One spot culture!

Portland Public Library is the city's cultural center serving 666,000 visitors annually at four locations through a unique combination of print, media and digital resources complemented by robust internet access, lectures, classes, exhibits, programs and performances for all ages.

Yesterday and today are prime examples of what that statement means.

Last night approximately 200 people attended Maine Poet Laureate Wes McNair’s launch of his memoir The Words I Chose: A memoir of family and poetry at a special Brown Bag Lecture in the Rines Auditorium.  Tonight’s First Friday Art Walk looks to repeat the December Friday Art Walk, which welcomed over 1,000 people to see the Edward Gorey exhibit Elegant Enigmas and hear electronica music (Algorithm) and dance (Portland Ballet), both inspired by Gorey’s art work. Add to those events the annual Four Freedoms poster project by King Middle School students and well, you get the picture.  

At PPL this evening, February 1st at 6:30 PM, you can hear Tom Allen, our former congressman, launch his new book Dangerous Convictions: What’s Really Wrong With the US Congress, see the Prints: Breaking Boundaries exhibit and get a dose of Shakespeare in our Atrium at 6:00 PM through the interpretation of the Naked Shakespeare troupe.  (Check out our website for more information!)

Nothing quite like it so please come by for a taste of it all.

Batter Up

I am unapologetically a sports fan and am now in the process of a quickening immersion in the MLB playoffs now that my Phillies are in the National League Championship Series. Sport is a great thing and at its most basic level (on the playground, track or on the field), I sometimes think it is one of the last uncomplicated pleasures. It is also a great and unending source of material for writers of kids’ books, game instruction, history and novels (think The Natural and Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner). It is great stuff to talk about, to argue about and to learn from; much of it is also timeless and reflective of larger societal trends.

So beginning Tuesday, November 9 from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM, I will host the first meeting of a monthly sports book (reading not betting) group at the Community Room at the Reiche Community Center. We will cover all kinds of sports over the course of monthly meetings. In homage to the end of baseball season we will begin with Roger Kahn’s Boys of Summer a book that is by turns factual, comic, tragic and inspiring. You’ll learn something about baseball but also about a New York City that up until the late 50’s hosted both the Dodgers and Giants along with the Yankees. Baseball players lived very different lives then and were more accessible and human from the view of a fan.

If you are interested in participating please drop an email to me at podgajny@portland.lib.me.us.

Onward and Upward Maine Writers and Publishers

I have been fortunate to have worked with the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance for almost 25 years including when it called Brunswick home. As Director of the Curtis Memorial Library, we were neighbors and I watched the struggle of the organization to grow and evolve … to find the right way to express its mission of supporting the creative literary activity of our state.

So it was with great pleasure that PPL hosted a part of the 35th anniversary of MWPA last Thursday in the Rines Auditorium. The toasts were rightfully many and it was as it should have been. Past Executive Directors, Board members and authors were everywhere. The occasion also marked the end of Shonna Milliken Humphrey’s tenure as Executive Director and the beginning of Joshua Bodwell’s directorship.

MWPA has been a great partner of libraries and of Portland Public in particular. Over the next few months we look forward to developing new approaches to supporting the cultural life of our state and city through program partnerships that celebrate authors, the literary arts and the simple and necessary joy of reading.

Congratulations MWPA!

Podcasting @ PPL

A recent edition of the ‘Maine Sunday Telegram,’ mentioned that the Humanities on Demand podcast from the Maine Humanities Council is online now. You can access it directly at http://mainehumanities.org/podcasts/
Seven recordings to start have been released: three interviews from the MHC 30th Anniversary CD, ‘Maine Writers Speak’ (Cathie Pelletier, Richard Russo, and Monica Wood), three readings from the Portland Public Library’s Brown Bag lecture series (poet Elizabeth Edwards, novelist Eric B. Martin, and writer Meredith Hall), and a poetry reading by Wesley McNair from the Maine Humanities Council archive.

