Malden Reads

Arts

Malden Reads announces book selection and prepares to kickoff 2025 program

January 23, 2025 Neighborhood View 0
by Mack Keating Continuing its tradition of highlighting powerful stories that challenge perspectives and inspire change, Malden Reads announced its 2025 Book of the Year. The chosen selection, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, tells a true story of resilience, innovation, and the transformative power of education. Set in Malawi in Africa, the story follows young Kamkwamba’s journey during a devastating drought in 2001 that left families across the country facing severe hunger. Forced to leave school because of financial hardship, Kamkwamba refused to let his circumstances hold him back. In a 2009 TED Talk, Kamkwamba shared how he found hope in his local library, reading as many science books as he could get his hands on. Not knowing much English at the time, he relied on pictures, graphs, and context clues to “learn the words around them.” In one of the books he read, he learned of a windmill, which could be used to pump water and generate electricity: “Pump water meant irrigation, a defense against hunger,” he […]
History

From Malden to Maldon: City Councilor celebrates the historic connection

January 3, 2025 Neighborhood View 0
By Lindsay Perdue Malden City Council President Steve Winslow traveled 3,000 miles from home, only to find himself back in Maldon: that’s Malden with an “o,” the city of Malden, Massachusetts’ namesake in England. During a European vacation last July, the longtime Malden resident and Bike to the Sea co-founder, explored the two cities’ deep historical connection. He took a six-hour ferry from the Netherlands to Harwich, England, followed by a train journey through rural, agricultural land before arriving in Maldon, England, a quaint town 35 miles northeast of London. Malden, Massachusetts was named after Maldon, England. It is located near the coast on the banks of the River Blackwater in Essex County and is surrounded by farmland. According to the City of Malden’s website, Malden was incorporated as a separate town on May 2, 1649. The name ‘Malden’ was chosen by Joseph Hill, an early settler and landholder who emigrated to the United States from Maldon, England. “It’s very similar to Ipswich, Massachusetts because it’s on the coast and surrounded by agricultural areas,” Winslow said. […]
Business

Large Retail/Condo building planned for demolished Teen Center site but fate of historic building is at stake

November 7, 2024 Neighborhood View 1
By Mark Micheli The large hole in downtown Malden created by the demolition of the Malden Teen Center four years ago could be replaced with a 7-story building with retail on the first floor and about 60 residential condominiums above that. But first, the city and the developer have to decide the fate of a historic building next door. The historic M. Ida Converse building at 15 Ferry Street will likely be demolished if the city is unable to move it to another location. And that’s because the developer, Alpha Business Center LLC, has permission to demolish it to make way for its plans to construct a large building over that lot, as well as the lot next door at 1 Salem Street. Even if the historic building is demolished or moved, the developer would still need special permits from the city to carry out its building plans on the prominent downtown corner of Ferry, Salem and Main Streets, according to Ward 4 City Councilor Ryan O’Malley. High School Site Eyed For Historic Building A […]
Arts

Malden residents enjoy the city’s first Winter Festival

December 21, 2021 Neighborhood View 1
By Martha Bezzat, Fern Remedi-Brown, Laura Cummingham, Susan Margot Ecker, Nikita Sampath On Saturday, Dec. 4, the sidewalks of Pleasant Street were lined with about 55 local artists and craftspeople, eager to share their wares with Malden residents as part of the first Winter Festival, sponsored by the City of Malden.  Malden Reads held its 2022 season “kick-off” event during the festival in the J Malden Center lobby. The group hosted poetry readings from local poets, children’s activities, dance videos from local dance group Monkeyhouse, and a raffle. J Malden Center also hosted the Chamber of Commerce’s 130th Anniversary closing event, which provided history and hot chocolate for crowds seeking warmth and nourishment from the cold weather.   The event had the dual goal of “bringing customers back to our downtown to support our businesses and [giving] our residents an outdoor activity to enjoy themselves safely,” said Kevin Duffy, the Strategy and Business Development Officer for the City of Malden. However, a runaway car parked on Pleasant Street momentarily shook up the festive atmosphere when it began to roll, went […]
Arts

Malden Reads never stopped reading: 12th year kickoff will happen on Dec. 4

November 26, 2021 Martha Bezzat 2
By Martha Bezzat Malden Reads, a community organization with the mission of literature for all, will launch its 2022 season with a kick-off event at the Winter Festival on Dec. 4 that showcases this year’s selection: An American Sunrise: Poems by Joy Harjo, the first Indigenous Poet Laureate of the United States. Malden Reads members are excited about the opportunity to showcase a book by an Indigenous author. “This is going to be a very unique reading experience,” said Meredith, a self-described “recent recruit” to Malden Reads. Meredith is an alum from NYC’s New School with a background in the poetry performance arts scene, which includes poetry readings and slams. “It’s a very different experience than reading a core curriculum by mostly white people. It will highlight the differences between Indigenous and colonial writing. It’s a great shift in perspective,” she continued. Felicia Ryan, another first-year steering committee member, said, “It’s a brave choice because poetry can be off-putting for people but this book of poems is extremely accessible for people.” Highlighting Malden Reads’ role […]
Arts

Malden Reads Selects Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime” for 11th Year Book

November 24, 2020 Neighborhood View 1
By Natasha Eslami In Born a Crime, Trevor Noah, the popular comedian and host of the cable TV show “The Daily Show,” recounts his childhood growing up in South Africa, the son of a white father and a Black mother. At the time, such a union was punishable by five years in prison in apartheid South Africa, so Noah’s very existence was  “crime.”  Noah tells his story, which ranges from the humorous to the traumatic, with his cutting wit and incisive perspective. At times both poignant and outrageous, Noah deals with the intersection of his life and the history of a country reckoning with deep-seated racism and finds a parallel here to the United States. His memoir does not shy away from exposing deeply ingrained racism, sexism, violence, economic inequity, and domestic violence. And yet, his personal story reminds us that even in the deepest tragedy and among the most menacing of fears, there is hope and strength within ourselves and those around us to set us on a better path. The Malden Reads team wanted to select a book that would […]
Education

Malden Reads mulls book selection for 2021

September 8, 2020 Neighborhood View 0
By Heather Barry Earlier this summer, as the Malden Reads steering committee began its book selection process for 2021, it faced a season and mood in the community and country very different from its previous ten years. On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has been wracked with a coming to terms of 400 years of systemic racism, sparked by the murder of George Floyd, and brought to life by protestors from coast to coast.  These important and ongoing events informed the discussions of this year’s books. Once the book is selected, Malden Reads will invite the community of Malden to read the book and participate in a series of events related to the book’s themes. “At the end of the day, we want to point people toward a quality book with an important story that needs to be heard,” said Steering Committee member Martha Bezzat. “This particular year, we were open to themes about the ongoing crisis of racism, the trauma of the global pandemic, and resilience in communities.” She added, “The journey to […]