The Library's One Read Features Bestselling Author Brit Bennett
National author Brit Bennett’s bestseller “The Vanishing Half” is the emotional family story of twin sisters who choose to live in very different worlds – one Black and one white. The public is invited to hear a lively conversation with Bennett about the book and the many cultures it crosses at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, on the Library Center main floor.
The book was named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Vanity Fair and Time Magazine. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Bennett’s book is the selected title for the Library’s annual One Read, when we invite the public to read the book and explore the issues during a series of programs, films and book discussions.
Find “The Vanishing Half” read-alikes, a discussion guide and the One Read events schedule at thelibrary.org/oneread. Brit Bennett’s appearance and the 2022 One Read is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Here’s the schedule of events:
Book Discussions in April for "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett
- Tuesday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library
- Wednesday, April 13, 1-2:30 p.m. in Library Center meeting room B
- Wednesday, April 13, 2:30 p.m. at the Willard Branch Library
- Thursday, April 14, 2 p.m. at the Republic Branch Library
- Tuesday, April 19, 1:30 p.m. at the Ash Grove Branch Library
First Friday Art Walk
Friday, April 1, 6:30-9 p.m. for all ages at the Park Central Branch Library. View Between The Lines: "The Vanishing Half" featuring works of art by Springfield Regional Arts Council members and submissions from the public.
Blackout Poetry
Monday, April 4, 6-8 p.m. for adults in the Library Station Santa Fe Room. Blackout poetry, aka erasure poetry, redacted poetry or found poetry, provides a chance to play with visual art and writing together. It’s an opportunity to see perception and meaning change based on what you choose to focus on, or depending on how you dress it up. Make your own blackout poetry piece of art with pages selected from "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett. Materials will be provided.
We Need to Talk: About Gender Identity
Tuesday, April 5, 6 p.m., for adults. Join GLO board member Tonya Claiborne and other members of GLO for a conversation exploring gender identity — what does it mean to be transgender or gender non-conforming? How do we use pronouns in the context of gender identity? Explore answers to these questions and more in this informal conversation. Presented in partnership with GLO. "We Need to Talk" is a Library series designed to provide a safe space to ask hard questions about some of society's toughest topics. Register at thelibrary.org/programs starting March 22; a link to the virtual event will be shared with registered participants.
"Korla" at the Moxie
Saturday, April 16, noon-2 p.m. for adults at the Moxie Cinema, 305 S. Campbell Ave. #101. This 2015 documentary chronicles the amazing story of John Roland Redd, an African American from Columbia, Missouri, who moved to Hollywood in 1939 and found fame as an actor, spiritual guide and recording artist by passing as an Indian man named Korla Pandit. Admission is free; not rated.
Black Girls Talk
Wednesday, April 27, 6 p.m. for adults in the Library Station Frisco Room. Black Girls Talk, a local mentoring group, performs readings and dramatic reenactments from the One Read title "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett, and discusses how the passages relate to Black feminine identity as well as how they resonate with them personally.
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