NEA Big Read | Blurb Club @ Congress Square Park

Join Friends of Congress Square Park, SPACE, Mechanics’ Hall, and the Portland Public Library for a thematic Blurb Club book club on the occasion of the NEA Big Read: Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic.

Blurb Club is a biweekly book club in which participants bring something they have read independently and share your thoughts on it with reading-loving peers. Hot takes welcome. Branching from the themes and work of the book of poems, bring a reading related to one of the following connections with Deaf Republic: Ukrainian or Russian-area writers, poetry collections, books about surviving in conflict zones or political resistance, books about accessibility or disability, themes of community resilience, works by Ilya Kaminsky, or anything you feel has an interesting connection to the Big Read. 

Limited free giveaway copies of Deaf Republic are still available for participants, please email us at info@space538.org to reserve a copy or stop by the Portland Public Library. In the event of rain, this event moves to the library at Mechanics’ Hall. 

This event is part of the BIG READ series, presented by SPACE Gallery and Mechanics’ Hall.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

Accessibility note: Blurb Club meets bi-weekly hosted by CSP and the Portland Public Library without ASL interpretation, for an interpretation request please allow three business days and e-mail info@space538.org. Congress Square Park has large steps down to the center of the park, where Blurb Club typically meets by the park tables with umbrellas, by using the entrance on High Street there are no steps. Mechanic’s Hall has a step to enter the building, and the library is accessible on the second floor via a non-ADA sized elevator. Please email programming@mainemechanics.org for use of the stair ramp and any other accessibility questions.