Take a closer look at the powerful themes of this year’s citywide NEA Big Read. Explore the topic of disability in its many forms with our micro branches and events.
Description provided by HarperOne
Sitting Pretty is a memoir-in-essays from disability advocate, Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.
Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous, inspirational, or angelic. None of this felt right.
Writing about the rhythms and textures of what it means to live in a body that doesn’t fit, Rebekah reflects on everything from the complications of kindness and charity, living both independently and dependently, experiencing intimacy, and how the pervasiveness of ableism in our everyday media directly translates to everyday life.
Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. By exploring this truth in poignant and lyrical essays, Taussig illustrates the need for more stories and more voices to understand the diversity of humanity. Sitting Pretty challenges us as a society to be patient and vigilant, practical and imaginative, kind and relentless, as we set to work to write an entirely different story.
Rebekah Taussig is a Kansas City writer who earned a PhD in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies from the University of Kansas. She writes personal essays about disability and runs an Instagram account, @sitting_pretty, where she regularly crafts “mini-memoirs” that explore what it means to live in her (disabled, female) body.
You can check out a copy of Sitting Pretty in person at any of our library locations or through the Libby app as an e-book or audiobook.
If you are looking to read books with related subjects, be sure to check out our micro branches. Click the links below to discover titles that can be checked out in person or a selection of e-books available online 24/7.
Young Minds and Teen Picks
Our Young Minds micro branch includes a selection of books for children and teens that dive into different aspects of disability.
Fighting for Yes! by Maryann Cocca-Leffler is this year’s companion read. It is a picture book biography celebrating the life and work of disability rights activist and icon Judith Heumann, highlighting one of her landmark achievements—leading the historic 504 Sit-in in 1977.
You can borrow Fighting for Yes! in-person.
Events at NHFPL
- NEA Big Read Kick-off!
- Conversations and Readings
- Film Screenings with Discussions
- Assistive Technology and Resources
VIRTUAL
Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30 pm
The official kickoff of the NEA Big Read is being held virtually! The NEA Big Read is a citywide reading celebration with programs related to the core values of the book Sitting Pretty by Rebecca Taussig. Rebekah Taussig and Executive Director of National Disability Rights Network, Marlene Sallo, will be joining the event for a keynote and conversation.
It will be live-streamed here: artidea.org/VirtualStage
This event is in partnership with the Office of Services for Persons with Disabilities.
Disability Justice Conversation: Special Education
Mitchell Branch Library
Monday, April 24 at 6 pm
Kiomary Sotillo, Bilingual Parent Consultant of the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center, will lead the conversation on the current state of special education. This event is in partnership with the City of New Haven’s Office of Services for Persons with Disabilities.
Loving All of Me: A Conversation on Disability, Love, and Dating
Stetson Branch Library
Wednesday, May 10 at 5:30 pm
Join Lucy Gellman, Editor of the Arts Paper, Justin Farmer, City Councilor of Hamden’s 5th District, and Elaine Kolb, activist & musician in a conversation on disability, dating, and love. This event is in partnership with the City of New Haven’s Office of Services for Persons with Disabilities.
More Than Sitting Pretty: A Poetry Reading and Workshop
Wilson Branch Library
Tuesday, May 23 at 6:30 pm
A poetry reading & workshop featuring Sarah Rizzuto. She is a poet, advocate for social justice, and the former president of the New Haven chapter of the CT Poetry Society.
Saturday, April 29 at Ives Main Library:
1 pm – Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution TEEN SCREENING
2020 / 108 min / Directed by Nicole Newnham and James Lebrecht
Documentary following the campers of Camp Jened, a free-spirited camp for youth with disabilities, and their fight for accessibility legislation. Snacks will be provided.
Friday, June 2 at Ives Main Library:
2 pm – Still Alice
2014 / 101 min / Directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
A film based on the 2007 novel by Lisa Genova. It stars Julianne Moore as Alice Howland, a linguistics professor diagnosed with familial Alzheimer’s disease shortly after her 50th birthday.
Saturday, June 3 at Ives Main Library:
2 pm – Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution ADULT SCREENING
2020 / 108 min / Directed by Nicole Newnham and James Lebrecht
Documentary following the campers of Camp Jened, a free-spirited camp for youth with disabilities, and their fight for accessibility legislation. Light refreshments will be provided.
Friday, June 16 at Ives Main Library:
2 pm – CODA
2021 / 111 min / Directed by Sian Heder
An Academy Award-winning film. As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
Blind and Low Vision Resources with UR Community Cares
Ives Main Library
Monday, May 8 at 5:30 pm
Join UR Community Cares to learn about a wide range of tools and devices but which are usually difficult to find locally. Participants will receive a free directory of resources.
National Assistive Tech Day Celebration
Wilson Branch Library
Thursday, May 18 at 4 pm
Join for presentations and interactive demos of assistive tech from partners at United Cerebral Palsy of Eastern CT, New England Assistive Technology NEAT An Oak Hill Center, and EastConn. This event is in partnership with the Office of Services for Persons with Disabilities.
Build a Prosthetic Hand: 3D Printing Assistive Technology
Ives Main Library | Ives Squared
Thursday, June 15 at 3 pm
Learn how 3D printing can be used to create custom assistive technology, then help build a 3D printed prosthetic hand.
Don’t Miss any of the NEA Big Read Events Happening Across New Haven!
Be sure to check out the Arts & Ideas website for a calendar of the NEA Big Read events relating to Sitting Pretty happening from April to June! The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
