Vermonters cherish our iconic farmlands with red barns and the dairy products that emerge from them. They also often tend to consider border and immigration problems to be set along the Mexican border. Yet the Vermont Reads 2023 series that we are embarking on tells different, difficult stories.

The Most Costly Journey, Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont is a collection of short stories told in graphic novel format that detail the hard lives of migrant workers here in Vermont. The library has scores of copies from a Vermont Humanities Council grant and begins its series with a talk led by James Sturm, Center for Cartoon Studies co-founder, graphic novelist, and Quechee Library patron. On Thursday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 am, James will be talking with Hartford High School students. We invite all to participate in hybrid fashion by coming to the Quechee Library where we will join for the discussion. Zoom links for home use will be available as well upon request. Drop by and pick up a copy of the book!

Other events include: an exhibit of art panels from the book at the Wilder Club and Library through the month of February. On Monday, March 6 at 5 pm, Teresa M. Mares will talk about her book, Life on the Other Border, Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont. Mares has written a startling book about the Latinx migrant farmworkers who provide a great deal of the labor for Vermont’s dairy industry. As she explains the deep fear that cloaks their lives and the frequent injustices they endure from employers and neighbors, she details the ‘food insecurity’ that pervades their lives, stemming from lack of access to groceries, including foods familiar to them, and, most ironically, even to dairy products. Mares will be speaking virtually from the University of Vermont where she is associate professor of anthropology. She will also discuss groups, including Migrant Justice and the Huertas Project, who are working to improve the lives of the farmworkers. Continue reading

Browse the shelves, check out books and dvds, or just pull up a chair.  Enjoy live music at the  Quechee Library on Thursday evenings, 5-7  pm and at Wilder Club and Library on  Friday afternoons as Jake Kelleher, Steve Rice,  Doug Morse, Bodie Kelton, and Richard Cook play a mix.  Do note that driving conditions can interfere.  Call the libraries to check if considering a special trip for the music.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is the book for the next historical fiction discussion. Facilitated by Jim and Meg Schmidt via Zoom, the series delves into the historical background and the novelist’s craft of a new title each  month. Email info@quecheelibrary.org to receive the Zoom link or reserve a spot downstairs for our hybrid discussion. Copies are available for borrowing of this book, now considered a classic in its portrait of the madwoman from Jane Eyre.  Set in the Caribbean, Jean Rhys’ novel portrays a haunted woman sold into marriage.

The sci fi group meets monthly at Quechee Library.  Next date is Monday, Jan. 30 at 6 pm for a discussion of All  Our Wrong Todays. New participants are welcome. Email info@quecheelibrary.org to receive the Zoom link or to reserve a space downstairs. Please join for any discussion.

Copies are available for borrowing at the library.

Join a book discussion group led by librarian Marieke Sperry  on the first Friday of the month at 1pm.   The  February discussion will be on Hour of the Witch  by Chris Bohjalian.  Attend in person or  through Zoom – please call the library or the Bugbee Center to receive your Zoom link. Please call the Bugbee Center or email marieke@quecheelibrary.org to get a copy of the book.

All are welcome!  

This group normally meets on the first Monday of each month.  Henning Mankell is the author for this month. Participants can choose from the many titles. This lively discussion group meets in hybrid fashion.  Email marieke@quecheelibrary for Zoom link.