Each June the Free Library celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month with programs, resources, reading lists, and posts that lift up LGBTQ+ voices and stories—and 2021 is no different. Kick off your summer with Free Library of Pride as we host author events, LGBTQ+ reading circles, drag storytimes, and plenty of opportunities to learn about queer history!
One way to celebrate Pride month is with a little summer reading, beginning with this year’s One Book, One Philadelphia selection, Jericho Brown’s The Tradition. This stunning collection of poems explores experiences of queerness and Blackness, masculinity and family, spirituality and the natural world. And whether or not you’ve read The Tradition yet, you can catch several not-to-miss One Book programming throughout June, including workshops, book discussions, and featured events:
This year's One Book selection is Jericho Brown's The Tradition
Find programming related to themes of The Tradition through June 9.
The Tradition Reading Circle: Queer, Trans, Two-Spirit and GNC, Online
Tuesday, June 1, 6:30 p.m.
We'll launch into Pride month on June 1 with a queer, trans, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming reading circle focused on The Tradition. This conversation will use Jericho Brown’s poems to guide explorations of living out queerness in an anti-queer world.
How to Build a Home: Queer and Trans BIPOC Dance/Movement Workshop, Online
Thursday, June 3, 4:00 p.m.
Get moving with dancer and performing artist Shanel Edwards, who will lead How to Build a Home, a queer and trans BIPOC dance/movement workshop. Sign on and be prepared for movement that remembers interconnectedness and care.
Breaking the Tradition, Online
Tuesday, June 8, 12:00 p.m.
Join the Men’s Coffee Talk Think Tank at the People’s Emergency Center, along with ACT UP and the AIDS Health Foundation, for Breaking the Tradition, a conversation that will focus on challenging white supremacy in the healthcare system and overcoming barriers to healthcare access for people of color, queer communities, and those who are living with HIV.
Re-Creating a New World: One Book, One Philadelphia Finale with Jericho Brown, Online
Wednesday, June 9, 7:30 p.m.
Finally, join Pulitzer-prizewinning poet Jericho Brown in conversation with Ursula Rucker, Sonia Sanchez, Yolanda Wisher, Sheyla Street, and Kemar Jewel for the One Book season finale, Re-Creating a New World. This intergenerational panel of artists will discuss how knowledge of our history informs how we collectively reimagine our society, and how we organize around the issues we see today combined with all the lessons we have inherited from the past.
Join Author Events for an event with activist and Writer Sarah Schulman on Tuesday, June 29
Virtual and outdoor programming and events are planned throughout June.Check www.freelibrary.org/pride throughout the month for an updated list of events, including everyone’s favorite drag storytimes for the whole family. While most events will be virtual, a few (like rainbow water ice stations!) will be held in-person and outdoors, so be sure to check the location and registration information.
Media recommendations and related links are available on the LGBTQ+ Resource Page.
Finally, you can always access the Free Library’s LGBTQ+ Resources Page, which includes book and film recommendations for all ages; links to information about health, activism, bullying, LGBTQ+ youth, legal support, and more; podcasts from our Author Events series; and blog posts on a range of topics.
Happy Pride!
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