Bellbrook Reads Together, Oct. 6, 2025

Sugarcreek Cares and Right to Read Ohio invite the community of the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School District to participate in a community read called,
“Bellbrook Reads Together.” People are invited to read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, a book from the Bellbrook High School curriculum that has recently
come into conflict with the School Board’s new policy regarding mature material. Copies of the book and e-book are available for free through Winters-Bellbrook Community Library.

Whether or not people have read The Poet X, they are welcome to attend a discussion about the book, the new board policy, and the broader issue of school
censorship on October 6, 7:00 p.m. at the Bellbrook Sugarcreek Park District headquarters on Washington Mill Road. “I love the power of fiction to teach us
about someone not like ourselves in order to learn about ourselves,” said Right to Read Ohio Director Sharon Hawkes. “We hope that, through reading this award-winning book, people will come to understand why it is important for teenagers to read carefully-chosen books that some may find disturbing at first glance.”

The discussion will be led by Ms. Hawkes and Professor Marjory Wentworth, Director of the Writing Center at Wittenberg University and former poet laureate
for South Carolina. Ms. Wentworth has been teaching courses on banned books for over a decade, and one of her books was recently tagged for removal by the National Parks Service. Ms. Hawkes retired from a career in public librarianship in 2023, and has facilitated in-person and online discussions about censorship since 2021, including for the Ohio ACLU and the Ohio Educational Library Media Association.

For further information about the Bellbrook Reads event, contact Right to Read Ohio through its Facebook page.