Festivals and Culture
23rd Annual Library of Congress National Book Festival, Saturday August 12; Get to Know the Authors and Their Books
Great Reads from Great Places: A great way to interact and stay connected to the Library and the Festival is to download the Great Reads from Great Places brochure. The brochure contains a reading list of books and authors for each state across the nation and a map that allows you to mark and keep track of your reading. Local libraries and other organizations will be hosting livestream watch parties and live events across the country. Locate an event near you by visiting the Festival Near You page. Contact the organizations directly or visit their sites for more information. more »
Sheila Pepe, Textile Artist: My Neighbor’s Garden .... In Madison Square Park, NYC
"The artist’s mother taught her to crochet in the 1960s. Pepe discovered women artists working in America who were a generation or two older and associated with the feminist art movement — Lynda Benglis, Eva Hesse, and Nancy Spero — as a crucible to launch her sculptural investigations. Those women responded to the fury of the Vietnam War and became agents of activism for Pepe who overturned hoary assumptions by responding to gender, identity, and civil rights. She also questioned the materiality in sculpture, so closely linked to gender. Pepe radicalized the grandmotherly constitution of crochet into a paradigm of feminist action." more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Bee-side Our Window
Ferida Wolff Ponders: "Well, the bushes are beginning to flower again and Bebe is back! It seems to have even more energy than last year. It is there when I open the door but it isn’t threatening. It keeps its distance as I watch it discourage any other bees that seem interested in the bushes. The strange thing is that I don’t see any nest in the bushes. What is it protecting?"
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and books that she thought I might enjoy, feeding my curiosity and interests. I believe that curiosity is genetically programmed into every child. The first way a child explores the world is through direct, sensory experience. Later on, the mastery of spoken language (oh, those questions!) provides information, but ultimately, it is learning how to read that opens a child’s mind to the endless possibilities of a world of literature and science and history and human thought." more »