BRATTLEBORO — “Eyes Wide Open,” Everyone's Books' first in-person event in a year, will feature four Windham County women showcasing new and diverse works:
• Ann Braden's The Flight of the Puffin, releasing May 4, is about one small act of kindness that ripples out to connect four kids who feel isolated. When a message of hope takes flight and starts a chain reaction, it helps each kid summon the thing they need, whether it's bravery, empathy, or understanding. But best of all, it makes each one realize they matter - and that they're not flying solo anymore. More at www.annbradenbooks.com.
• Angela Berkfield is the lead author of Parenting 4 Social Justice: Tips, Tools and Inspiration for Conversation & Action with Kids, due out this month by Green Writers Press.
Berkfeld and her co-authors write about social justice issues through the lens of their personal experiences both growing up and as parents. Illustrated conversations, honest stories, and creative ideas prepare caregivers to initiate age-appropriate and engaging conversations with kids about social justice issues. More at www.parenting4socialjustice.com.
• Shanta Lee Gander's first full-length collection of poems, Ghettoclaustrophobia: Dreamin of Mama While Trying to Speak Woman in Woke Tongues, debuts in June from Diode Editions.
What does it mean to move away from the shadow of one's mother, parents, or family in order to come into being within this world? As collective memory within the Black diaspora has been ruptured, Gander travels in time by creating and recapturing memory from a fractured past to survive in the present and envision a future. More at Shantaleegander.com.
• Diana Whitney's anthology, You Don't Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves, is an inclusive collection featuring 68 poets, from luminaries like Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver to innovators like Amanda Gorman and Natalie Diaz.
These candid poems address the complex feelings of coming-of-age and offer teen girls a message of self-acceptance and strength, giving them permission to let go of shame and perfectionism. More at diana-whitney.com.
“Eyes Wide Open” will include readings, book signings, and a discussion moderated by local author Robin MacArthur.
Please come ready to be socially distant, bring a lawn chair or blanket and be prepared by the weather. Masks are required.