Wilton Library launches Wilton Reads 2017 in October

The story of a little boy growing up in an idyllic Cuba only to then be thrust into fleeing Castro’s revolution reads like fiction in the memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire. This real-life story will be explored on many levels when Wilton Library brings it to the forefront in its one book, one community reading event, Wilton Reads beginning in October. From book discussions, a documentary film screening, a pre-revolutionary history lesson and even programs for children, Wilton Reads examines the country of Cuba and the changing times experienced by Eire, now a professor of history and religion at Yale University.

This is the twelfth Wilton Reads event that is designed to bring the community together to view differing perspectives and create engaging dialogues. The full programming slate begins Oct. 24 through Nov. 8, which is the culminating author event when Carlos Eire visits the library for a personal talk about his life’s journey. He also will be honored with the Grodin Family Fine Writers Award for outstanding writing. To see all of the Wilton Reads program, visit www.wiltonlibrary.org.

One of the 14,000 unaccompanied children air-lifted out of Cuba – exiled from his family, his country and his own life – Eire came to Miami where he was tossed about living in a series of foster homes. Eventually reuniting with his mother in Chicago in1965, he went on to earn his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1979 and is now the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale. His teachings specialize in the social, intellectual, religious, and cultural history of late medieval and early modern Europe, with a strong focus on both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations; the history of popular piety; and the history of the supernatural, and the history of death. He is the author of several scholarly books, including the recently published, Reformations: The Early Modern World 1450-1650. The book won the R.R.Hawkins Prize for Best Book of the Year from the American Publishers Association, as well as the award for Best Book in the Humanities. Of his two memoirs, Waiting for Snow in Havana received the National Book Award; Learning to Die in Miami explores the exile experience.

Elaine Tai-Lauria remarked about the Wilton Reads program, “We are delighted to welcome Carlos Eire back to the library to discuss his engaging memoir as a part of Wilton Reads. He captivated us with his talk about his Reformations book when he addressed the annual meeting audience and now we are able to learn his very personal story. With Cuba making headlines both politically and environmentally, it has weathered storms on many fronts and this community event will enable us to look at this island in diverse ways.”

To encourage readership and to kick off the Wilton Reads 2017 program, two hundred paperback copies of Waiting for Snow in Havana will be distributed to members of the community free of charge courtesy of Fairfield County Bank on a first-come, first-served basis, one per person, beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. while supplies last. The library also has copies of the book in eBook, eAudiobook, CDs and Spanish versions for borrowing.

Another way to involve the community is to invite people to bring in photos of Cuba before it was closed to American tourists – their photos, their parents’ photos, their grandparents’ photos – beginning Monday, Oct. 30 through Friday, Nov. 3. The owners of the photographs will digitally scan them so that they can be projected in a slide show in the gallery during the Wilton Reads events. Participants will be trained how to digitally transform their pictures using the equipment in the Innovation Station. They also will receive a thumb drive of their newly-digitized photos. For information, email innovation@wiltonlibrary.org.

Lauren McLaughlin, assistant director at the library and coordinator of the Wilton Reads 2017 event, added, “In addition to all the programming directly related to the book, we also offer a poetry seminar by Judson Scruton focusing on island poetry including Cuba, a Connecticut’s Own concert by The Madera Winds with one of the compositions by Cuban-American composer Paquito Rivera, and we have put together a list of Cuban music and films on Hoopla, our downloadable music and video service, and a list of more readings about the subject.”

Registration is recommended for most programs except the children’s programs in which registration is required. For more information or to register, visit www.wiltonlibrary.org or call 203-762-6334 for adult programming or 203-762-6336 for children’s activities. Wilton Library is located at 137 Old Ridgefield Road in the heart of Wilton Center. The media sponsor for Wilton Reads 2017 is Good Morning Wilton.