Celebrate Pride Month at the Library! Pride Month was established in commemoration of the Stonewall riots of 1969 and has grown into a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Scarsdale Library stands in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community and is honored to host events highlighting gay themes, artists, books and more.
Important LGBTQ+ Artists
Monday, June 7 at 7:00PM
Join us for a discussion with Suzanne Altman to learn about artists from the Renaissance to the present day who are known to be LGBTQ, (though it was often not publicly acknowledged at the time), and how their identity impacted their work. It also explores artists whose art was used for social change or whose sexual identity fundamentally shaped their creativity. Some of the artists discussed are Michelangelo, John Singer Sargent, David Hockney, Keith Haring, Diane Arbus, and many more.
LGBT Author Discussion with Alysia Constantine and Julian Winters
Wednesday, June 9 at 7:00PM
The Dobbs Ferry Library and the Scarsdale Library are proud to share a literary conversation about LGBTQ+ representation in literature today with Alysia Constantine and Julian Winters.
Alysia Constantine is a writer. She lives in New York with her wife, two dogs and a cat. She is the author of Sweet (February 2016), Olympia Knife (November 2017) and Luckmonkey (March 2021), and is the editor of Short Stuff (June 2020), all from Interlude Press. In another life, Alysia was a professor of humanities and media studies at an art college. In an earlier life, she was a professor of other stuff in other places. In a life before that, she was a baker/cook. In a life even before that, she was a miserable queer teen studying to be a concert violinist, and before that, she was Joan of Arc (though there’s no evidence for that).
Julian Winters is the award-winning author of Running With Lions—which won an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Best Teen Fiction—as well as How To Be Remy Cameron and The Summer of Everything. A self-proclaimed comic book geek, Julian lives in Decatur, Georgia, where he can be found watching the only two sports he can follow: volleyball and soccer. His next book, Right Where I Left You, will be released by Viking Children's/Penguin Randomhouse in Spring 2022. Visit him online at julianwinters.com.
A conversation with actor/author Erik Liberman
Thursday, June 24 at 7:00PM
Join us for a conversation with actor and author Erik Liberman. Erik is known for originating roles in productions across stage and screen, including the Transparent series finale for Amazon, The Band's Visit, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and War Paint. He will be discussing his acting and writing careers, all things Broadway, and the intersection of queerness and classic cinema.
Discovering the LGBTQ+ Past in American History
Tuesday, June 29 at 7:00PM
For most of us, if we know anything about LGBTQ history, it’s a couple of quick facts about the Stonewall Riots and the fight for marriage equality – events that feel largely unrelated to most of the rest of the country’s history. In this talk, however, historian Daniel Hurewitz explores the essential role LGBTQ folks have played at key moments in the larger narrative of American history. Looking at three fascinating individuals from the last 150 years, he makes clear how LGBTQ people have long been vital actors at the heart of our national story.
Daniel Hurewitz is a historian and playwright who focuses on the LGBTQ past and teaches in the History Department at Hunter College. He has written two books: one is a set of walking tours that explore the history of LGBTQ New York, called “Stepping Out,” and the other examines the origins of American queer politics, entitled “Bohemian Los Angeles.” His plays often follow similar themes. His first, “Reclamation,” dramatizes the life of Bayard Rustin. More recently, “Nancy F***ing Reagan,” which premiered in Los Angeles in 2019, looks at the lingering impact of the AIDS epidemic.
Library Libations Book Club
Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00PM
Join Katie for a lively and informal discussion of Zaina Arafat's You Exist Too Much. Opening up the fantasies and desires of one young woman caught between cultural, religious, and sexual identities, You Exist Too Much is a captivating story charting two of our most intense longings―for love, and a place to call home.
Books You May Have Missed Book Club
Wednesday, June 23 at 7:00PM
Join Katie for a lively discussion of The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he? In this, Boyne's most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit.
Highlighted Children Books
Librarian Sarah Rodriguez published a comprehensive list of children books to celebrate Rainbow Book Month on our Librarian's Corner here!