Poetry People RESCHEDULED

Poetry People Rescheduled

Old Man Winter
Needs a kick in the keister
How dare he
Send a late season nor'easter
The forecast is the absolute worst
Poetry People
Is rescheduled for March 21st
From 7pm to 8:30
All are welcomed
To Varnum Library.

It's donate poems
For our pamphlet time
2 poems free verse or rhyme
Share something new
Or something you've read
Let's gather around poetry
And Laurie's Chocolate Bread

Writing in our heads,
Laurie and LN

David Budbill, 1940-2016

It is with great sadness that we announce that poet and playwright, David Budbill, passed away on Sunday. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have hosted David last year at the Varnum and extend sympathy and condolences to his family. His obituary is below.

David Budbill
June 13, 1940 – September 25, 2016

David Budbill died peacefully at his home in the early morning hours of September 25th with his wife of 50 years, Lois Eby, and his daughter, Nadine Wolf Budbill, by his side. A passionate lover of his family and friends, the woods, and all things human, he did not want to leave this life but over the past three years his Progressive Supranuclear Palsy—a rare form of Parkinson’s Disease—brought him to this moment.

David was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1940 to a streetcar driver and a minister’s daughter. His colorful life included being a track star in high school, attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City, teaching at Lincoln University (a historically Black college in Pennsylvania), moving to Northern Vermont in the late 1960s and building his own house, laboring on a Christmas tree farm, playing myriad musical instruments, working for racial and economic justice, tending a large vegetable garden, cutting his own wood, and writing a staggering amount of creative material.

He is the author of ten books of poems, seven plays, two novels, a collection of short stories, two picture books for children, and the libretto for an opera. During his prolific career David performed his work in many venues—from schools and prisons in Vermont to avant-garde performance spaces in New York City—often with William Parker and other musical collaborators. Several new books of David’s will be published posthumously, including his newest book of poems titled Tumbling Toward the End (Copper Canyon Press) and a novel titled Broken Wing (Green Writers Press). More can be learned at www.davidbudbill.com.

David is survived by his wife, Lois, his daughter, Nadine, her partner, Mia Roethlein, and his granddaughter Riley Wolf Budbill-Roethlein who gave him much joy in the last two years of his life and the first two of hers. He is also survived by his cousins Martha Cross and Dick Miller, his brother in law and sister in law, Frank and Gayle Eby, many good friends and readers of his work, his work itself, and the woods where he loved to be.

His ashes will be returned to his favorite white pine stand in the woods at the home in Wolcott, VT, where he lived and wrote for 45 years. The family wishes to thank the wonderful team at Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice who guided us and our dedicated caregivers through this challenging time with great skill and compassion.

An event to celebrate David’s life and work is planned for 2017. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Copper Canyon Press, his longtime publisher, or an arts or peace and justice organization of your choice.

Calling all Poetry People!

Once again

It's Beyond The Yellow Door Pamphlet time!

We're looking for 2 poems from you

Free verse or rhyme

Poets:

The first must be by your hand

Either yours or a favorite for your second

Poetry Listeners and Lovers:

Choose two loved poems to share with others.

 

Send them to:

 beyondtheyellowdoor@gmail.com

or drop hard copies at Varnum Library

Please be swift, do not tarry

We're excited! So very happy

To begin working on 

Poetry People Pamphlet #3!

 

Writing in our heads,

Laurie and LN

Nick Neddo, coming this May to the Varnum

Sixth generation Vermonter Nick Neddo, author of The Organic Artist, will join us for a presentation and discussion on Tuesday, May 17, 7pm. Nick will talk about his creative process when making his all natural materials that he also uses in his art. His materials include making paper and wild ink, working with clay and wood, natural pigments and paints, pens and paintbrushes and bookbinding sketchbooks.

