Celebrate Pride with Your Library!

Posted on by Jill Mercurio

This Pride Month, the Library is celebrating LGBTQIA+ history and culture with programs, activities and displays for adults and kids of all ages! Visit any Library location to browse our displays, and check out our program offerings.

Events

We’re excited to be hosting Pride Month programs for library-goers of all ages this June! Here’s our current lineup:

Prom 2.0

Adults | Friday, May 29 at 7 PM at the Brookline Village Library

As a lead-in to Pride Month, come to the Brookline Village library for our Prom 2.0! If you didn’t have the prom of your dreams as a high schooler, (or even if you did), this is your chance for a do-over. Adults ages 18+ are invited for an inclusive, Queer, disco celebration featuring DJing from Mx. Blaire, fun photo booth props, light desserts and refreshments, and a night of dancing! Come build community and intergenerational friendships with folks from around Brookline and Boston.

Registration is required for this special after-hours event. For info and registration click here.

Pride Month Scavenger Hunts

Kids & Tweens | All Month at the Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner, and Putterham Libraries

Swing by our Children’s Rooms at Brookline Village and Coolidge Corner or the main desk at Putterham, and ask for a scavenger hunt sheet to search for as many different Pride flags or LGBTQIA+ figures as you can find!

Pride Printmaking with Alex Makes Art

Adults | Wednesday, June 3, 2026 – 6:30PM-8:30PM at the Brookline Village Library.

Join Alex Makes Art to kick-off Pride with a fantastic printmaking experience! Whether you’re a seasoned printmaker or just want to learn the basics, this event is all about unleashing your creativity. This is a drop-in program, but registration is strongly encouraged.

Pride Zine Making

All Ages | Tuesday, June 16, 2026 – 6PM-8PM at the Coolidge Corner Library.

Join us to learn about and make zines in preparation for our Queer Zine Fest! Zines are self published print works typically produced in small, limited runs. Drop in anytime between 6-8 PM to learn about zine history, how to make a zine, and create a zine or two of your own!

Queer Watercolor Workshop with LMH Artwork

All Ages | Wednesday, June 10, 2026 – 6PM-7:30PM (Drop-in) at the Putterham Library.

Come to the Putterham Library to celebrate Pride with LMH Artwork! This watercolor workshop is great for beginners to experts, and a fun event for the whole family. This is a drop in event where patrons will be able to paint rainbows, flags, and queer icons. All supplies will be provided by the library. Attendance is limited on a first come, first served basis — please arrive early to secure your spot.

Queer Reading Group

Adults | Thursday, June 11 at 7 PM at the Brookline Village Library

Read and discuss books by queer authors in a variety of genres. This group has a stress-free structure, where the conversation we develop about identity, gender, race, and all intersections that these generate is just as important as reading the book. We make space to feel seen, safe, ask questions, and learn. Join us in-person or virtually.

Brookline Queer Zine Fest

All Ages | Saturday, June 20 at 11:30AM-4 PM at the Brookline Village Library

Come celebrate Pride at the Brookline Village Library at our first Brookline Queer Zine Fest! Attendees will be able to purchase zines and art from local artists. The Brookline Booksmith will also be providing a collection of free zines.

Zines are self published print works typically produced in small, limited runs. This event will allow people to meet other creative minds and celebrate diversity within our community.

Free Movie Screening at Coolidge Corner Theatre

Adults | Thursday, July 9 at 7:30 PM at the Coolidge Corner Theatre

To close out our Pride festivities, The Public Library of Brookline is offering a free screening of Moonlight (2016) in partnership with the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Join us in Movie House 5 at The Coolidge Corner Theatre (290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446) on July 9th for this special event. Space is limited. Please register to reserve your free ticket.

Celebrating AANHPI Month with Tiger and Magpie

Posted on by Jessica Steytler

Korean Minhwa artist and Brookline resident Yoonkyoung Ahn presents a special exhibit exploring the tiger and magpie, two beloved figures in traditional Korean folk painting. Through a playful comparison between contemporary pop-culture imagery as seen in K-Pop Demon Hunters, and a centuries-old Joseon-era painting, the exhibit shows how Minhwa has long used humor, symbolism, and imagination to express ordinary people’s hopes, values, and even critiques of political power. Ahn’s work bridges tradition and modern life, inviting audiences across cultures and generations to see Korean folk art as accessible, relatable, and full of life.

Kids April 2026 Vacation Week Programs

Posted on by Elissa Martel

With school break coming up, we’ve got exciting children’s programs at all three Public Library of Brookline locations. We hope you’ll join us to learn, create, and explore! Click on the links below to visit the event page and learn more about the program.

Monday, April 20

The Library is closed for Patriots’ Day.

Tuesday, April 21

Come dance, sing, and jam with us at Jammin’ with You at the Coolidge Corner Library! With modern takes on children’s classics, you’ll be humming and bopping your way through 30 minutes of nonstop family fun. This program is best suited for kids ages 0-7 and their families. Free tickets are required, and can be picked up at the Coolidge Corner Children’s Desk starting at 10 AM on the day of the event. Jammin’ with You starts at 10:30 AM.

