By Miles Hilton
Apple: Skin to the Core, by Eric Gansworth highlights indigenous experience.
Looking for a new book to read, and some community to discuss it with? There’s plenty of time to participate in the third annual Chautauqua County Book Read. Co-organized by the YWCA of Jamestown and the Chautauqua Institution, this annual event brings Chautauqua County together to read and discuss a book chosen to “help heal our divides and propel participants to be engaged citizens working towards a more inclusive and just society”.
This year’s book is Apple: Skin to the Core, by Onondoga writer and visual artist Eric Gansworth. Over the course of a prolific career, Gansworth has published a dozen books spanning several genres, as well as plays and poetry. Apple: Skin to the Core is a memoir in verse, illustrated by the author.
CHQ Book Read participants are encouraged to join a discussion group between April 15 and 26th. Discussion groups will be held both in person and online, and those interested can find more information and register at
www.ywcajamestown.com/chqbookread.
In addition to the YWCA and the Chautauqua Institution, a number of other organizations across the county are partnering for the CHQ Book Read. Among them are the Audubon Community Nature Center, several libraries around the county, the Rotary Club of Jamestown, local churches and art spaces, and the Chautauqua County IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and access) coalition.
On August 1st, Eric Gansworth will speak at the Chautauqua Institution. August 1st is ‘Chautauqua Day’ at the Chautauqua Institution, and all Chautauqua County residents enjoy free parking and admission to the grounds.
For more information, see the link above or contact Amanda Gesing, the Executive Director of the YWCA of Jamestown (agesing@ywcajamestown.com), Amit Taneja, Senior VP & Chief IDEA Officer at the Chautauqua Institution (ataneja@chq.org), or Danica Olson, Project Coordinator of the CHQ Book Read (chqbookread@ywcajamestown.com).
