wants a tale about a ghost, but he does not want a horror story ending in madness, death or emotional or physical mayhem. He wants a story with a supernatural encounter with a spirit, and he wants a character to come to some new realization, change of plan, or any other change, due to this experience. Good writing matters, but the winner will have a chance to edit the story before we share it with the community.
This is a University of Brattleboro event co-sponsored by Brooks Memorial Library, Everyone’s Books, Write Action and Book Lovers Used Books.

North Indian Classical Music
2023-10-28 15:00 - 16:30 | Main Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
North Indian classical music has been handed down from guru to disciple for hundreds of years through the guru-disciple relationship. Musicians Pat Lambdin and Amit Kavthekar embark on a journey into this living tradition that shifts perspectives with a fresh attitude and a willingness to place one’s own cultural understandings in the back seat.
Sponsored by Vermont Humanities

Game Cafe!
2023-10-28 14:00 - 16:45, 2023-10-21 14:00 - 16:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Come join game enthusiasts in playing Magic the Gathering in various formats (including Commander/EDH) as well as other fun and creative board & card games.
Bring your favorite games- All Ages Welcome!

Brattleboro in Stitches
2023-10-28 11:00 - 14:00, 2023-10-21 11:00 - 14:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Bring a work in progress to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, or mend. Sewing machines, irons, and companionship will be provided.

Teen HALLOWEEN Movie Night: "Edward Scissorhands"
2023-10-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us in the Community Meeting Room for a Teens Only movie night.
We will watch “Edward Scissorhands”.
A modern day fairy tale which tells the story of Edward, the man created by an inventor, who died before finishing him and left Edward with scissors where he should have hands. One day when the local “Avon” representative calls at the historic mansion where Edward has been living alone, she takes him home to stay with her family. He has to adapt to the new life and environment that he isn’t used to. Soon he shows a talent in cutting hair and hedges, and wins every body’s heart. But life isn’t always so sweet. Runtime 1 hr and 45 minutes.
Snacks provided!
Hosted by the Teen Advisory Board.
“Teens Only” events are open to people in grades 7-12.

Film Screening: Regenerating Life (part 2)
2023-10-25 19:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The second portion of this lengthy documentary will be watched, with discussion to follow

CPCC
2023-10-25 17:30 - 18:30 | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Monthly Town CPCC meeting please see https://www.ibrattleboro.com/ and Town of Brattleboro website under “Committees”

Rhyme Time
2023-10-25 10:30 - 11:00, 2023-10-18 10:30 - 11:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us on Wednesday mornings @ 10:30 am for 30 minutes of stories, songs, and fun!
Rhyme Time is for kids 5 & under and their caregivers.
Here is a handout featuring some of the different songs, fingerplays, and movement games we use!

Our Cars, Our Bodies, Our Earth
2023-10-24 19:00 | Main Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Get myself a car, I feel power as I fly, Whoa now, I’m really in control.
It all looks fine to the naked eye, but it don’t really happen that way at all.. ~ The Who
In Vermont, our cars appear to many of us as natural as our mountains, moose and fall colors. However, with climate change bearing down on our state, carbon emissions are now seen by concerned Vermonters as the prime issue with our auto-centric culture. But could we be missing something even bigger?
This workshop probes the fascinatingly elusive psychology of the automobile and its pervasive influence on our vision of the world and place in it. We’ll focus on how the collective super-sizing of our bodies in cars (power, weight, speed, size, noise etc.) has profoundly transformed the integrity of our sacred relations to both the human and more-than-human worlds. Furthermore, we will explore how this immense power is perhaps undermining our response to the most significant crisis we have ever faced – climate change.
Most importantly, we’ll embark on a world tour of remarkable efforts that are challenging automobilism – the unbridled and indiscriminate use of motor vehicles. We will consider how Vermont can greatly benefit from this burst of innovation (planning, micromobility, technology, psychology and more) that is inspiring human-scale living, a reconsideration of our place in the world and helping us to move beyond a 1950’s model of automobility and transportation consumerism.
Bio
Dave Cohen is an integrative psychotherapist in Brattleboro specializing in ecopsychology. In 2016, Dave founded VBike, a Vermont advocacy group dedicated to promoting new bike design and technologies for everyday mobility and providing free e-bike and e-cargo bike consultations to all Vermonters. His work is featured on numerous podcasts and highlighted in the internationally-screened cargo bike documentary Motherload. In 1994, Dave founded Pedal Express in Berkeley, CA, a US pioneering bicycle delivery service utilizing a cargo bikes fleet.

