As a part of May’s Memoir Month, the Sawyer Free Library is pleased to welcome local author Stella Nahatis on Thursday, May 11 at 5:30 to discuss her newly released memoir, Taxi to America: A Greek Orphan’s Adoption Journey. All are welcome to attend this special event at the Library located at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. To register click HERE or for more information, visit, sawyerfreelibrary.org.
Stella’s journey from Thessaloniki, Greece, to America begins with a pre-dawn taxi ride that she and her sister share while the coffin holding a loved one rides along in the taxi’s trunk. Orphaned and separated from her younger sister “for her own good” as the culture dictated at the time, Stella ends up being adopted by a Greek couple that had emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. At age 11, she overcomes multiple losses and cultural differences to find a place in her new homeland while finding ways to stay connected to those she loved in Greece.
This story of resilience and perseverance follows Stella’s journey of becoming an “Amerikanaki” and eventually reconnecting with her sister, who had stayed in Greece with her own set of adoptive parents. Even as Stella embraces her new life and culture in America, she rebuilds her loving relationship with her sister after an eight-year separation. Later in life, the sisters take another taxi ride together, this time to recover important details of their birth parents’ life stories that mirror the determination to survive and thrive that marks their own.
A morning of unstructured play for little ones and their caregivers at SFL at 21 Main Street. Books and toys will be provided. Best suited for ages 0-2.
No registration needed. Questions? Contact: jvitale@sawyerfreelibrary.org
Sawyer Free Library will welcome EMILY FRANKLIN—poet and award-winning author who has appeared in the New York Times and the Boston Globe—for a discussion of her new book THE LIONESS OF BOSTON on Tuesday, May 9 at 6:00 pm. The event will be at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. Registration is required at sawyerfreelibrary.org.Please note that space is limited.
A novel of historical fiction, “The Lioness of Boston” tells about the life of daring visionary Isabella Stewart Gardner, who created an inimitable legacy in American art and transformed the city of Boston itself. It is a portrait of what society expected a woman’s life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled and was determined to live on her terms.
A misfit who befriended other outcasts to rise into art and intellectual society, Isabella used her own collections to open the now-famous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
By the time Gardner opened her home as a museum in 1903 — to showcase her collection of old masters, antiques, and objects d’art — she was already well-known for scandalizing Boston’s polite society. But when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, newly married and unsure of herself, she was puzzled by the frosty reception she received from stuffy bluebloods.
At first, she strived to fit in. Then, following tragedy and upper-society rejection, she set out on a new path.
Franklin describes how Isabella discovers her own outspoken nature and infiltrates the Harvard intellectual world. Then, as she explores the larger world, she meets artists and kindred spirits — Henry James, Oscar Wilde and John Singer Sargent. A worldwide traveler, she attends the first Impressionist exhibit, collects a wide range of paintings and objects, and forges an important relationship with Bernard Berenson, who will become her art dealer/confidante.
Freed by travel, Isabella explores the world of art, ideas,L and letters. From London and Paris to Egypt and Asia, she develops a keen eye for paintings and objects, and meets feminists ready to transform 19th-century thinking in the 20th century. Isabella becomes an eccentric trailblazer, painted by John Singer Sargent in a portrait of daring décolletage, and fond of such stunts as walking a pair of lions in the Boston Public Garden.
Franklin, whose award-winning work has appeared in The New York Times, the Boston Globe, Guernica, JAMA, and numerous literary magazines, has also been featured and read aloud on NPR and was named notable by the Association of Jewish Libraries. A lifelong visitor to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, she lives outside of Boston with her family, including two dogs large enough to be lions.
Click HERE to register. Space is limited. Questions, 978-325-5500.
“The Lioness of Boston is a captivating story of a significant woman in Boston’s history who left that city a cultural legacy to last the ages. This beautiful novel will appeal to those who love masterful historical fiction, and stories of triumphant women who leave an indelible mark.” – New York Journal of Books
The Sawyer Free Library is proud to present this important community event about stroke health, made possible by Encompass Health and Beth Israel Lahey Health.
