Remember Us: In-person Event with Jacqueline Woodson

Join us at Mechanics' Hall for the release of REMEMBER ME by New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson.

This program is presented in partnership with BACK COVE BOOK and INDIGO ARTS ALLIANCE.

About Remember Us: Inspired by Jacqueline’s own childhood in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood—dubbed “The Matchbox” by the local papers because of the arson fires that consumed it during the ’70s and ’80s—Remember Us is the transcendent story of a coming-of-age summer in young Sage’s life. It’s the summer when Sage is trying to figure out her place in the world of boys and girls, since she’s the only girl who spends her time shooting hoops with the guys. And it’s the summer of Freddy, the new kid with a philosophic outlook on life, the only person Sage feels truly “gets” her.

Together, the friends reckon with the pain of missing the things left behind as time moves on, savor what’s good in the present, and buoy each other up in the face of an uncertain future.

Jacqueline Woodson says, “Remember Us is a book that has been with me for a long time. It’s inspired by a time in my childhood when I really was afraid my whole neighborhood would burn to the ground. Thankfully, it didn’t. But the memory lives with me and is now a part of Sage and Freddy’s story, a story that delves into questions about time, memory, and what we take with us into the future.”

Nancy Paulsen says, “In her inimitable, evocative way, Jacqueline Woodson captures a transformative summer in the life of a twelve-year-old girl as she watches much of her world change, from her friendships to the nature of her beloved neighborhood. Woodson also paints a vivid picture of life in Bushwick, Brooklyn, at one particular point in time, while reminding readers of its many transformations, from the woods of the Lenape people to a home for industry tycoons, to a neighborhood on fire in the 1970s, moving towards a future that was anyone’s guess. This beautiful, lyrical novel will stick with readers who’ve had that one special summer or are on the verge of experiencing it.

Jacqueline Woodson (jacquelinewoodson.com) is the author of more than thirty books for young people and adults including Another Brooklyn, Red At The Bone and The Day You Begin. She received a 2023 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a 2023 E. B. White Award, a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and was the 2018–2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, won the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, and the NAACP Image Award. Her books for young readers include Coretta Scott King Award and NAACP Image Award winner Before the Ever After, New York Times bestsellers The Day You Begin and Harbor Me, Newbery Honor winners Feathers, Show Way, and After Tupac and D Foster, and Each Kindness. In 2018, she founded BALDWIN FOR THE ARTS (https://baldwinforthearts.org), a residency serving writers, composers, interdisciplinary, and visual artists of the Global Majority. Her most recent novel, Remember Us, is set in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn

About Maya Williams: Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently the poet laureate of Portland, Maine. Their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, was released in October 2023 by Harbor Editions. Their debut poetrycollection, Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, May 2023), was selected as a finalist for the New England Book Award in July 2023. Maya was one of three artists of color selected to represent Maine in The Kennedy Center's Arts Across America series in 2020. Maya was also selected as one of The Advocate's Champions of Pride in 2022, and is one of Maine Humanities Council's recipients of the Constance Carlson Public Humanities Prize in 2024. You can follow more of their work at mayawilliamspoet.com

About Indigo Arts Alliance: Founded in 2018, Indigo Arts Alliance (IAA) is a Portland, ME-based, Black-led organization dedicated to professional development and amplification of Black and Brown thought-leadership, vision, and creative practice. As an organization of social practice artists, scholars, and activists, they seek to strengthen their multiracial democracy by cultivating and celebrating art as a key resource for healthy communities, connecting global and local Black and Brown artists, providing an affirming environment for the creation of artwork across disciplines, and promoting engagement through participatory events that bring artists' and activists' work into public conversation on social justice, culture, and community. IAA is the only Black-led, established arts incubator in northern New England and, as such, fills a critically important gap in representation lacking in other regional arts and cultural institutions.

About Back Cove Books: Located in the center of Woodfords Corner, Back Cove Books (BCB) is the newest indie bookstore in Portland, Maine serving its local neighborhood - and beyond - with an expansive Y/A and childrens section in addition to

About Mechanics Hall: Mechanics’ Hall is a vibrant cultural resource for the arts and humanities, located in the center of Portland, Maine's Arts District. Founded in 1815 by the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association to support Maine’s creative community: blacksmiths, coopers, artists, innovators, and creators - the Hall was built between 1857 and 1859 as a communal gathering space with a lending library at its center. Today, our organization celebrates that rich history through literary arts programs, music, performance, and more while working to restore our landmark building. Visit Here for More Info