Town Arts Committee
2023-10-24 17:00 - 19:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The monthly meeting of the Town Arts Committee members invites guests and the public to discuss town arts!

Introduction to Skillful Communication: A Free Workshop by the Circle Up Program
2023-10-24 15:00 - 16:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
A free, monthly workshop presented by Youth Services’ Circle Up Program introduces ideas and tools for fostering skillful communication. Each month’s workshop will cover the same material, so please, attend the date that works best for you!

September 26th 3-4:30pm
October 24th 3-4:30pm
November 28th 3-4:30pm
December 19th 3-4:30pm

Pre-registration is not required, but appreciated due to limited space.
Please email rachael.trill@youthservicesinc.org to inquire, register, or communicate any needs or requests.

Book discussion of Rough Sleepers, by Tracy Kidder
2023-10-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us for a community discussion of Tracy Kidder’s recent book Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s urgent mission to bring healing to homeless people.
Sponsored by Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Groundworks, Brattleboro Literary Festival and Friends of Brooks Memorial Library. Reserve your copy here.

Filipino Storytime
2023-10-21 10:30 - 11:00 | Children’s Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join us for a special bilingual storytime to celebrate Filipino American Heritage Month!
Anna Gail Caunca will regale us with a Tagalog/English reading of “Who Turned on the Sky?”
Celebrate the magic and beauty of pre-colonial Filipino stories, practice a bit of Tagalog language, and end with a craft activity.
This is a free event. All kids are welcome!

World Singing Day!
2023-10-20 19:00 - 20:30 | VT
Come together with friends and neighbors to raise your voice and raise your spirit by singing a wide variety of favorite songs. Lyrics will be projected on a big screen, so we will all know the words. Live guitar accompaniment will be provided by Rich Grumbine. All ages are encouraged to attend–the more, the merrier!

Film Screening: Regenerating Life (part 1)
2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The first portion of this lengthy documentary will be watched, with discussion to follow

Friends of the Library
2023-10-18 16:30 - 18:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Monthly meeting of the Friends of the Library. Citizen attendance and commentary is welcome!
https://bml2.brookslibraryvt.org/about-us/friends-of-the-library/

SEVT Audubon Society
2023-10-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Join South Eastern Vermont’s Audubon Society on for a monthly program featuring nature and the environment.

Brattleboro Farm and Food System Assessment: Focus Group
2023-10-17 16:00 - 18:00 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Facilitated by Emma Bliss and Carissa Brewton, this focus group is an open discussion for eaters/consumers to share their experience living and eating in the Brattleboro Food System. All are welcome– bring an openness and willingness to share your experience. Snacks provided.

Design-a-Plate DUE TODAY
2023-10-17 10:00 - 20:00 | Children’s Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
You can return your packet and payment to the library at any time up to 8pm on Tuesday, October 17th.
Design-A-Plate is a Pay-What-You-Can event; Suggested cost is $6 per item.

See our FAQ for more information

Brattleboro Stamp Club
2023-10-16 19:00 - 20:45 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States

October Sci-Fi Reading Group Meetup
2023-10-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
The Sci-Fi Reading Group will meet Monday, October 16th, in the Quiet Reading Room from 7-8:30 pm to discuss Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson.
“In 2267, Earth has just begun to recover from worldwide ecological disasters. Minh is part of the generation that first moved back up to the surface of the Earth from the underground hells, to reclaim humanity’s ancestral habitat. She’s spent her entire life restoring river ecosystems, but lately the kind of long-term restoration projects Minh works on have been stalled due to the invention of time travel. When she gets the opportunity take a team to 2000 BC to survey the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, she jumps at the chance to uncover the secrets of the shadowy think tank that controls time travel technology.”
The Sci-Fi Reading Group meets the third Monday of every month and is open to curious minds of all ages, whether or not they’ve read this month’s selection.

