Galesburg’s Community Read kicks off this week, with community-wide reading of “Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees” and a number of related events and discussions throughout April.
“Bite by Bite” is a book of short, illustrated lyrical essays by poet and writer Aimee Nezhukumatathil. In each essay, Nezhukumatathi reflects on a food that shaped her life, from strawberries, mango and vanilla to pecans, shave ice, and crawfish.
Kayla Whitmer, reference supervisor at the Galesburg Public Library, said the book is about food, memory, and access, and the library chose it for this year’s Community Read because a lot of programs and discussions could tie into those themes.
“People love food, but when you talk about food and celebrate food, you also have to recognize food insecurity,” Whitmer said. “Not everyone has the same level of access. So it's just going to be a good one for an all-encompassing month of discussion and activity.”
The official kickoff of this year’s Community Read is Saturday, April 4, when participants have two opportunities —from 10 to 11 a.m. and from 3 to 4 p.m. — to taste some of the foods featured in “Bite by Bite.”
Throughout the month, there will also be craft events, like vegetable printmaking with the Galesburg Community Arts Center, movie tie-ins, a seed swap, tours of FISH of Galesburg food pantry and the Knox College farm, and a panel discussion on food insecurity featuring local experts.
“We’re calling it a community conversation about food insecurity and local resources,” Whitmer said of the panel discussion, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, April 10 at the library.
Those events are in addition to book discussions and a talk with Nezhukumatathi on Zoom. More information and a full schedule of events is available on the library’s website.
As for the book, Whitmer says it’s accessible and illustrative.
“She really paints a picture with the food,” Whitmer said “Some of the essays are set up a little differently, like almost like a listicle, but then some of them are really more memoir, right, where she's talking about visiting her grandparents and family. You feel like you're almost like reading a letter from a friend.”
Whitmer says because the essays are short and accessible, it’s easy to pick up the book during a break or lunchtime, read an essay, set it down — and come right back to it later.
“With this, it's just literally bite by bite, you're going to read the book,” she said.
This is the16th year that the Galesburg Public Library has put on a Community Read. This year’s program is sponsored by the Galesburg Public Library Foundation.
Free copies of “Bite by Bite” will be available at the library while supplies last.
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