"I highly recommend this book! Clear and concise, it has a place in every art studio, every home, every school, and every summer camp. Clear, concise and easy to follow makes this book a pleasure to both use as a how-to book and read through for pleasure." - Michael Pewtherer, author of the Wilderness Survival Handbook

World Read Aloud Day

Imagine a world where everyone can read...

Celebrate World Read Aloud Day with your students and children by reading aloud and taking action on behalf of the 793 million people who cannot read.

Read Aloud. Change the World.

Use all or parts of this easy guide to create a joyful celebration in your community on the big day, February 24, 2016.

Join a global community of reading advocates using LitWorld's free resources!

Apply LitWorld's suggested discussion prompts to books you love, or use our resources to select new books and plan special activities for the big day on Wednesday, February 24.

Visit litworld.org/wrad to check out their free resources and learn more.

Varnum Reads Book Discussion: Fangirl

Join us at the library to discuss another interesting read! Varnum Reads, the Varnum Memorial Library's premier YA Adult book club, is currently reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. We will be meeting to discuss this book on March 7, 2016 at 7pm -- come and join in the discussion and help pick out our next book.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?  Goodreads

Winter 2016 Knitting Workshops

The Varnum will host a series of knitting workshops to help the beginner get started and the more experienced knitter improve on their craft!

February 8, 2016, 5-7pm: An introduction, or refresher, for some knit and purl basics. Together, we will each make a dishcloth and practice some fundamental stitches.

February 15, 2016, 5-7pm: Knitting in the round: different ways of casting on (cable stitch, crochet-on, long tail and short tail cast on) and increasing stitches (M1, ktb, k1r, etc). Together, we will each make a cowl (or scarf) using these techniques projects.

February 22, 2016, 5-7pm: Experimenting with colorwork and two stranded knitting; different ways to create decreases; different ways to cast off. We will incorporate some of these into the cowl or dishcloth projects.

February 29, 2016, 5-7pm: Slowly understanding cables: decorative finishes and edges; how to easily access resources for more. We will incorporate some of these techniques into our current project and complete cowl and/or dishcloth.

March 7, 2016, 5-7pm: Hats 101: Ready for more? Learn about decorative cast ons and find a simple hat pattern to try out your new skills! We will browse patterns together to find one that works for you.

March 14, 2016, 5-7pm: How about mittens and gloves, maybe fingerless? We will find a pattern based on your preference and get started! Also, learn about selecting cuffs and considering ribbing options, sourcing Norwegian and Latvian patterns, and more.

March 21, 2016, 5-7pm: Social open knit studio. Come and work on unfinished projects and learn a bit about some knitting history highlights and other trivia about knitting. We will have cookies, and welcome potluck contributions!

March 28, 2016, 5-7pm: Another social open knit studio, where we will talk about the future of knitting; great resources to know about; a few SOS strategies, as well as discuss health benefits of knitting that seem to be all the buzz!

Cookies again and potluck contributions are welcome! Bring unfinished projects and questions or roadblock challenges and we will work through them together!

 

Young Adult Puppet Theater

Varnum Memorial Library is starting a new Young Adult group!

We will be writing our own play; constructing the set; creating puppet characters; and performing the play. This will be open to 6-12th graders in the Cambridge and Jeffersonville area. We plan to meet biweekly at first, and we can increase or decrease frequency as needed to complete our projects.

We are currently trying to figure out a good day and time to work with everyone's schedules. Some options are: Sundays 5:30-6:30, Mondays 6:15-7, Wednesdays 6:30-7:30, or Thursdays 5:30-6:30. We would love some feedback on the interest level and days and times that would work for our patrons.

Please share this with anyone you thing would be interested!

 

Smoke Free Varnum

For the health and well-being of our patrons, the Crescendo Club Library Association has adopted a Tobacco Free Policy, which includes all tobacco products and e-cigarettes, for the Varnum Memorial Library and library property.

If you have questions or concerns, please call 644-2117 and speak to one of the librarians or attend the Crescendo Club meeting on July 16 to voice your concerns.