Join Matt Heaton for an interactive singalong at the Putterham Library! This program is for families and kids of all ages, but may be most appealing to children ages 0-5. Whether you call it children’s music, family music, kindie or toddlerbilly, it’s sure to please listeners of all ages. This program starts at 10:30 AM.

Try your hand at mini-golf at the Putterham Library! Join One Up Games for a 9-hole LED Mini Golf course. Each hole glows with different colored LEDs, including LED golf balls. This program is open to kids, tweens, and teens and will start at 12 PM.

Come to Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library for Space Week Trivia! Test your knowledge on planets, stars, black holes, and more! This program is best-suited for kids ages 6+ and their families. Space Week Trivia starts at 1 PM.

Wednesday, April 22

What’s the difference between a lizard and a snake and a crocodile and an alligator? Join us for Wild World of Reptiles with Joys of Nature at the Brookline Village Library to learn more about our wonderful scaly friends and meet some reptile special guests. We are offering two identical sessions of this program. The first session will run from 4-4:30 PM and the second session will run from 6-6:30 PM. Both sessions will be held in Hunneman Hall and require a free ticket to attend. Tickets will be available at the Children’s Desk 30 minutes before each session begins. This program is intended for children ages 5 and up.

Celebrate National Library Week at the Putterham Library! Join us for Library Appreciation Night. Enjoy refreshments, socialize with neighbors, and get to know your local library. This program starts at 6 PM and is for all ages.

Thursday, April 23

Calling Red Sox fans of all ages! Join us at the Putterham Library for a special meet and greet with Wally the Green Monster. Attendees will have the opportunity to take a photo with Wally, and will receive an exclusive button made by Library staff for this event. Attendance is first-come, first served, so get in line early to secure your spot. This event starts at 10:30 AM.

Join artist Lidia Mikhaylova for a Space Week Silk Painting Workshop at the Brookline Village Library! Participants will watch how color drifts across silk like cosmic dust, how layers merge like distant galleries, and how unexpected forms appear. This program will take place in the Rabbit Hole and registration is required. This workshop is for youth in grades 5-12 and starts at 1 PM.

Get ready to be amazed as the team from Mad Science brings learning to life at the Library with jaw-dropping experiments, including foggy dry ice storms and bubbly showers. This program is intended for kids ages 5+ and their families, and will take place at the Coolidge Corner Library. Free tickets are required, and can be picked up at the Coolidge Corner Children’s Desk starting at 1:30 PM on the day of the program. Fire & Ice with Mad Science starts at 2 PM.

Friday, April 24

Stop by Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library for an Earth Day Extravaganza with Mothers Out Front! Make a recycled art project, use electricity to power a dollhouse, try induction cooking, and more. This event is best-suited for kids ages 5+ and their families, though all are welcome. Earth Day Extravaganza starts at 2 PM.

Saturday, April 25

Join us and our special guest from Casa Madrigal for a Princess Party in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library! Listen to stories, dance, and sing with a special princess. Costumes of any kind or fancy outfits are encouraged! This program is aimed at kids ages 2-7 and their families, though all are welcome. We will host two identical sessions of this program, one at 11 AM and one at 3 PM. Free tickets are required and will be available at the Brookline Village Children’s Desk 30 minutes before each session.

Contributions AANHPI Have Made to American History Exhibit

Posted on by Jessica Steytler

AAPIEC Inc. in collaboration with the Town of Brookline is celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month with two events: This exhibit and the AAPIEC Inc. Workshop and Exhibit
Reception on May 21.

This exhibit was created to define who AANHPIs are (over 100 different ethnic groups) and to share the history and culture of these ethnic groups. In addition, there are thousands of AANHPIs who have served in the military with medals of honor and contributed as Supreme Court Judges, Nobel Prize Winners, Astronauts etc. to American History that very few people know about and would be very surprised who they are. AANHPI is part of American History. You will come away after viewing the exhibit saying, “I didn’t know that”. This exhibit will be on display in Hunneman Hall at the library on Washington street from May 2 – May 30 during regular library hours.

General Exhibit Information

Directions and Parking Information

Sand Rhythms: Paintings by Andrea Yeh

Posted on by Jessica Steytler
Artist Statement:
Sand Rhythms
I usually walk along beaches with my eyes glued to the ground, in ascination of the music the water creates with the sand. When the sunshine illuminates the scene, there is a symphony of reflection and refraction as the light interacts with the waves and granules of rocks and minerals. Every stretch of sand on each beach sings a unique tune at every moment, colored by the weather, time of day, and time of year. This series is about capturing a few of those moments in their entirety, showcasing the rhythm, texture, and dynamics of ocean waves playing their instrument. I took an interdisciplinary approach to this series, starting with painting in vibrant acrylic colors to capture the wonder I experience when observing beach sand. Each painting was then paired with an accompanying AI-generated instrumental track created using prompts specific to each work, reflecting one additional transformation of interpretation from nature to human and now to AI and echoing my deep appreciation for nature, humanity, and technology.
Bio:
Andrea Yeh is a painter and meditation teacher based in Brookline, MA. Her art practice is an extension of her meditation practice and vice versa, resulting in work that is an expression of deep focus and connectedness. By blending realism with abstraction, she translates the mysteries, surprises, and beauty found around us into vibrant acrylic and watercolor compositions, all imbued with a subtle lens of logic and reason from her interdisciplinary background in the social sciences, mathematics, and humanities.

