event

Calling all builders! Join us in the community room for a monthly LEGO club meeting. We will work on a theme-related project together and then spend time free-building. We’ll provide the bricks, just bring your imagination! Registration required, ages 5 and up.

Tuesday mornings, September 29, 2026, through November 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the 1940s, Harvard scholar F. O. Matthiessen reinvented U.S. literary history by resurrecting the almost forgotten writers from the years before the Civil War: Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman (along with the still-recognized Emerson). Since then, Matthiessen’s roll call of the greats has dominated much of what we see as the move from the early Republic to the Civil War crack-up in 1861. However, Matthiessen’s scholarship omitted vast swaths of writers who didn’t fit his notion of the Transcendentalist mindset. In this literary seminar, we’ll take our initial cue from Matthiessen but work to expand his cast of authors by including other voices, thereby broadening the scope of what it meant to be a U.S. citizen in the fateful years before the chaos.

Live only.

Registration is required. Free, but donations are welcome.

The Reading Schedule:
9/29/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), The first poem (“I celebrate myself. . . .”—skip the Preface)

10/6/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), the remaining poems (“Come closer to me” through “Great are the myths. . . .”), and then the Preface

10/13/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), chapters 1 (“The Author’s Childhood”—skip the introduction) through XIX (“The Runaway Plot”)

10/20/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), completed, plus “Letter to his Old Master,” “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the introduction

10/27/2026 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), chapters I (“The Prison-Door”—skip “The Custom-House”) through XII (“The Minister’s Vigil”)

11/3/2025 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), completed, plus “The Custom-House”

11/10/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), chapters I through XXI

11/17/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), completed

Two notes on the texts (with which the library can also help):

1. Whitman wrote, revised, and republished LEAVES OF GRASS across his adult life. Please read the original 1855 edition. (None of its poems had titles; these were added later.) There’s an inexpensive Dover edition with the ISBN 978-0486456768, although there are many other editions available. Always check for the 1855 dating.

2. Douglass wrote three autobiographies throughout his life. We’re working with the middle one, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855). There’s a solid Penguin edition with the ISBN 978-0140439182, although many other editions are available. Always check the title.

Zumba: Mondays at 5pm, instructor Anne Marie Rosaler. $10 fee per class payable to the instructor at class. Registration is required.

Tuesday mornings, September 29, 2026, through November 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the 1940s, Harvard scholar F. O. Matthiessen reinvented U.S. literary history by resurrecting the almost forgotten writers from the years before the Civil War: Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman (along with the still-recognized Emerson). Since then, Matthiessen’s roll call of the greats has dominated much of what we see as the move from the early Republic to the Civil War crack-up in 1861. However, Matthiessen’s scholarship omitted vast swaths of writers who didn’t fit his notion of the Transcendentalist mindset. In this literary seminar, we’ll take our initial cue from Matthiessen but work to expand his cast of authors by including other voices, thereby broadening the scope of what it meant to be a U.S. citizen in the fateful years before the chaos.

Live only.

Registration is required. Free, but donations are welcome.

The Reading Schedule:
9/29/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), The first poem (“I celebrate myself. . . .”—skip the Preface)

10/6/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), the remaining poems (“Come closer to me” through “Great are the myths. . . .”), and then the Preface

10/13/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), chapters 1 (“The Author’s Childhood”—skip the introduction) through XIX (“The Runaway Plot”)

10/20/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), completed, plus “Letter to his Old Master,” “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the introduction

10/27/2026 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), chapters I (“The Prison-Door”—skip “The Custom-House”) through XII (“The Minister’s Vigil”)

11/3/2025 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), completed, plus “The Custom-House”

11/10/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), chapters I through XXI

11/17/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), completed

Two notes on the texts (with which the library can also help):

1. Whitman wrote, revised, and republished LEAVES OF GRASS across his adult life. Please read the original 1855 edition. (None of its poems had titles; these were added later.) There’s an inexpensive Dover edition with the ISBN 978-0486456768, although there are many other editions available. Always check for the 1855 dating.

2. Douglass wrote three autobiographies throughout his life. We’re working with the middle one, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855). There’s a solid Penguin edition with the ISBN 978-0140439182, although many other editions are available. Always check the title.

October 10, 17, and 24. 10:30 – noon

Combine a watercolor underpainting with layers of pastels added to create richly hued landscapes.

Fee of $75 for all three classes is payable to the instructor at the first class.

Registration is required.

Author talk: Lena Dunham will discuss her new book “Famesick” with Robert Becker.

Lena Dunham is a writer, director, producer, and actor. She created the Emmy Award-winning show Girls, and most recently co-created the Netflix limited series Too Much with her husband, musician Luis Felber. Her fourth feature film, Good Sex, will premiere on Netflix in spring 2027. As a writer, she contributes regularly to Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Her first book of essays, Not That Kind Of Girl, was released in 2014. Her memoir Famesick was released in April 2026 and was a New York Times #1 bestseller. She splits her time between Cornwall, Connecticut – where she enjoys hanging with her family, mucking around with her pigs, and the breakfast burrito at the Cornwall Market (no bacon)- and London.

