It's almost time for the One Book, One Philadelphia kickoff!

On January 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Parkway Central Library we will officially launch our 18th season of One Book, One Philadelphia. This event will include a reading and conversation with There There author Tommy Orange and 6ABC’s Tamala Edwards. This is not Tommy Orange’s first visit to the Free Library of Philadelphia; he visited us on May 15, 2019, when he read with and talked to author Rachel Kushner as part of our Author Events series. 

The kickoff will also include a performance by The Red Blanket Singers and an original work by composer Elise Arancio of the Curtis Institute of Music. The Red Blanket Singers are a self-described "Southern Style Native American Drum and Dance Group representing the Nanticoke, Lenape, Haliwa-Saponi, and Mohawk Tribes". They are a local multi-generational group with powerful singing and drumming. Elise Arancio is Philly based emergent and talented composer whose work has been performed nationally and internationally. Her work is contemporary, dynamic, and affective. Both performances promise to be an engaging complement to the reading and in keeping with the themes of There There as an arresting mix of both old and new.

This event is just the beginning of the this season's One Book One Philadelphia programming. After countless hours of editing, designing, reading, conversing, creating, circulating, proofreading, cross-checking, planning, and ruminating these seedlings of events that have been germinating all winter, they will all become a reality. It’s as if we have been drafting one half of a conversation, one aspect of a collaborative performance and now we finally get to engage with our interlocutors: the One Book readers.

There will be over 130 community events that will take place between the kickoff and the finale on March 18. These include community dinners, panels and workshops, family arts and craft activities, guided history walks, and of course book discussions. You can find more information including discussion guides, additional resources and reading lists, and a calendar of events on the One Book website.

We hope to see you at this event, and at the flurry of programming that will follow!