Celebration of Black literature to be held in Mystic River Park on Feb. 19
Mystic — The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and the Mystic & Noank Library are holding a Celebration of Black Literature on Feb. 19, a Black History Month event for students and adults to read excerpts from works by Black authors or original pieces.
It will be held at Mystic River Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a rain date of Feb. 26. Chamber President Bruce Flax said local businesses are lending heaters.
He and library director Christine Bradley said the idea came from trying to build on an event the library held last summer called Reading on Tap, in which "local celebrities" read their favorite shorts.
Flax said they've reached out to schools in Stonington and Groton, and to some local elected officials, about participating. Students or adults interested in participating can sign up at mysticchamber.org.
The format is for each person to speak for 1 to 3 minutes, including an introduction of why they chose that piece, or how a certain author inspired an original work.
"Kind of my vision for the event is the next generation speaking," Flax said. Bradley commented, "You can have an assembly at school and kids can speak and all that, but I think sometimes they can enjoy doing it in the community, where they can bring their parents and their friends, and meet some of the community leaders who will be speaking."
Bradley said the idea is for people to choose a reading that speaks to them, and "it can be a variety — it can be poetry, short stories, novels, diaries, you name it." Students can also read their own poems or essays.
While Mystic gets a lot of tourists in the warmer months, Flax said the thinks "it would be nice, for Black History Month, for locals to come down and have an event in town that's really community-centric."
The Mystic & Noank Library also has a Black History Month display of books, featuring classics by Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and James Baldwin, and newer books such as "How the Word is Passed" by Clint Smith, "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead, and "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas.
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