PUTNEY — Putney Public Library, 55 Main Street, hosts Putney School art teacher Dan Folgar for a free class on creating diary comics on Wednesday, April 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Comics are a versatile medium for storytelling. The Vermont Humanities Council's “Vermont Reads” book selection for this year, The Most Costly Journey, is a nonfiction comics anthology of stories told by Latin American migrant farmworkers in Vermont accompanied by artists' illustrations.
Vermont Reads brings communities together around stories, ideas, and activities that are important to the life of towns of all sizes. As a recipient of a Vermont Reads grant, Putney Public Library is circulating copies of the book to encourage as many people in the Putney community as possible to read on the same topic.
The Most Costly Journey presents stories of survival and healing as part of the El Viaje Más Caro project - a health care outreach effort aimed at addressing the overlooked mental health needs of these vulnerable immigrants.
Originally distributed to farm workers as individual Spanish language comic books, this collected edition brings the lives and voices - as well as the challenges and hardships - of these workers to an English-language audience, granting insight into the experiences and lives of the people vital to producing our food.
Folgar is a Venezuelan-born artist and cartoonist who grew up in Miami, Florida. He is the current associate director of The Putney School Summer Arts program, and a member of the school's evening arts faculty, leading workshops in comics and animation.
Participants will create a short autobiographical comic with Folgar, using basic materials to create comics that are easy to reproduce and share. This is an all ages program, but children younger than eight need to be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, contact the library at 802-387-4407.