Past Events
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Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - 10:00 AM | The Writing Life | For members only | Whitridge Room | Free of charge; advance registration requiredWhat’s it like to work with a freelance editor? Walter Bode, editor of many award-winning books, takes you into the heart of the matter with a before-and-after example of editing.
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Saturday, April 7, 2018 - 3:00 PM | Special Event | Open to the Public | Members' Room | Free of charge | Advance registration requiredApril is National Poetry Month! In this one-time-only event, three distinguished poets read poems inspired by New York City. In discussion, they then consider the connections between place and poetic identity.
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Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - 6:00 PM | The Writing Life | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredUptown at Night returns to the Members’ Room with a vibrant new lineup of humorous storytellers and comedians. Fresh, funny and fearless, these talented humorists shine a light on our modern foibles large and small. Please join us for a delightful evening that showcases the Library’s lighter side.
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Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 6:30 PM | Lecture | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredThe mysterious, highly influential hidden world of Yale’s secret societies is revealed in a definitive and scholarly history.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018 - 6:30 PM | Lecture | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredThe spectacular true story of a scrappy teenager from New York’s Lower East Side who stowed away on the Roaring Twenties’ most remarkable feat of science and daring: an expedition to Antarctica.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018 - 10:00 AM | The Writing Life | For members only | Whitridge Room | free of charge | advance registration requiredJoin DAUGHTERS OF THE SAMURAI author Janice Nimura for a workshop on what can be the most joyful part of the publishing process: sharing your story in person.
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Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - 6:00 PM | The Writing Life | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredLibrary members read from their own short stories, novels, poetry, criticism, memoir, and plays. Refreshments and wine will be served.
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Sunday, March 4, 2018 - 3:00 PM | Performance | Open to the public | Members' Room | $25 per person | advance registration requiredThe Move-Ment looks at four historical movements—Slavery, the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights, and Black Lives Matter—and examines how women were an integral part of each. This one-woman piece by writer, performer, and educator Shontelle Thrash combines lecture and performance to show how people are “moved” to take action and bring about change.
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Saturday, March 3, 2018 - 3:00 PM | Children | For members and their guests | Whitridge Room | for ages 2 and older | $10 per child | advance registration requiredOn Saturday, March 3, please don’t tarry On your way to the Children’s Library For Seussical stories will be told To entertain everyone young and old!
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Thursday, March 1, 2018 - 5:30 PM | Children | For members and their guests in grades 7-12 | Whitridge Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredPoet, performer, and teacher Ellen Hagan leads a performance poetry workshop using contemporary poems and improvisational games. Teens will leave this workshop with fresh new work of their own and techniques for taking their work from page to stage.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018 - 5:30 PM | Children | For members and their guests in grades 3-8 | Whitridge Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredIn this ongoing series, young writers are invited to join notable authors in exploring different genres. Poet and playwright Dave Johnson leads a discussion on contemporary poetry and teaches participants how writers turn ideas into poems, giving children the inspiration and knowledge to craft their own poems.
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Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 11:00 AM | Reading Group | For members only | Whitridge Room | $60 for all four sessions, or $15 per session | advance registration requiredNicholas Birns leads readers through Olivia Manning’s Balkan Trilogy and Levant Trilogy, which together constitute one of British fiction’s major achievements in the twentieth century.
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Monday, February 26, 2018 - 6:30 PM | Special Event | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredTwo leading scholars discuss their research into Willa Cather’s books and letters and the influence of New York City on her work.
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Thursday, February 22, 2018 - 6:30 PM | Special Event | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredThree master biographers take center stage to excavate and celebrate their art and craft, inspired by James Atlas’ new memoir The Shadow in the Garden: A Biographer’s Tale.
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Tuesday, February 13, 2018 - 10:00 AM | The Writing Life | For members only | Whitridge Room | free of charge | advance registration requiredDoes your story lend itself to a magazine article, a book, or something else entirely? Critically acclaimed author and prolific freelance journalist Ada Calhoun offers a workshop on how to know how to pitch your story, and how to figure out what it’s destined to be.
