Celebrations for Grace's Birthday

BOSTON CELEBRATION
December 11th was Grace Paley's birthday
and it's a day we've set aside to celebrate Grace's work.
The Joiner Center will host a reading of Grace's work at 7:30 PM that evening at the Pierre Menard Gallery in Harvard Square to celebrate.
We hope you'll join us.
Readers will include friends Gish Jen, Taylor Stoehr, John Bell, Askold Melnyczyk, Joyce Peseroff, Fred Marchant, Martha Collins, Ann Killough, Rachel Rubin, Lois Rudnick, and Paul Wright.

NEW YORK CELEBRATION

December 12 at Teachers and Writers
520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2020, New York, NY 10018 (near 34th Street)
Hosts: Bell Chevigny, Meredith Tax, Vera Williams, Marilyn Young, Bea Kreloff, Amy Swerdlow, Marilyn Young, Beatrix Gates, Florence Howe, Gerry Albarelli, Eva Kollisch
Time 6:30-9:30



THETFORD CELEBRATION
Thursday, December 11, 2008, from 5-7 pm,
SPEAK YOUR MIND -- at the Thetford Community Center (in Thetford Center on Route 113)

We of Thetford and of the Upper Valley were privileged to experience for many years the presence of the late Grace Paley, poet, fiction writer and passionate advocate for justice. Grace could make us laugh at the foibles and contradictions of our lives and make us cry with her profound words of wisdom. A nationally renowned writer who was a poet laureate of Vermont, Grace was also a warm and down to earth presence in the Upper Valley. Always generous with her time, she could be seen at poetry readings, volunteering in schools and actively participating in community affairs, up until her death in 2007 at the age of 84.

In memory of Grace and in her spirit of speaking truth to power, we invite residents of Thetford and beyond to come together on her birthday, December 11th, for a festive and feisty letter writing session. Come Speak Your Mind to our State, federal, and international leaders.

We'll provide pens of all colors, crayons, lots of postcards and letter writing paper, envelopes, stamps, an array of potential issues and addresses (feel free to bring your own), cider, soup and snacks.

Come write a letter or two about what's on your mind. Stay for as long or as short as you like. Wear your favorite rabble-rousing political T-shirt and bring some music, if you like.

Children are encouraged to join us and will have their own table to write and draw their hopes for the future.
Contact Christina Robinson 785-4012

SAN DIEGO
Kathleen B. Jones said...
Dear Folks--
Just happened upon this site on the occasion of Grace's birthday and wanted to let you know that tonight, in San Diego, CA, we will be doing a reading of an original adaptation (by me) of a set of Grace Paley's stories for the stage. The production of the play, Acts of Faith, will be in March 2009 in San Diego. If you are interested, and can help spread the word, I invite you to visit http://www.laterthanever.org for more information.

And please also visit my blog, Writing Revolutions, where some discussion of the process of adaptation has taken place, and will continue to.
Best wishes,
Kathy

PORTLAND, OREGON
On the eve of her 86th birthday, a celebration honoring the life and work of the Jewish writer who died in Aug. 2007 will be held. One of the great American story writers of the 20th century, she was also a poet and essayist whose strong dedication to political activism was inextricable from her literary work. Portland writers Rodger Larson and Sharon Wood Wortman will read from Grace's work and their own; audience members will read Grace's work. Refreshments will be served and Grace's books available for sale. 7 p.m. Free. Looking Glass Books in Sellwood at 7983 SE 13th Ave