Bits & Bytes: ‘A Recovering Racist in America’; Shawn Fields art talk; Neil Simon drama excerpts; Neha Das at Lenox Library

Scoville Library to host ‘A Recovering Racist in America’

Tim Parrish. Photo courtesy Southern Connecticut State University

Salisbury, Conn. — Scoville Memorial Library will host author Tim Parrish Saturday, Nov. 9, at 4 p.m. for a talk titled “A Recovering Racist in America.”

As detailed in his memoir “Fear and What Follows: The Violent Education of a Christian Racist,” Parrish will discuss his racist upbringing at home and in his church in Louisiana during the 1960s, his involvement in racist violence during high-school desegregation in the 1970s, his ongoing recovery from racism, and the current state of racism in the United States. Parrish’s discussions sometimes encompass white privilege, implicit bias and institutional racism, plus the higher profile of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and white nationalism, things Parrish believes went underground rather than abated. Mostly, though, Parrish wants to share his personal story as a platform for insight into the ongoing struggle with race relations.

Parrish is a professor of English and the founder of the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program at Southern Connecticut State University. He has also written “The Jumper,” a novel and winner of the George Garrett Fiction Prize; and the short-story collection “Red Stick Men.” He has discussed his upbringing and racism on media outlets including CNN and FOX, and has published op-eds in the Daily Beast and the New York Daily News, among other places.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Scoville Memorial Library at (860) 435-2838 or scovlibn@biblio.org.

–E.E.

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Artist Shawn Fields to discuss artistic process

‘A Rehearsal’ by Shawn Fields

Great Barrington — On Saturday, Nov. 9, at 10:30 a.m., the Mason Library will host an artist’s talk with New Marlborough artist Shawn Fields. The talk will focus on Fields’ painting “A Rehearsal.”

Living in western Massachusetts with his wife and three children for the past 10 years, Fields has focused on creating large narrative oil paintings that generally depict children playing and using their imaginations. Shows of his oil paintings often include the preliminary work; charcoal drawings in which composition and values are first established; and painted studies that help resolve color and light. He is represented by Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine. Fields recently illustrated his first book, “Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial,” written by Linda Booth Sweeney.

The talk is free and open to the public, and coincides with an exhibit at the library of Fields’ artwork, which will be on display through Thursday, Dec. 5. Refreshments will be served after the talk and attendees will have the opportunity to meet Fields and ask questions. Prints of his art will be available for sale at the event. For more information, contact the Mason Library at (413) 528-2403.

–E.E.

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Sandisfield Players to celebrate works of Neil Simon

Sandisfield — On Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. at the Sandisfield Arts Center, the Sandisfield Players will bring to the stage excerpts from a few of Neil Simon’s best-known works.

In a program developed by Benjamin Luxon, Charles Evers Whyte and Mary Anne Grammer, performers will present a staged reading of scenes from “The Odd Couple,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and other Simon classics. Neil Simon (1927 – 2018) wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer.

Tickets are $20. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar, or contact the Sandisfield Arts Center at (413) 258-4100 or info@sandisfieldartscenter.org.

–E.E.

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Lenox Library to welcome author Neha Das

Image courtesy Elephant and Owl Press

Lenox — On Saturday, Nov. 9, from 10:30 to 11: 30 a.m., Katie’s Korner at the Lenox Library will welcome local author Neha Das, who will read her book, “My Shining Star,” followed by a Q&A session for kids who want to learn more about writing books.

“My Shining Star” is an illustrated children’s book that addresses life in a family with a working mother in a way that emphasizes love and empowerment so that children can understand that the mother’s passion for her career does not diminish her love for her children.

Das lives locally with her husband and two daughters. She is a board certified pediatric dentist, baking aficionado, bookworm and lifelong student. She loves hiking, singing off-key, having impromptu dance parties, and laughing as much as possible. Das firmly believes that children are capable of understanding complex concepts when adults find the right way to communicate and has dedicated her life to learning more about the most effective ways to talk to kids.

The event is free and open to the public. The book will be available for purchase at the event. For more information, contact the Lenox Library Youth Department at (413) 637-0197 x105 or kwallick@lenoxlib.org.

–E.E.