NOTE: We are postponing our originally scheduled program, “Viewing of Cookie“ with Shane Hartline on May 10, due to the unexpected death of Program Committee member Mary Brady, who arranged the event and was planning to introduce the director and lead a discussion of the film.  We hope to reschedule the program in the Fall.  See  Remembering Mary Brady.

This month’s program:  Anna Moriarty Lev on “Cartooning and the Graphic Novel Fun Home.” Thursday, May 20, at 1:00 pm.Bit.ly/3rdThursBooks 

Anna Moriarty Lev, the creator of the Diversity Comics series for our newsletter, will introduce us to the concept of graphic novels, explaining why words alone cannot convey the same emotional impact as pictures and text combined. Anna will share her thoughts on this burgeoning art form that crosses the visual and literary arts, how it’s evolving, and her own experience as a reader and maker of a graphic novel. She’ll also tell us about her process in creating the Diversity Comics series for our newsletter.  (Read about Anna in this column from January: Meet Anna)

We will then turn to our book group selection for May: Fun Home  by Alison Bechdel, a groundbreaking, bestselling graphic memoir that charts her fraught relationship with her late father.

It is not necessary to have read the book to benefit from the presentation.  Several of the regular book group members will present some background about Bechdel and will explain the overall plot, showing panels that present meanings that words alone could not convey. Everyone is invited to join a conversation about the book OR to listen in and consider reading the book at some point in the future.

Diversity Comic

This month’s comic, by artist, Anna Moriarty Lev.  Anna’s response to the George Floyd verdict and the ongoing killings of un-armed people by the police is very apt.

Articles

Remembering Mary Brady by Kathy Wagenknecht

Meet AAUW Member Sue Hoffmann-Ogier by Suzanne Kirkpatrick

Call for Copy: Would you like to interview a member you don’t know well or haven’t met?  Send an email to aauwbennvt@gmail.com and  we’ll pair you up with someone to write about.

Resources of Interest

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Links

Each month, we will will include resources that relate to our program theme of diversity, equity, and inclusion, along with other items related to women’s history.  We invite members to recommend links to include in next month’s newsletter. Send an email to aauwbennvt@gmail.com

Schedule of Programs: Branch Calendar: May-June

The Program Committee presents its plans for the next 2 months, including an in-person picnic at Willow Park in June!