Join us on Tuesday, May 2 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street and learn the warning signs of a stroke and how to help prevent one from occurring by knowing the risk factors. The presenter is Chris S. Burke, MD who is a Neurologist and the Stroke Medical Director at Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals. Register at SawyerFreeLibrary.org.
The Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees is proud to announce that the renovated and expanded Library, set to open in 2025, will be the first public building on Cape Ann that generates renewable energy from solar and uses no fossil fuels for the building’s site energy. The 2025 Sawyer Free Library will serve as a leading example for the City of Gloucester and the Commonwealth in designing and operating a building for efficient consumption and generation of energy and water.
“The 2025 Sawyer Free Library makes Gloucester a leader in sustainable and renewable energy efforts. It is the first public building on Cape Ann serviced by an all-electric heat pump system powered by onsite renewable energy and puts Gloucester in the top 1% of public libraries across the Commonwealth,”stated theCity of Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga. “This new library will be a major resource for our community for generations to come and set the standard for our future.”
“The 2025 Sawyer Free Library is an important demonstration in how to be responsible stewards of our environment and reduce our footprint on the planet,” said Mern Sibley, President of the Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees. “By converting an inefficient fossil fuel powered building into a class-leading sustainable facility, we have an example and an inspiration for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in our City.”
The 2025 Sawyer Free Library is designed to create a better and healthier City of Gloucester. As a LEED Gold building with enhanced sustainability features, the 2025 Sawyer Free Library is a leading example of actions that can be taken in the designing and operating of a building to protect climate and nature based on design principles that put people first, including sustainability, accessibility, health, and safety.
The project integrates three distinct structures with complete renovations of the Library’s existing 1976 and 1913 buildings and an expansion of the footprint with a new 14,000 sq. ft. addition towards School Street. Common building systems will serve the renovation and addition with advanced sustainability features and enhanced commissioning designed for efficient consumption, generation, and storage of energy and water that will result in environmental benefits for decades to come.
The 2025 Sawyer Free Library features state-of-the-art energy-efficient technologies, including all-electric HVAC systems powered by renewable energy, solar power panels, LED light fixtures, and high-efficiency smart lighting controls. The Library’s sustainability commitments are to reduce energy use intensity (EUI) from 85 to 30 or below, use as much renewable energy as possible, generate a minimum of 30kW solar energy onsite and perform enhanced commissioning to achieve targets post-occupancy.
The buildings will also feature efficient water use fixtures and a rainwater collection and irrigation system to maintain the Library’s native landscaping. These systems will help the Library reach its target of a minimum 30% decrease in overall water usage.
Aiming to reduce single-occupancy vehicle traffic in the city, the 2025 Sawyer Free Library will serve as a bike and E-bike hub for safe and sustainable transportation. It will also offer public Electric Vehicle Level 2 charging stations in the parking lot to be available 24 hours, 7 days a week, to support decarbonization efforts locally and across the Commonwealth.
“The 2025 Sawyer Free Library presents a holistic approach to sustainability. The combination of the building’s sustainability features, its green operations and educational programming, along with its capacity as a physical and social climate response center, present a powerful demonstration of how we can mitigate and adapt to climate change,” said Jenny Benedict, Library Director. “Every action we take individually and collectively toward making our environment resilient and sustainable is a step toward a net zero impact future. Together, we can preserve the one planet we have to live on for ourselves and future generations.”
To support the innovative sustainability infrastructure, and systems, the Library’s Green Building Operations Policy will be another vital part of the Library’s commitment to ongoing environmentally sustainable practices. Implementing a wide range of “green” practices will save energy, conserve water, reduce waste, and support healthy work and public spaces.
“Both the building and the Library’s associated educational programming are a model and an inspiration for the entire community and beyond of how we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” stated Sawyer Free Library Capital Projects Chair Simon Paddock.
Sawyer Free Library’s mission is to be a place of learning, innovation and creativity, to nurture and strengthen the community. Programs at the 2025 Sawyer Free Library will help to foster a climate-literate community through online dashboard displays, demonstrations, and programs for adults and children focused on sustainable research, practices, and hands-on interactive experiences. These will range from lectures and field trips about the values of our local land and ocean ecosystem to workshops on how to change our impact on our environment.
