Author Talk: Soundtrack: Liner Notes from a Pandemic Mixtape

 Alison Cupp Relyea will share the journey behind the publication of her first essay collection, Soundtrack: Liner Notes from a Pandemic Mixtape, which came out in early November. In her essays, Alison weaves together music and literature in a way that gives the collection shape and creates common themes. The essays also draw on history, reaching into the past to inform her first-person version of the present. Lastly, the collection is evidence of the importance of writing groups and the arts in general. Alison has been in the same writing group for about six years now, and the community of writers gave her the feedback and support she needed to turn her weekly writing and passion for music into an essay collection. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing. 

Alison Cupp Relyea is an educator and a writer. She recently published her first essay collection, Soundtrack: Liner Notes from a Pandemic Mixtape. She helped found a literary festival called Watershed. Alison lives in Rye with her husband, Rich, and their three children, Rob, Eliza, and Ian. Alison began her teaching career in New York City, where she earned a Master's in Museum Education from Bank Street College. After teaching elementary school in Manhattan for a decade, she moved to Rye in 2014 and has worked for the past six years at the Rye Historical Society.  Alison is a founding member of the pRYEde Community Group, a nonprofit in Rye that collaborates with other LGBTQ+ organizations to support and raise awareness for LGBTQ+ youth and families. As a result of her work in the community, she was awarded the NAACP's Freedom History Champion Award in October 2023.