UPDATE:
We have made a slight change to the schedule to accommodate requests from the teens.
Every summer, African, Caribbean, and African-American teens in the Saint Louis County area gather to read Black literary works from over 300 years of writing through a cultural lens missed in many middle and high school English classes.
The middle and high school students are honors students who found a need to gather when their voices were missed in their Honors and AP classes. They wanted a group of like-minded students, often the only one in their class, to read, discuss, and write about Black literature from multiple perspectives.
Poetry, prose, and thoughtful fiction anchors a summer program that engages every June and July, always on Tuesdays, and often with coffee. This year, the teens decided to move their gathering to the evenings and include some vacation times.
Our registration rate this year has been reduced to $19.20.
The TENTATIVE schedule this year is subject to change based on participation. We have primarily had participants in the West, near West, and South County area. We have a North County location added. Stay tuned and check in with Ms. Antona for schedule updates. New This Year – We are not meeting every week in coffee shops or restaurants to allow for participants to glean more from their local library. Optional pre-meetings can be at 6pm at local spots before sessions:
June 12th – 7pm – Kirkwood Public Library – at the rounds – “Whatcha Reading?”
June 26th – 7pm – Saint Louis County Library Headquarters – 1640 S. Lindbergh – Frontenac 63131-3598 – teen section – “Find Me.”
CHANGE – July 3 – 1pm – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – 389 N. Euclid Ave, Central West End. Due to the July 4th holiday, we are not going to the library. Reading Islandborn by Juno Diaz
July 10 – 7pm – Florissant Valley – 195 New Florissant Road, Florissant 63031-Teen Space
CHANGE – MONDAY July 16 – 7pm – Kirkwood Public Library – at the rounds – writing for classes – teens are encouraged to have read the required books for their respective school
July 24 – 7pm – Samuel Sachs – 16400 Burkhardt Place Chesterfield 63017 – Teen Section
CHANGE – July 31 – 7pm – Grant’s View – 9700 Musick Road 63123 – Teen Section –
We are reading a variety of works this year, we will include time for each student to do their summer reading assignment. All county public high schools have a summer reading requirement that is included on their website.
The all read books this year are:
The Poet X – Middle and High Schol Girls
The Hate U Give – All (will be a movie in October 2018)
Sing, Unburied Sing – High School girls
American Street – Middle and High School Girls
Long Way Down – Middle and High School Boys
Booked – Middle and High School Boys
One Last Word – All
In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens – Alice Walker – High School Junior and Senior Girls
Reach out to us – @lattegriot – Tayé Foster Bradshaw (on Twitter), @TayeFosterBradshawGroup (on Facebook) or readwritethinkconnect@gmail.com.
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