The2025 Sawyer Free Library is designed to make resource conservation part of the everyday experience while inspiring and educating the community about the importance of environmental stewardship and beauty. The building will exemplify what a 21st-century public library can and should be in terms of sustainability and also architecture, accessibility, use of natural resources and light, wayfinding, lines of sight, air quality, and public safety. It will boast new community spaces, including a 110-seat community room with state-of-the-art science presentation technology, a dedicated room for teens, and a digital maker space with a film production suite and a sound recording studio. Additional features will include a Library History Center, a quiet Reading Room, and a 16-seat Conference Room. The 2025 Sawyer Free Library will be an educational, cultural, civic, and community hub for learning, collaboration, and innovation. With its modern and sustainable design, the Library will provide an inspiring and sustainable environment for library patrons, staff, the community, and beyond.
For those interested in learning more about how the 2025 Sawyer Free Library is building a sustainable future or ways to support these efforts, visit www.sawyerfreelibrary.org/sustainability.
Come and join us at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester for some springtime literary fun on Thursday, April 20th.
From 5:15 – 6:15p.m. local harpist Moira Kelly will be sharing festive musical entertainment while refreshments are provided.
Then at 6:15 p.m. local Irish author Robert T. McMaster will be introducing his latest novel, Rose of Glenkerry: A County WicklowMysteryvia Zoom, the virtual presentation will be broadcasted at SFL@ 21 Main Street location for all to enjoy.
Though registration is not required, the first three to fill out a registration form HERE will receive a free copy of the book!
It will be a whale of a time at Gloucester City Hall on Friday afternoon, March 31st, when the Sawyer Free Library hosts Whale Watch Naturalist Cindy McInnis and her life-sized inflatable whale from 3:30–5:30 pm, in Kyrouz Auditorium, as part of its Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club.
Young Scientists will have the opportunity to step inside Nile, the 43-foot long and 30-foot wide inflatable humpback, and learn how whales are similar and different from humans in this interactive program. They will learn about Nile’s migratory path, how many calves she’s had, and how researchers came to this information. Artifacts such as baleen, teeth, and bones will be available for children to see and feel as a part of this interactive program.
The Whalemobile program is suitable for 2nd-8th graders, ages 7 and up. It is free and open to all to attend, although registration is required for each young scientist planning on stepping into the whale. Please register on the calendar page of the SFL website. People can sign up in half-hour intervals starting at 3:30 pm and ending at 5:30 pm on the calendar page of SawyerFreeLibrary.org. The event will take place in Kyrouz Auditorium on the second floor of Gloucester City Hall located at 9 Dale Avenue.
The Young Gloucester Scientists Club is a monthly club for 4th through 8th graders, which takes a hands-on approach to learning, building community connections, and encouraging local youth to actively think like scientists by observing, questioning, and experimenting with the world around them.
In addition to monthly field trips in the community, circulating Kits and library-produced Digital Content provide children with fun learning activities to do at home and in-person family programming that introduces them to Gloucester Community members with careers across a variety of STEM fields.
The Sawyer Free Library is please to present talks with bestselling authors in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium. Register for these upcoming virtual events at sawyerfreelibray.org.
RANGE and THE SPORTS GENE: Author Talk with David Epstein
A conversation with New York Times bestselling author David Epstein as he chats about his most recent book, Range: Why Generalist Triumph in a Specialized World.
What’s the most effective path to success in any domain? It’s not what you think.
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.
David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters, and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, juggling many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.
Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.
About the Author: David Epstein is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World and of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene, both of which have been translated into more than 20 languages. His writing has been honored by an array of organizations, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, to the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Center on Disability and Journalism, and has been included in the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. His story “Following the Trail of Broken Hearts,” on sudden cardiac death in athletes, was chosen as one of the top 100 stories of the last 100 years by Columbia Journalism alumni. He has master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism and lives in Washington, DC.