Mark Zlotnikov: Drawings

Posted on by Ginger O'Day

My name is Mark Zlotnikov.  I am 88 years old and a retired Power Plant Mechanical Engineer.  I spent the last 10 years of my working life working for GE in Schenectady, NY.  I retired when I was 73. Very soon, I got the feeling that, to stay alive, I needed to find something to fill the emptiness.

I had skiing in my heart. But it was only 3-4 short winter months. Plus, good health was required. By the way, I am looking for skiing partners!

Then, I had the idea to try drawing. I purchased a few books, drawing paper, and a few pencils. I started to draw. I took a few drawing lessons for adults in Brookline and Newton High Schools. Those lessons and teachers were great.

Basically, I copy photographs and sometimes the portraits of the Big Masters.  My “darling” tools are soft pencils and Water-soluble Wax Pastel Crayons.

Please take a look at a few of my drawings and let me know what you think about them.

I hope you will enjoy it.

With love and great respect,

Mark Zlotnikov

Larry Clifford: Biblioquilts

Posted on by Jessica Steytler

Larry Clifford will be presenting his Biblioquilts in Hunneman Hall in March and April. Please join us for an artist’s talk on April 30 from 6-7 PM.

His Artist Statement and Bio:

“My BiblioQuilts and murals are created using distressed books that were salvaged from basements, attics, and public libraries throughout New England. I repurpose every part of the books I find —the covers, the pages, the spines—breathing new life into my materials with the addition of dyes, inks, and acrylics. Postcards, maps, and other ephemera may be tempting, but I restrict my palette to neglected books. That’s what makes the work both challenging and unique.

“Quilts made from recycled cloth are nothing new. But the combination of mixed media and repurposed books presents a whole new challenge. Each piece is comprised of thousands of “tiles” that were meticulously hand-cut from discarded or damaged hardcovers – books that no one has read or paid attention to in decades. Most were on their way to the landfill. I carry an inventory of pre-made BiblioQuilts, and I collaborate with families, libraries, and communities on commissioned pieces and murals. My goal is to create original works of art that evoke warm memories for everyone involved.”

After earning a B.A. in Art from Northwestern University, then an M.A. in Biomedical Communications from the University of Texas, Larry spent 15 years producing award-winning biomedical illustrations, with an emphasis on traditional media like pen-and-ink, carbon dust, and watercolor. He then switched to strategic planning, marketing, and business development for the nonprofit sector – mostly because he didn’t want to create artwork on a computer. (“What can I say…I’m old school.”) At this stage of his career, he is thrilled to be getting back to his roots as a maker of fine crafts.

May 17 – In-Person

Posted on by Bryan Kreusch

Caribbean-American poet Amy M. Alvarez is the winner of both the 2025 American Book Award and CariCon Poetry Prize for her book, Makeshift Altar (2024). She is also the co-editor of Essential Voices: A COVID-19 Anthology (2023).  She currently teaches writing and literature at Boston College.

Wendy Drexler is a recipient of a 2022 artist fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her fourth collection, Harvest of What Remains, received honorable mention for the Paul Nemser Prize and was published in January by Lily Poetry Review Books. Her poems have appeared in Barrow Street, J Journal, Mid-American Review, Nimrod, Pangyrus, Prairie Schooner, The Sun, and The Threepenny Review, among others. She was awarded the 2025 E.E. Cummings prize from the New England Poetry Club. A recipient of the 2021 Juror’s Prize for Art on the Trails, Southborough, MA, Wendy served as poet in residence at New Mission High School in Hyde Park, MA, from 2018-2023 and as programming co-chair for the New England Poetry Club from 2016–2024.

April 19 – In-Person

Posted on by Bryan Kreusch

Pamela Alexander’s Left won the 2024 Beloit Poetry Journal chapbook competition. She has four previous collections, including Slow Fire (Ausable/Copper Canyon). Earlier books won the Yale Younger Poets and Iowa Poetry Prizes, and her work has appeared in many periodicals, most recently Plume, descant, Ocean State Review, Red Letters and Southern Poetry Review. She taught creative writing at M.I.T. and Oberlin College and served on the editorial boards of Wesleyan University Press and FIELD magazine. Honors include fellowships at the Fine Arts Work Center, MacDowell, and the Bunting Institute.

K. T. Landon’s debut collection, Abide, was selected by Kim Addonizio as the winner of the 2025 Richard Snyder Memorial Poetry Prize and will be published this fall by Ashland Poetry Press. Her poems have appeared in The Southern Review, The Sun, New Ohio Review, Nimrod, North American Review, and Best New Poets, among others. She received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a reader for Lily Poetry Review.

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