Join us for an in-person Countway Reads book discussion!

About the Book:

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark! A Vagrant, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles, and Gaelic folk songs. With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta’s oil rush—part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can’t find it in the homeland they love so much. Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands, where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet is never discussed.

Beaton’s natural cartooning prowess is on full display as she draws colossal machinery and mammoth vehicles set against a sublime Albertan backdrop of wildlife, northern lights, and boreal forest. Her first full length graphic narrative, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is an untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people.

About the event: 

Storytelling is at the heart of medical and public health practice and Countway Library is here to help foster this tradition. Our Countway Reads initiative invites the community to read and learn together by engaging with creative works by people from all walks of life. 

These book discussions, held each semester, are open to all Harvard ID holders and facilitated by Countway Library librarians. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is limited, so sign up early!

About the factilitator:

Countway Reads is faciliated by Countway's Lead Collection & Knowledge Management Librarian, Matthew Noe. Matthew is a world-renowned expert on graphic medicine and is an advocate for the importance of reading for not just information, but for enjoyment and community, at all levels of education. Find out more about Matthew on his Harvard Library staff page and learn more about graphic medicine on Countway's Graphic Medicine landing page.

Notable themes from Matthew: environmentalism, extractive labor, loneliness, trauma

Please note that this comic discusses sexual assault, substance abuse, and other difficult subjects.