Join us for a three-part series where we’ll discuss a book each meeting and explore what it means to sustain each other in community.  

5:30-7:00 pm, Crofutt Community Room and online via Zoom

Tuesday, February 28  - Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward 

Tuesday, March 28 - Foodtopia by Margot Anne Kelly

Tuesday, April 25 -  Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Registration is required and limited to 20 participants. Registrants will receive a copy of each book and will be automatically registered for all three discussion sessions. Zoom login information will be emailed prior to each session.

Program description

In this three-session Discussion Project, participants will read the featured books (Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, Foodtopia by Margot Anne Kelly, and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler)  as part of Parable Path Maine, a framework for community organizing developed by musician Toshi Reagon, that brings people together to engage with the belief systems and interrelated social issues that impact healthy living in Maine and the world.

The first two discussions will focus on Salvage the Bones and Foodtopia. Stephanie Hendrix will lead the conversation.  There is more information about Stephanie below. Each session will be a hybrid event, taking place at the Bangor Public Library and online via Zoom.

The third conversation will be a special session with participants from Lewiston Public Library, Bangor Public Library, and Curtis Memorial Library coming together to talk about Parable of the Sower. Participants will also be encouraged to discuss how the other books in the series they have read have led them along the path to this evening's conversation. There will be a waiting list. Registrants will receive a set of the featured books to keep. PLEASE NOTE: If you register and decide not to take part, please remember to cancel your registration or contact the program coordinator ( contact information below). This will enable us to invite someone on the waiting list to join the discussions.

About Stephanie

Stephanie Hendrix is a book-loving, Disney-obsessed, opera-enamored creator of premade awesomeness.  She is currently working on her Ph.D. from the University of Maine, and she is in the middle of her 20th year of teaching high school English and Humanities in Bangor, Maine, where she lives with her children, Xander and Eila; her husband, Sean; their three persnickety cats; and more than 6000 books.  Stephanie has been facilitating discussions for the Maine Humanities Council since 2020.

This book discussion project is offered as part of Parable Path Maine, a framework for community organizing and artistic engagement based on Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. This initiative is led by multi-hyphenate musician Toshi Reagon, Bowdoin College’s Joseph McKeen 2022-23 Visiting Fellow, and is supported by Maine Humanities Council, Indigo Arts Alliance and Bowdoin College.

Program coordinator:  Candis Joyce - (207) 922-6054, candis.joyce@bangorpubliclibrary.org