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Monday, February 12, 2018 - 6:00 PM | Performance | Open to the public | Members' Room | $25 per person | advance registration requireda new play by Jenny Lyn Bader, directed by Julie Kramer. Told from the point of view of the world’s most famous painting, this solo true-crime whodunit begins with the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Along the way, the woman in the portrait solves mysteries that have baffled fans and stumped scholars for centuries: Why Leonardo never delivered the painting to the man who commissioned it. Who she is. And why she’s smiling. Equally Divine is a time-hopping, gender-bending drama about art, inspiration, and becoming who we are.
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Wednesday, February 7, 2018 - 6:30 PM | The Writing Life | Open to the public | Members' Room | Free of charge | advance registration requiredJust admit it. You love love. Let’s talk about it. This panel covers it all, from the modern to the classic, starting with two debut novels: Leslie Cohen’s This Love Story Will Self-Destruct and Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost. The authors converse with Andrew Blauner of Blauner Books Literary Agency.Event Recording
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Tuesday, January 30, 2018 - 5:30 PM | Children | Open to the public | for grades 3-8 | Members' Room | $10 per person | advance registration requiredTravel back in time on a medieval quest as author Adam Gidwitz reads from his newest swashbuckling story, The Inquisitor’s Tale, and reveals how history inspired him to write this captivating adventure.
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Saturday, January 27, 2018 - 3:00 PM | Children | For members and their guests | Whitridge Room | for ages 2 and older | $10 per child | advance registration requiredDiscover stories through songs with Bobaloo, a musician, storyteller, and Pied Piper of song.
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Thursday, January 25, 2018 - 12:30 PM | Reading Group | For members only | Whitridge Room | $60 for all four sessions, or $15 per session | advance registration requiredSamuel Johnson (1709-1784) is a writer whose name is familiar to most educated speakers of English, and most know his wingman James Boswell. The number of people who have read Johnson and/or Boswell is much smaller. This seminar will make a dent in that phenomenon by reading and discussing some of Johnson’s best-known and lesser-known works, plus Boswell’s biography of him, esteemed by many the best biography ever written.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - 5:30 PM | Children | For members and their guests grades 3-8 | Whitridge Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredCreate your own graphic novel with the author-illustrator of the Olympians series.
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Monday, January 22, 2018 - 6:00 PM | Performance | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredFrom Euripides’ classic Greek tragedy and Ellen McLaughlin’s lyrical adaptation, composer Sarah Taylor Ellis creates a moving new chamber musical, directed by Rachel Dickstein. This event lasts approximately 90 minutes including a full-cast sing-through and discussion with the creators.
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Thursday, January 18, 2018 - 5:30 PM | Children | Open to the public | for kindergarten through 5th grade | Members' Room | $10 per person | advance registration requiredMake art with award-winning author and illustrator Melissa Sweet. In this stunning first-ever fully illustrated biography of the legendary author E. B. White, the Sibert medalist and Caldecott Honor winner uses White’s letters, photos, and manuscripts—as well as her original collaged art—to depict the true and fascinating story of one of the most beloved authors of all time.
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Thursday, January 11, 2018 - 6:00 PM | The Writing Life | For members only | Whitridge Room | $60 for the series | advance registration requiredWhy wait for Tuscany? Get the benefits of a writing retreat within the confines of the Library with playwright C.S. Hanson. In six sessions, establish writing habits that will support you throughout the year. Focus on a new project, resurrect an old one, or unearth a story you have always wanted to tell. All genres welcome.
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Wednesday, January 10, 2018 - 6:30 PM | Lecture | Open to the public | Members' Room | $15 per person | advance registration requiredFrom the author of the acclaimed history The Island at the Center of the World, an intimate new epic of the American Revolution that reinforces its meaning for today.
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