A delicious chat with celebrity chef Jernard Wells which will leave you starving for more as he discusses his newest cookbook, Southern Inspired: More Than 100 Delicious Dishes from My American Table to Yours.
Delicious and inventive recipes that remix the traditional flavors and classic dishes of Southern food and celebrate African-American culinary contributions to tables worldwide—from the host of CLEO TV’sNew Soul Kitchen. After growing up in Mississippi, Jernard Wells brought the familiar dishes and bold flavors of the South along his culinary journey to become a chef, restaurateur, and TV host. With Southern Inspired, Jernard continues his journey—retracing the steps of generations of African American cooks whose creations have contributed to global kitchen tables since slavery. Southern food defines American food at large, and Chef Jernard takes it to a whole new level while still honoring its roots. Chef Jernard also brings in flavors from the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and Europe, always with his signature Southern flair. This cookbook shares 100 recipes that are approachable for both beginners and more experienced cooks.
About the Author: Jernard Wells is an Award Winning TV Host/Celebrity Chef/Bestselling Cookbook Author. He is the host of “New Soul Kitchen” & “New Soul Kitchen Remix” on CLEO TV and is well-known for appearing on numerous cooking shows on Food Network & Cooking Channel over the last decade. Wells has worked with Tyler Perry, NBA Allstar Brandon Ingram, Lady Antebellum, Tom Joyner, New Edition &BBD. He has been featured on “Today Show“, “Good Morning America”, PEOPLE, “Steve Harvey Morning Show“, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show”, ESSENCE, “Daily Blast Live”, USA Today, Lifetime, Oprah Winfrey Network to name a few. The James Beard House Honored Chef is affectionately called “The Family Chef” because he loves using food to promote positive family images. He and his wife of 25 years have 9 children and live in the Atlanta area.
New York Times bestselling historical fiction author Pam Jenoff will take us on an exciting trip through time as she shares the details of her newest book, Code Name Sapphire, where a woman must rescue her cousin’s family from a train bound for Auschwitz in this riveting tale of bravery and resistance.
It’s 1942 and Hannah Martel has narrowly escaped Nazi Germany after her fiancé was killed in a pogrom. When her ship bound for America is turned away at port, she has nowhere to go but to her cousin Lily, who lives with her family in Brussels. Fearful for her life, Hannah is desperate to escape occupied Europe. But with no safe way to leave, she must return to the dangerous underground work she thought she had left behind.
Seeking help, Hannah joins the Sapphire Line, a secret resistance network led by a mysterious woman named Micheline and her enigmatic brother Mateo. But when a grave mistake causes Lily’s family to be arrested and slated for deportation to Auschwitz, Hannah finds herself torn between her loyalties. How much is Hannah willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves? Inspired by incredible true stories of courage and sacrifice, Code Name Sapphire is a powerful novel about love, family and the unshakable resilience of women in even the hardest of times.
About the Author: Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England. Upon receiving her master’s in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Following her work at the Pentagon, Pam moved to the State Department. Pam left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She now teaches law school at Rutgers.
Pam is the NYT bestselling author of The Woman With The Blue Star, The Lost Girls of Paris, The Orphan’s Tale, The Kommandant’s Girl, The Diplomat’s Wife, The Ambassador’s Daughter, The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach, The Winter Guest, The Things We Cherished, Almost Home, and A Hidden Affair. She also authored a short story in the anthology Grand Central: Original Postwar Stories of Love and Reunion. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, three children, dog, cat, lizard and bird.
SFL’s Young Scientist Club will be meetingthis Friday, February 24th from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Sawyer Free Library @ 21 Main Street.
This month’s meetings features the work of Kate Sampson, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Turtle Stranding and Disentanglement Coordinator and Sphero Robots. The program is suitable for students 4th – 8th grade. Register HERE.
The SFL Romance Book Club, “Ladies Night In,” resumes on February 23rd at 5:30 p.m. at Sawyer Free Library @21 Main Street.
You won’t want to miss this meeting’s book, “Duchess If You Dare” by Anabelle Bryant. Copies of the novel are available now at the Library to check out.
Cape Ann Community 