Celebrating Poetry: Gwendolyn Brooks

Fri, 02/17/2006 - 10:11am by jillean

Gwendolyn Brooks was named Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968, served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1985-86, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 for Annie Allen. She wrote over twenty books of poetry and is one of the most celebrated American poets. The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks brings her many works together and provides a complete view of her passion, versatility and genius.

Other works by Brooks include: The Bean Eaters, In Montgomery, and Other Poems, and her two-part autobiography, Report from Part One and Report From Part Two.

Sweetness in the Belly

Mon, 02/13/2006 - 12:09pm by muffy

In alternating chapters, Lilly, a nurse in a London hospital, recounted evocatively life among the immigrant Muslim families and her unimaginable hardship growing up as a “farenji”(foreigner) in Africa. Orphaned at 8, Lilly was left in care of a learned scholar in Morocco by her hippie parents and was brought up a devout Muslim. Civil war forced her to flee to Harar, Ethiopia where she courageously built a life among abject poverty and famine, and eventually fell in love with an idealistic young doctor.

Written with great warmth, clarity and grace, Camilla Gibb examines the concept of home and what it means to be “foreign”. This novel also celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the redemptive ability of Sweetness in the belly (love). A remarkable novel from a young writer on the Orange Futures List.

A look back at slavery

Sat, 02/11/2006 - 10:28am by Maxine

Julius Lester, author of many books for young people celebrating African American traditions, takes us in his latest story, Day of Tears, to the largest slave auction in U.S. history in 1859 on a Georgia plantation. Told in dialogue and monologue, the story moves back and forth in time. In the present, Pierce Butler, plantation owner, sells Emma, the one who cared for his children, along with other slaves to pay off his gambling debts. Some time later, the characters look back on that painful time and comment on the horrors they experienced. Many characters fictionalized from history speak, including the auctioneer, several runaway slaves and an abolitionist.

Day of Tears is one of twenty books nominated for the 2006 Thumbs Up Award presented by the Michigan Library Association for the best book for young adults. Teens can have a voice in the final selection by voting for their favorite book from the list.

GT Planning Meeting Agenda

Fri, 02/10/2006 - 9:13pm by eli

The Season 3 Planning Meeting will take place this Sunday at Malletts Creek Branch from 1-4 PM. We will have plenty of open play, including Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, DDR, and, if the gun will work with the projector, a DUCK HUNT TOURNAMENT!

Also, we'll be testing out a crazy idea... we're going to try 8-player Mario Kart with 4 players at Malletts Creek, and 4 players Downtown. So, if any have your own transportation and would like to stop Downtown at 1:00, you can help Kip test the Downtown end of the network, and then head out to Malletts before we start the actual meeting.

Phoebe Gloeckner @ Neutral Zone Wednesday, Feb. 15 (7-9 pm)

Wed, 02/08/2006 - 6:32pm by K.C.

Graphic novelist, Gloeckner, will talk about Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Picturesand other works. New York Times Sunday Magazine says Gloeckner is “one of the most accomplished [cartoonists] in terms of mastery of the medium”. Check her out at ravenblond.com.

animanga zine!

Tue, 02/07/2006 - 8:55pm by sstonez

Hi everyone!

at tonight's animanga club we talked about starting up an anime/manga zine that would have reviews, other features/writing, fan art, your own characters/other art, stuff about Japanese language and culture--really anything related to the world of anime and manga that you all want to contribute.

we also talked about:
1. editorial board! can everyone who expressed interest in either editing writing or coordinating/editing art please post and remind us of your names?

2. frequency! does about once a month sound good? if that's our goal, we've got to get rolling on SUBMISSIONS for our very first issue.

Music in the Future

Fri, 02/03/2006 - 4:43pm by sstonez

You may have heard about Best Buy's new partnership with independent online music source CDBaby. What else will shape the future of music and the music industry? David Kusek's new book The Future of Music explores the cluster of issues around music and the recording industry as we move into the 21st century, as does the PBS Frontline documentary The Way the Music Died. I certainly don't know where music is heading, but I bet the future will sound something like this...

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #5

Thu, 02/02/2006 - 4:24pm by muffy

Two sisters, two wars, one hot summer, one thoughtless act with devastating consequences, and one achingly beautiful first novel.

Adolescent Kate, watchful and sensitive, her wild and theatrical sister Frankie, (the gwaimui White Ghost Girls, lovingly called by their Chinese nanny) were left navigating an idyllic summer in Hong Kong while their photographer father was on assignment for Time magazine, covering the Vietnam war. It was 1967. The Mao rebellion in China was spilling over the border.

The story was set against the backdrop of the insular colonial American/English society of tea parties, cricket games and private schools and the awakening Chinese nationalism.

Newcomer Alice Greenway gave us one of the most memorable debut novels in a long while. Starred review from Booklist. Don’t miss this one.

Preparing Yourself for College

Wed, 02/01/2006 - 9:42am by iralax

Bring your questions about what the first year of college is like, as Professor David Schoem talks about his new book College Knowledge: 101 Tips for the College-Bound Student. Topics like leaving home, getting to know yourself, new friends, roommates and faculty, figuring out finances, time management, expanding social boundaries, and enjoying campus life are just a few of the many possible topics for discussion. As you examine the past year or look to the future, this program, on Monday Feb. 6, 7-8:30 pm, will interest you.

A Touch of (anime/manga) Evil

Tue, 01/31/2006 - 5:15pm by sstonez

February's animanga club is all about VILLAINS! Post to vote for your favorite villain in anime and we'll watch a clip featuring the winner of this unpopularity contest.

Animanga club for teens (grades 6-12) will meet at the Malletts Creek branch of the library on Tuesday, February 7 from 7-8:30 PM in program room A-B. There will be snacks, prizes for those who blog, anime clips to watch, manga and anime to discuss, and so much more.

So...who's evil, nasty, ill-intentioned, or just plain annoying?
Also--Guess the villain in the picture..