Brattleboro Farm and Food System Assessment: Focus Group
2023-10-16 16:30 - 18:30 | Meeting Room A – Community Meeting Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Facilitated by Emma Bliss and Carissa Brewton, this focus group will be an open discussion of the eater/consumer experience living and eating within the Brattleboro Food System. Open to all who have an interest and openness to share. Snacks provided

Peter Orner & Pam Petro: Brattleboro LitFest
2023-10-15 16:00 - 17:30 | Main Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Peter Orner is the author of the novels The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo and Love and Shame and Love and the story collections Esther Stories, Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge, and Maggie Brown & Others, two collections of essays, Still No Word From You and Am I Alone Here?: Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. A three-time recipient of the Pushcart Prize, Orner’s work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, Granta, McSweeney’s, and has been translated into eight languages. He has been awarded the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a two-year Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship, the California Book Award for fiction, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award for Jewish fiction, as well as a Fulbright in Namibia. He is the director of creative writing at Dartmouth College and lives with his family in Norwich, Vermont.
Pam Petro is an author, artist and educator living in Northampton. She has written three place-based creative nonfiction books as well as articles and essays for many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Granta and The Paris Review. She was made an honorary fellow of the University of Wales and has received both literary and visual arts residencies and fellowships from Grand Canyon National Park, the MacDowell Colony, the Spring Creek Project and the Black Rock Arts Foundation. Petro is on the creative nonfiction faculty of the Lesley University master of fine arts program in creative writing. She is also a cofounder of the Dylan Thomas International Summer School at the University of Wales. Her new book is The Long Field, a memoir of Wales.

Jeff Sharlet: Brattleboro LitFest
2023-10-15 14:30 - 16:00 | Main Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Jeff Sharlet is the New York Times best-selling author or editor of nine books, including his new instant bestseller The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, and The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, which was adapted into a Netflix documentary series. His reporting on LGBTIQ+ rights around the world has received the National Magazine Award, the Molly Ivins Prize, and Outright International’s Outspoken Award. His writing and photography have appeared in many publications, including Vanity Fair, for which he is a contributing editor; the New York Times Magazine; GQ; Esquire; Harper’s; and VQR, for which he is an editor at large. He is the Frederick Sessions Beebe ’35 Professor in the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College and lives in Vermont in the woods with many animals.

David Gessner & Bill Roorbach: Brattleboro LitFest
2023-10-15 13:00 - 14:30 | Main Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
David Gessner is the author of thirteen books that blend a love of nature, humor, memoir, and environmentalism, including the New York Times bestselling All the Wild That Remains, Return of the Osprey, Sick of Nature and Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness. His new book is A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World. Gessner is a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine, Ecotone. He is married to the novelist Nina de Gramont, whose latest book is The Christie Affair.

Bill Roorbach is an American novelist, short story and nature writer, memoirist, journalist, blogger and critic. His fiction includes Lucky Turtle, The Girl of the Lake, the Kirkus Prize finalist The Remedy for Love, the bestselling Life Among Giants, and the Flannery O’Connor Award–winning collection Big Bend. Roorbach has received fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. His craft book, Writing Life Stories, has been in print for twenty-five years. His writing has appeared in Harper’s, the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, Ploughshares, Granta, Ecotone, New York magazine, and other publications. He lives in Maine with his family.

Martha McPhee & Robin MacArthur: Brattleboro LitFest
2023-10-15 11:00 - 12:30 | Main Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
Martha McPhee is the author of the forthcoming memoir, Omega Farm. Her novels include An Elegant Woman, Dear Money, L’America, Gorgeous Lies, and Bright Angel Time. Her work has been honored with fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and in 2002, she was nominated for a National Book Award. McPhee’s novels have been Best Books of The Year on The New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune lists and her essays and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Vogue, More, Harper’s Bazaar, Self, Traveler, and Travel & Leisure, among many others. McPhee is a tenured member of the English Department at Hofstra University, where she teaches fiction. She lives in New York City with her children and husband, the poet and writer Mark Svenvold.

Robin Marie MacArthur lives on the hillside farm where she was born in southern Vermont. Her debut collection of short stories, HALF WILD, won the 2017 PEN New England award for fiction and was a finalist for both the New England Book Award and the Vermont Book Award. Her novel, HEART SPRING MOUNTAIN, was an IndieNext Selection and a finalist for the New England Book Award. Both of her books have been translated into French and published by Albin Michel. Her essays and stories have appeared in Orion Magazine, LitHub, Hunger Mountain, The Washington Post, Shenandoah, Alaska Quarterly, and on NPR. Robin is also the editor of CONTEMPORARY VERMONT FICTION: AN ANTHOLOGY, and the recipient of two Creation Grants from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. She teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA in Writing program and has taught in many non-traditional settings throughout the US including the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference and Orion Magazine. She is also the founder and director of WORD HOUSE, an emerging writing space in southern Vermont.

Game Cafe!
2023-10-14 15:00 - 16:45 | Meeting Room D – Quiet Reading Room, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301, United States