We are proud to be a collaborator in this effort. During the past year we have been cooperating with the Council, many authors have agreed to allow for recording of their lectures for future Humanities on Demand podcasting participation. Look for many more Brown Bag Lectures in the future being available for download.

It’s a Thing of Beauty!

No matter how interesting your job is, I think we all run the risk at times of being so focused on tasks that we forget the wonder being expressed all around us in our little corner of the world. I am leaving shortly for meetings at OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) in Dublin, Ohio. OCLC is ‘big” – an international library collaborative which has built WorldCat, a database of 1 billion (yup, billion) library holdings in many languages and countries. This is the basic product that allows PPL and other libraries to execute interlibrary loans and catalogue material efficiently. So my focus this week has been to get lots of tasks completed so that next week is reasonably smooth for my colleagues here at work before I depart for something BIG.

I took a deep breath this morning before starting the tasks and looked back at a week in the life of the PPL system and yes, it is a thing of beauty. The fact that last night Portland’s own highly respected punk music band The Leftovers graced the Rines Room at our Monument Sq. location for a 45-minute set was cool enough on its own merits. But contrasted to this morning’s programs: Series for Seniors: An Overview of Important Issues “Enrichment Opportunities”; a Maine Humanities Council Let’s Talk About It Program on the Middle East (Behind the Headlines: An Introduction to the Middle East); and Tales for Twos (for two year-olds), all of which followed early in the week offerings of Preschool Story Time, Finger Fun for Babies, a panel discussion on the future of Congress Street and Pat LaMarche (2004 Green Party VP candidate) speaking about her new book on homelessness in America "Left Out in America".

It - this week anyway - ends tomorrow, Saturday, October 20th, with children's author Cathryn Falwell launching her new book with Shape Caper's, a fun program for children from 11 AM to 2 PM, as well as the Third Saturday Book Discussion of Dave Eggers "What is the What". Then we start again next week.

The programmatic landscape of the PPL system couldn't have reflected better the breadth of creativity we offer in reaching every age in our great town. It’s nice to breathe it in!

2 Great Authors in 1 Great Week!

The first week in October will be something special at PPL.

Every once in a while, extraordinary programs come along that we are lucky enough to be able to share with the public. This fall, we’ll be having two internationally renowned authors present programs.

First, Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo will be joining us for the inaugural stop on the tour for his new book, Bridge of Sighs. Russo will speak on Tuesday, October 2nd at 7pm at the First Parish Church at 425 Congress Street in Portland. He will be reading from his new book and signing copies after the reading. Books will be available from Longfellow Books at the event. If you’d like a more “intimate” meeting with the author, there will be a reception before the reading. The event at 1st Parish Church is free and open to the public, but seats will fill up fast so make sure to arrive early. Tickets to the reception are $35 each or 2 for $60. You can also support our Annual Fund by becoming an Event Sponsor for $250, which includes 4 tickets to the reception, preferred seating at the public portion of the event, recognition on the Library’s website and at the event, as well as other benefits. If you’d like to attend the reception or have any questions, please contact our Development and Programming office by phone at 871-1700 ext. 759 or by e-mail at progdev@portland.lib.me.us for more information. You can also check out our website at www.portlandlibrary.com

Three days later on Friday, October 5, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair, Firstlight) makes a rare New England appearance—in fact, we’re the only New England appearance on her tour. She will read from her newest collection of essays, Firstlight, answer questions from the audience, and sign books. She’s also happy to have her photo taken with fans after the book signing is complete. Books will be on sale at the event by Borders, who’s co-sponsoring the event. Tickets to this exciting evening only $12 each, and are available through PortTix (842-0800; www.PortTix.com; 20 Myrtle Street Portland, ME 04101). The event will take place at Merrill Auditorium. Again if you’d like more information or have any questions, please contact our Development and Programming office or check out our website at www.portlandlibrary.com.


Proceeds from both events will benefit Portland Public Library’s 2007-2008 Annual Fund for new books, materials and technologies. We hope you will join us for both of these wonderful authors and help support the Library!