Join us for a prelease reading by Rage Hezekiah of her debut full-length poetry collection, Stray Harbor. Rage is a Cave Canem and MacDowell Fellow. She is a recipient of the Saint Botolph Emerging Artist Award in Literature and was nominated for Best New Poets, 2017. Her recent chapbook, Unslakable, is a 2018 Vella Chapbook Award Winner. Rage’s poems have appeared in The Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, Rattle, Salamander, and several other journals and anthologies. 
48 Peaks: Hiking and Healing in the White Mountains - Cheryl Suchors
Thursday, July 11th, 7pm
Bennington Free Library
At forty-eight years old, Cheryl vowed to summit the highest forty-eight peaks in New Hampshire’s rugged White Mountains to help her find success during a career transition. Connecting with friends and with nature, Cheryl redefines success: she discovers a source of spiritual nourishment, spaces powerful enough to absorb her grief, and joy in the persistence of love and beauty. 48 PEAKS inspires us to believe that, no matter what obstacles we face, we too can attain our summits.
The Dog Went Over the Mountain - An Evening with Peter Zheutlin
Monday, October 21st, 7pm
Bennington Free Library
Peter Zheutlin's latest book, The Dog Went Over the Mountain, will be released in September. Here's what Peter had to say about the book:
Inspired by a re-reading of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley at the age of 64, I took my aging rescue dog Albie on a 9,000 mile odyssey across America in the Spring of 2018, mostly along Steinbeck’s route. With far more sand in the bottom of my hourglass than the top, I wanted to take one last Great American Road Trip and rediscover the country I last crossed by car in 1977, this time in the company of my best friend.
This journey is the subject of my eighth book, The Dog Went Over the Mountain, to be published in early September 2019 by Pegasus Books. The book actually opens in Bennington, on our very last night on the road before returning home near Boston.
More than a travelogue, the book is also a meditation on aging, on finding meaning in the later years of life, and on the deep connections we create with our canine companions. The book is also filled with memorable characters: a marine corps veteran in his late 60s cycling the country for more than two years who we encountered in Bismarck, a legendary 79 year-old New Orleans restaurateur, and an elderly homeless woman met in Redding, California among many others.
Peter will be joining us for an evening of reading and anecdotes - be sure not to miss this event! There will be opportunities for questions and book signing. We will have books for sale at the event, or order them ahead of time at the bookshop.
This event is free and open to the public.
Co-sponsored by the Bennington Free Library and The Bennington Bookshop.