West Paris Public Library has been awarded a Discussion Project from the Maine Humanities Council. “The Passage of Time — The Meaning of Change,” a five-book series, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at the 226 Main St. library.

While the American Dream portrays change as “a new beginning” and history as inevitable progress, this selection of Maine writers regards the passage of time more skeptically. For many of these writers, the vanished past has an idyllic quality, and the future seems dark, according to a news release from Brenda Lynn Gould, library director.

The writers in this free series represent a span of nearly 100 years, and each provides a different perspective on the problems posed by the passage of time.

Trey Adams, the discussion facilitator, is a fiction writer from the foothills of eastern Tennessee. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Tennessee and his Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the Stonecoast low-residency program in southern Maine. His work has most recently appeared in Gone Lawn, The Shore, and Whitefish Review. He lives in Portland, with his partner.

Discussions are will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the following Thursdays:

• Oct. 20: “The Country of the Pointed Firs” by Sarah Orne Jewett;

• Nov. 3: “Collected Lyrics” by Edna St. Vincent Millay;

• Nov. 17: “One Man’s Meat” by E.B. White;

• Dec. 1: “As We Are Now” by May Sarton; and

• Dec. 15: “The Beans of Egypt, Maine” by Carolyn Chute.

This series also will have a Zoom link available. All books are provided for participants to keep.

To register, call 207-674-2004 or email librarian@westparislibrary.org.

For more information, visit westparislibrary.org and the library’s Facebook page.

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