J Brooke, writer of “I Can Tell You The Version That Will Make You Take My Side”, will be at The Meeting House in Cornwall on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6:30 p.m., for a book talk and discussion with venue director Benjamin Weiss. Free and open to all.
Photo submitted

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 11 captured the awe and excitement of our community and visitors last week, so it’s still on theme to welcome the writer from the MNFF 2 film, Legs: A Big Issue in a Small Town, back to Addison County on Thursday, Sept. 3 to discuss their new book at The Meeting House in Cornwall.

“I Can Tell You The Version That Will Make You Take My Side” by J Brooke is a collection of poetry that explores Brooke’s own life, not as a self-described poet, but as a writer. The story begins in a rich and specific New York City childhood full of binaries, then catapults into a fully realized, self-aware adulthood. The series of connected poems over these two parts force us to confront opposing ideologies of self in connection with loved ones and family. Born intrinsically male, assigned female at birth, and raised in affluent dysfunction in New York City, Brooke’s gender expression attempted male, cis straight female, and cis gay female before embracing a nonbinary identity. Living without surgical or hormonal interventions, their struggle to find authentic place traverses female anatomy, friendship, suicide, family, testosterone, politics, packers, social media, motherhood, royalty, natural phenomena, cancer, marriage and the pope.

In their first experimental season, The Meeting House in Cornwall is excited to see how the community responds to book talks. The venue especially wants to put on events that create a welcoming safe space for our underserved communities, and to provide a platform for artists who share a connection to this corner of Vermont.

When curating The Meeting House’s first season, program director Benjamin Weiss got notably excited about presenting and moderating this talk with Brooke regarding a work, at its core, about family. Weiss is a distant cousin of Brooke, having known each other at a distance through family reunions for years. They’ve recently grown closer through conversations about the arts and what it means to be queer in their extended family. Weiss and Brooke look forward to bringing a larger community into this conversation, rooted around this beautiful book of poetry.

The discussion and Q&A, will take place Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6:30 p.m., in The Meeting House at Cornwall’s upstairs studio. The event is free and open to all, and registration is helpful for seating. Reserve your seat at TheMeetingHouseVT.org/JBrooke-BookTalk. Walk-ins also welcome.