Bernie for Burlington: A Vermont Celebration with Dan Chiasson, Jamaica Kincaid, and Bread & Puppet Theater

Join Pioneer Works and The New York Review of Books for the official launch of Dan Chiasson’s Bernie for Burlington—an epic account of the early days and rise of the young Bernie Sanders, in a bygone time and place that find, in the New York City of 2026, their thrilling sequel.

In this symphonic work of social history, Dan Chiasson reconstructs the rise of an American icon from his Brooklyn boyhood to the old-fashioned Vermont city where Bernie came of age. With in-depth reporting and remarkable scenes from his own hometown, Chiasson tracks a faint political signal that traveled from communes, hardluck neighborhoods, traditional businesses, and county fairs to the town meetings and ballot boxes through which Sanders built his socialist platform and took on a backroom Democratic machine. By the shores of Lake Champlain, Bernie found his coalition among Burlington’s often feuding communities: the conservative French-Canadian Catholics whose grandparents had worked in the mills; the puppeteers, hippies, and NYC transplants who’d moved to Vermont to find land and authenticity; the anti-nukers, activist nuns, baseball fans, developers, cops, and small businessmen like a pair of ice cream makers named Ben and Jerry.

Bernie captivated them all, running on the slogan “Burlington Is Not for Sale” to become the modern era’s first socialist mayor. This people’s epic shows us an American city transformed, one diner coffee and one neighborhood door-knock at a time. It’s a mesmerizing portrait of a politician, a place, and a movement that would change America––and a role model for the mayor now poised to transform New York.

This special launch event, co-presented by Pioneer Works and The New York Review of Books, will feature a conversation with Dan Chiasson and Jamaica Kincaid moderated by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, with music and special performances from members of the Bread & Puppet Theater.

Tickets with a copy of Bernie for Burlington included are available. Books will also be for sale at the event, which will feature a book signing with Dan Chiasson.