Meet the Author, Quan Barry. 7pm
Acclaimed novelist Quan Barry delivers a tour de female force in this delightful novel. Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts, where the accusations began that led to the 1692 witch trials, We Ride Upon Sticks follows the 1989 Danvers High School Falcons field hockey team, who will do anything to make it to the state finals—even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers. In chapters dense with 1980s iconography—from Heathers to “big hair”—Barry expertly weaves together the individual and collective progress of this enchanted team as they storm their way through an unforgettable season.
Helmed by good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the infamous Salem accuser Ann Putnam) and her co-captain Jen Fiorenza (whose bleached blond “Claw” sees and knows all), the Falcons prove to be wily, original, and bold, flaunting society’s stale notions of femininity in order to find their glorious true selves through the crucible of team sport and, more importantly, friendship.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Saigon and raised in Danvers, Quan Barry is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the author of four poetry books; her third book, Water Puppets, won the AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry and was a PEN/Open Book finalist. She has received NEA Fellowships in both fiction and poetry, and her work has appeared in such publications as Ms. and The New Yorker. Barry lives in Wisconsin.
PRAISE
“Touching, hilarious, and deeply satisfying . . . Readers will cheer [the team] on because what they’re really doing is learning to be fully and authentically themselves.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A perfect blend of aesthetic and narrative pleasure . . . It’s very funny and a little angry and a lot of fun.”
—Maris Kreizman
“I’ve just finished Quan Barry’s forthcoming novel We Ride Upon Sticks, which is very sad news for me, because I don’t get to read it anymore. It’s been a long, long time since I snorted and snickered my way through a book. We Ride Upon Sticks is kind of like Stranger Things meets Bad News Bears meets Heathers . . . Basically, this book is a must read if you were ever a teenage girl, played a team sport, contemplated witchcraft, and/or were alive in the 80s. If like me, all of these things apply, watch out: this book is going to get you.” —Emily Temple, Lit Hub Senior Editor
“Think about your favorite ’80s teen movies, and then think of all the ills they perpetuated — the casual racism and the slut-shaming, not to mention the homophobic stereotypes. We Ride Upon Sticks is a novel that captures the giddy fun of your favorites — the wild parties and the teased bangs, the outsiders with the witty one-liners and the thrill of winning the big game — but it also breaks apart the myths of ’80s teen tropes by putting the story in context. As narrated by the 11 members of the Danvers Falcons women’s varsity field hockey team in 1989 and in the more enlightened present day, the novel follows the team’s meteoric rise from mediocrity to the state championship after signing their names in a powerful, potentially witchy notebook with Emilio Estevez’s face on the cover.” —Vulture
“A playful, nostalgic run through 1980s suburbia . . . Barry handles a large cast of characters nimbly and affectionately, allowing each to take a turn or two in the spotlight. Readers with fond, or even not so fond, memories of the 1980s are bound to be entertained.” —Publishers Weekly
Tapley Memorial Hall 13 Page Street, Danvers MA.
Danvers Historical Society: 978-777-1666 or E-mail to connect@danvershistory.org
Free Admission. Donations appreciated.