PRINCETON NJ Announcement

Celebrate Women's History Month at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the MCLS

Lawrenceville — Celebrate Women's History Month with a special Poetry Circle featuring powerful works by women poets across time on Thursday, March 12 at 6:30 pm. We'll read and discuss selections from Kaga no Chiyo, Hetty Saunders, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Rachel Blawstein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joy Harjo, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ada Limón, Elizabeth Bishop, Jorie Graham, and more. Join us for an evening of shared reading, reflection, and conversation about the enduring impact of women's voices in poetry. Poetry Circle friends Ann and Sherri will lead the discussion.

Another way to celebrate Women's History Month at the library is with a warm and engaging literary gathering on Friday, March 20 at 2:00 pm. Dr. Patricia Andres, who taught writing and American Literature for more than 20 years, will lead participants in reading and discussing Kate Chopin's A Pair of Silk Stockings and Louise Erdrich's Advice to Myself. Together, the group will explore women's themes in these works and reflect on the personal memories they inspire. Participants will also have the chance to create brief written pieces after the discussion. All materials will be provided.

Join the Morning Book Club on Monday, March 23 at 10:00 am for a discussion of A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf. In this influential extended essay, Woolf outlines what women need in order to fully make use of their innate abilities. Using provocative images and memorable thought experiments—including the fictional Judith Shakespeare, who is as talented as her brother William but limited in ways he was not—Woolf decries the means by which women have been held back throughout history and in her own time. Woolf urges both men and women to break free of the limitations of their roles and develop new traditions in which they can explore the depths and peaks of human experience through writing about ordinary things and ordinary people—a process in which she herself was a pioneer. Librarian Neil will lead the discussion.

"As we honor Women's History Month, I'm pleased that Mercer Libraries can offer residents opportunities to discuss and reflect on the invaluable contributions that women have made to literature," said Mercer County Executive Dan Benson. "Through these works we are reminded that women have never been passive actors in history, and we can trace the ongoing fight for full freedom, autonomy, and equality."

Advanced registration is appreciated for all events. Please register online on LibCal at https://mcl.org/. The Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the Mercer County Library System is located at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ. For more information about the library's programs, call 609-883-8292, e-mail lawprogs@mcl.org or visit www.mcl.org.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Lawrence Library. For more information about the Friends of the Lawrence Library, please stop by the Lawrence Reference Desk. The Friends of the Lawrence Library help support programs such as book sales, book clubs, contests, crafts, events (such as this one), guest speakers, parties and workshops for adults, as well as character greetings, crafts, entertainers, events, parties and more for youth at the Library. Join the Friends of the Lawrence Library today!