The Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University just might be the closest thing we have to a poetry heaven on earth. Yes, there is the extensive collection of 20th and 21st century English-language poetry books and "an encyclopedic array of poetry journals and literary magazines" but the crown jewel of the collection is their collection of sound recordings, "one of the largest poetry-specific sound archives in the world". And, as you can imagine, many of the older vinyl recordings are simply to beat-up to listen to. That is, until now. The folks at WBUR, Boston's NPR station, take us behind the scenes and...
We’re Still On The March: A look back to Wrightsville, Georgia 1980
Wrightsville is an anachronism of the most disturbing kind. All the tired marches and all the old songs serve up reminders of hopes still unfulfilled, of how far we have not come - Ron Taylor As we rise up yet again against the racism, the injustice and the police misconduct that continues to stifle this country let's revisit the goings on in a small Georgia town in 1980. On a May night shots rang out in the black part of town. A young black girl was wounded and a white policeman was grazed. By then the citizens of Wrightsville had already begun to push back against...
Publish what they like and they’ll read them: What Kids Want in Books
Infograph by Scholastic and devised from the Kids & Family Reading Report: Fifth Edition which is due out in January 2015. The Kids & Family Reading Report is a national survey of children ages 6–17 and their parents exploring attitudes and behaviors around reading books for fun.
After helping the Ferguson Public Library we need to go to Philadelphia
Principal Marjorie Neff sits in her school's closed library, which was closed last year due to budget cuts. TOM GRALISH / Staff In one week we have helped raise over $300,000 for the Ferguson Public Library. The outpouring of support has been epic and a wounded community has been guaranteed a safe place to turn to in its time of need. Now we must turn our attention to the public school libraries of West and Southwest Philadelphia. Here in its entirety is an op-ed that ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer last Sunday and it begins like this: "In 1991, there were 176 certified librarians in...
Book Patrol’s Favorite Books of 2014: Part 2
Part 2 of Book Patrol's favorite bookish books of 2014 has arrived. Enjoy! Let's start Part 2 by breaking some rules. Books! by Murray McCain and illustrated by John Alcorn was first published in 1962 and then re-issued by AMMO Books at the end of 2013. It is both a reprint and a book published in 2013 but it is too cool to let go by and since I missed it when it came it what better time than now to share it. The new larger edition is stunning and it is one of the few picture books that...