BBA students and author Kai Thomas share stories of the land and resilience
- Manchester Journal
- Oct 2
- 2 min read
Press Manchester Journal
Published October 3, 2025
MANCHESTER — Smokey House Center and Manchester Community Library will welcome award-winning author Kai Thomas for a two-day residency supported by Vermont Humanities. The residency will feature a youth creative writing workshop with Burr and Burton Academy's Creative Writing class and a public reading and Q&A with Thomas at the Manchester Community Library.
On Friday, October 10, thirty students from Burr and Burton Academy will spend the day at Smokey House Center, participating in a creative writing workshop with Thomas. Drawing inspiration from The Light Pirate (the Vermont Reads 2025 book selection) and his own acclaimed debut novel In The Upper Country, Thomas will guide students in exploring the intersections of literature, land, and personal expression. The workshop will encourage students to connect nature writing to broader themes of resilience and identity.
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton, this year’s Vermont Reads selection, is a novel that follows Wanda, a girl born during a powerful hurricane in Florida, as she grows up in a rapidly changing world marked by climate disruption, resilience, and the search for community. The book invites readers to reflect on the relationship between people and the land, themes deeply connected to Smokey House Center’s work. Free copies of The Light Pirate are available to the public at the Manchester Community Library while supplies last.
"Stories have always been a way for people to understand their relationship to land and to one another. I’m honored to spend time with young writers at Smokey House Center and with the wider community to reflect on how storytelling can help us face the challenges of our changing world." said Kai Thomas, author of In the Upper Country.
On Saturday, October 11 at 11:00 a.m., the Manchester Community Library will host a free public reading and discussion with Thomas. This event will feature readings from both In the Upper Country and The Light Pirate, followed by a Q&A with the audience. Students from Burr and Burton will also share selections of their own writing developed during the workshop.
“This project highlights the power of literature and place in shaping the way we understand ourselves and our environment,” said Walker Cammack, Co-Director of Smokey House Center. “By bringing Kai here, we’re giving youth and the community a chance to see how story and landscape are deeply intertwined.”
Funded in part by a $1,000 Vermont Humanities grant, the program underscores Smokey House Center’s mission to connect people of all ages to the land through meaningful educational experiences.
The event at the library is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.mclvt.org or www.smokeyhouse.org.
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