Robert Becker is a writer living in Cornwall and New York City. He was on the editorial staff of The Paris Review and Andy Warhol’s Interview and is the author of Nancy Lancaster; Her Life, Her World, Her Art(Knopf). He has written about art, architecture, and history for more than forty years for publications including Architectural Digest, Interview, Town and Country, British Vogue, The Paris Review, and most recently Hyperallergic and ArtForum, serves as poetry editor of Upstate Diary, and is currently at work on a history of 19th century Hawaii.

Registration is required.

Tuesday mornings, September 29, 2026, through November 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the 1940s, Harvard scholar F. O. Matthiessen reinvented U.S. literary history by resurrecting the almost forgotten writers from the years before the Civil War: Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman (along with the still-recognized Emerson). Since then, Matthiessen’s roll call of the greats has dominated much of what we see as the move from the early Republic to the Civil War crack-up in 1861. However, Matthiessen’s scholarship omitted vast swaths of writers who didn’t fit his notion of the Transcendentalist mindset. In this literary seminar, we’ll take our initial cue from Matthiessen but work to expand his cast of authors by including other voices, thereby broadening the scope of what it meant to be a U.S. citizen in the fateful years before the chaos.

Live only.

Registration is required. Free, but donations are welcome.

The Reading Schedule:
9/29/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), The first poem (“I celebrate myself. . . .”—skip the Preface)

10/6/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), the remaining poems (“Come closer to me” through “Great are the myths. . . .”), and then the Preface

10/13/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), chapters 1 (“The Author’s Childhood”—skip the introduction) through XIX (“The Runaway Plot”)

10/20/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), completed, plus “Letter to his Old Master,” “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the introduction

10/27/2026 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), chapters I (“The Prison-Door”—skip “The Custom-House”) through XII (“The Minister’s Vigil”)

11/3/2025 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), completed, plus “The Custom-House”

11/10/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), chapters I through XXI

11/17/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), completed

Two notes on the texts (with which the library can also help):

1. Whitman wrote, revised, and republished LEAVES OF GRASS across his adult life. Please read the original 1855 edition. (None of its poems had titles; these were added later.) There’s an inexpensive Dover edition with the ISBN 978-0486456768, although there are many other editions available. Always check for the 1855 dating.

2. Douglass wrote three autobiographies throughout his life. We’re working with the middle one, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855). There’s a solid Penguin edition with the ISBN 978-0140439182, although many other editions are available. Always check the title.

Bring your creativity to Lego Club for an evening of building, creating, and fun!

October 10, 17, and 24. 10:30 – noon

Combine a watercolor underpainting with layers of pastels added to create richly hued landscapes.

Fee of $75 for all three classes is payable to the instructor at the first class.

Registration is required.

Zumba: Mondays at 5pm, instructor Anne Marie Rosaler. $10 fee per class payable to the instructor at class. Registration is required.

Tuesday mornings, September 29, 2026, through November 17, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the 1940s, Harvard scholar F. O. Matthiessen reinvented U.S. literary history by resurrecting the almost forgotten writers from the years before the Civil War: Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman (along with the still-recognized Emerson). Since then, Matthiessen’s roll call of the greats has dominated much of what we see as the move from the early Republic to the Civil War crack-up in 1861. However, Matthiessen’s scholarship omitted vast swaths of writers who didn’t fit his notion of the Transcendentalist mindset. In this literary seminar, we’ll take our initial cue from Matthiessen but work to expand his cast of authors by including other voices, thereby broadening the scope of what it meant to be a U.S. citizen in the fateful years before the chaos.

Live only.

Registration is required. Free, but donations are welcome.

The Reading Schedule:
9/29/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), The first poem (“I celebrate myself. . . .”—skip the Preface)

10/6/2026 Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS (1855), the remaining poems (“Come closer to me” through “Great are the myths. . . .”), and then the Preface

10/13/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), chapters 1 (“The Author’s Childhood”—skip the introduction) through XIX (“The Runaway Plot”)

10/20/2026 Frederick Douglass, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855), completed, plus “Letter to his Old Master,” “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the introduction

10/27/2026 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), chapters I (“The Prison-Door”—skip “The Custom-House”) through XII (“The Minister’s Vigil”)

11/3/2025 Nathaniel Hawthorne, THE SCARLET LETTER (1850), completed, plus “The Custom-House”

11/10/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), chapters I through XXI

11/17/2025 Elizabeth Stoddard, THE MORGESONS (1862), completed

Two notes on the texts (with which the library can also help):

1. Whitman wrote, revised, and republished LEAVES OF GRASS across his adult life. Please read the original 1855 edition. (None of its poems had titles; these were added later.) There’s an inexpensive Dover edition with the ISBN 978-0486456768, although there are many other editions available. Always check for the 1855 dating.

2. Douglass wrote three autobiographies throughout his life. We’re working with the middle one, MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM (1855). There’s a solid Penguin edition with the ISBN 978-0140439182, although many other editions are available. Always check the title.