Film Screening with Jessica and Sammy Matsaw 

Filmmakers Jessica and Sammy Matsaw will present their short documentary film, River of Return, and discuss their ongoing work with Shoshone-Bannock youth on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Through guided river trips, the Matsaws have created a corridor of connection for their tribal youth and people through their project, River Newe. Throughout the film, the community forages, fishes, and navigates the landscape together. They dig into their personal histories and language while telling a broader story of indigenous power and resilience. 

This program is presented in partnership with the Sun Valley Museum of Art. Registration is being run through SVMoA, so please click here to save your seat.

The film and conversation will be livestreamed, and a recording will be available through November 12. Click here to watch online.

Thursday, October 13, 2022, 6:00pm-7:00pm in the Lecture Hall.

Book Launch with Alli Frank and Asha Youmans 

Join us for the launch of the new novel by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans: Never Meant to Meet You, a riotously funny, emotionally real look at race and religion, love and heartache, and the realities of parenting through it all. The authors will be in conversation with librarian Aly Wepplo.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 6:00pm – 7:00pm in the Lecture Hall.

The novel follows two smart, strong women caught in mid-life tragedies who manage to laugh through the tears and heartache of the modern world they are navigating. Frank and Youmans share that, “For the two of us, the profound grief of all that we lost living through a pandemic needed a place to land.’” They married their feelings of isolation and sadness with a desperate need to laugh by writing a semi-autobiographical novel about a Jewish woman and a Black Baptist woman who are dealing with their own grief in their own ways but are forced together to process and support one another to move forward in life.  

In Never Meant to Meet You, Marjette Lewis, self-appointed fixer of other people’s woes, is uncharacteristically determined to keep to her side of the driveway when it comes to her flawless neighbor Noa Abrams. Professionally, Marjette has her hands full as she prepares for a new class of kindergarteners and her first year of teaching without her best friend, Judy. And at home, her son’s budding manhood challenges her expectations, and her vexing ex-husband continues to be a thorn in her side. But when tragedy strikes Marjette’s street, and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school with an uncle who has all the class moms aflutter, Marjette is forced to contend with both her neighbor and her own heartache over losing the life she once thought was guaranteed. Through laughter, tears, and the gift of found family, Marjette and Noa navigate the rituals of loss together and discover the strength to remake their lives―whether they meant to or not.

A book signing with Iconoclast and light reception with the Wood River Jewish Community will follow.

Sandra Cisneros’ lecture is proudly presented by The Community Library and Sun Valley Museum of Art. Cisneros is an award-winning poet, short story writer, novelist, and essayist whose work explores the lives of the working-class.

Her novel The House on Mango Street has sold over seven million copies, has been translated into over twenty-five languages, and is required reading in elementary, high school, and universities across the nation. As part of her stay, Cisneros will address over two hundred 9th grade students at Wood River High School who have read her novel. A new book, Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo, a story in English and in Spanish, was published in 2021. In the fall of 2022, a new collection of poetry, Woman Without Shame, Cisneros’s first in 28 years, will be published by Knopf and by Vintage Español in a Spanish language translation, Mujer sin vergüenza, by Liliana Valenzuela.

Her presentation will be in both English and Spanish. Cisneros is a dual citizen of the United States and Mexico. As a single woman, she chose to have books instead of children. She earns her living by her pen.

This event will be held at the Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater in Hailey. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students 18 & under. Tickets will be on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 13 at www.svmoa.org.

This program will not be livestreamed or available for later viewing. A book signing with Chapter One Bookstore will follow.

As a special introduction for the evening, Denice Carlos and Hector Flores of Las Cafeteras will perform a song prior to Sandra Cisneros’ lecture. Las Cafeteras will be in residence with SVMoA the week of the lecture and will be performing a concert and will work with students. Both the lecture and residency are part of The Museum’s Community Celebration “Honoring Traditions: Día de los Muertos,” made possible in part through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

The Community Library Story Time presents: Spanish Story Time. Cándida Miniño reads stories in Spanish. This is an evening event (5:30 pm) for kids and families, with a fun craft to follow! It is held in the Treehouse in the Children’s Library on alternate Wednesdays. See our event calendar for details.

No unattended children please.