SALISBURY READS REVOLUTION SONG
Salisbury READS is presented by the Scoville Memorial Library in partnership with the Salisbury Association, the Salisbury Forum, and Troutbeck Symposium, in connection with Connecticut 250, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Our culminating event ...
A CONVERSATION WITH REVOLUTION SONG AUTHOR RUSSELL SHORTO
with local educators Peter Vermilyea and Rhonan Mokriski
Friday, March 27th
For more information visit Salisbury Forum.
Salisbury READS is an annual celebration of reading, conversation, and community. Join the READ and explore the fascinating action, ideals, controversies, and personal histories of life during the American Revolution.
READ Revolution Song. Borrow a copy at SML's circulation desk or listen to the audiobook for free via Libby (just enter your Scoville Library card number), or visit Oblong Books or Lakeville Books to buy a copy.
PARTICIPATE in discussions, events, workshops, tastings, and activities.
EXPLORE the local roots of the American Revolution and its enduring resonance through a variety of programs.
DISCUSS the American Revolution, its driving ideals and motivations, its divisios and alliances, and the captivating historical figures brought to life in Revolution Song.
More about REVOLUTION SONG
Revolution Song has been praised as “first-rate intellectual history” (Wall Street Journal), “literary alchemy” (Chicago Tribune) and simply “astonishing” (New York Times).
Shorto takes us back to the founding of the American nation, drawing on diaries, letters, and autobiographies to flesh out six lives that cast the era in a fresh new light. Through these lives we understand that the revolution was fought over the meaning of individual freedom, a philosophical idea that became a force for conflict and change.
The six central historical figures include an African man who freed himself and his family from slavery, a rebellious young woman who abandoned her abusive husband to chart her own course, a Seneca leader who advocated for neutrality but ended up leading his warriors to fight with the British, a self-educated shoemaker and lawyer who becomes an Albany politician and anti-Federalist, and a certain Mr. Washington, a man admired for his social graces but harshly criticized for his often-disastrous military strategy.
A powerful narrative and a brilliant defense of America’s founding principles, Revolution Song makes the compelling case that the American Revolution is still being fought today and that its ideals are worth defending.
Russell Shorto is the director of the New Amsterdam Project at The New York Historical and senior scholar at the New Netherland Institute. He is the author of eight books of narrative and believes that history is most meaningful when explored through individuals in conflict. His books have been published in fourteen languages and have won numerous awards. In 2009 he was given a knighthood by the Dutch government for advancing Dutch-American historical awareness. In 2018 he was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.
To hear Russell Shorto introduce Revolution Song, click this link and scroll down to the video.
SALISBURY READS EVENTS
April 18, 4:30 PM
Taste of the Revolution: Tea and Liberty, A Talk & Tasting Party with Mike Harney
April 26, 4:30 PM
Book Launch: Litchfield County and the American Revolution with Peter Vermilyea
May 12, 5:00 PM
Connecticut's Cannon: The Salisbury Furnace in the American Revolution with Author Adam Ward Rome (event link coming soon)
July 14, 5:30 PM
How the French Saved America with Author Tom Shachtman (event link coming soon)
Coming soon ...
Taste of the Revolution: George Washington's Beer with Norbrook Brewery
PAST EVENTS
October 11, Salisbury READS Launch & Book Giveaway. 150 books were given away to the community, courtesy of SML and the Salisbury.
October 25, Stitch the Salisbury Cannons with Beverly Army Williams & America’s Tapestry (all ages event)
November 1, Taste of the Revolution: CORN! Cooking & Baking Contest (all ages event)
November 9, The American Revolution in the Northern Colonies with Tom Key (ages 18+)
November 22, Taste of the Revolution: Fermentation & Independence (all ages event)
December 14, Book Discussion with Author Jana Laiz, A Free Woman on God's Earth: The True Story of Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman
January 22 & 29, 10:00 AM
Genealogy Workshop: Trace Residents' Roots to the Revolution with Genealogist Jane Muir Sellery
February 1, 4:00 PM
Traitor or True Defender? Loyalists & the American Revolution with Thomas Key
February 19, 5:00 PM
REVOLUTION SONG, Book Discussion with Peter Vermilyea
February 21, 2:00 PM
Taste of the Revolution: Make Pâte à Choux with Pâtissière Flora Lazar
February 22, 11:00 AM
Cartooning and the Enlightenment: A Workshop with Natalia Zukerman
February 22, 4:00 PM
REVOLUTION SONG, Book Discussion with Peter Vermilyea
February 26, 6:30 PM
Coloring Our Past: A Troutbeck Symposium Sneak Peek
March 1, 4:00 PM
Local Indigenous Communities & the American Revolution with the Institute for American Indian Studies
March 15, 4:00 PM
REVOLUTION SONG, Book Discussion with Peter Vermilyea
March 27, 7:30 PM
Author Russell Shorto in Conversation with Peter Vermilyea and Rhonan Mokriski. Presented by the Salisbury Forum in partnership with the Salisbury Association, Troutbeck Symposium, and the Scoville Memorial Library, and in connection with Salisbury Commemoration 250 and CT 250.
March 29, 4:00 PM
Elizabeth ‘MumBet’ Freeman: One Minute a Free Woman, Performance by Tammy Denease
Salisbury READS officially ends in March, but Revolution-related events continue as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Join us!
April 12, 4:00 PM
Democracy and the WWW, A Book Discussion with Peter Kaufman: THIS IS FOR EVERYONE by Tim Berners-Lee