Newton Free Library


SEPTEMBER, 2001 / Archives

Gallery & Main Hall Hours Monday to Thursday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Friday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00pm Sunday Noon to 5:00 pm Are you interested in exhibiting your artwork at the Library? Please click here for more information.
G A L L E R Y
September, 2 0 0 1
"CHILD’S PLAY," PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARY LANG AND KAREN DAVIS "Child’s Play," photographs by Mary Lang and Karen Davis, will be exhibited in the Gallery of the Newton Free Library September 5 – 27, with a reception on Thursday, September 13, 5:30 – 8:00PM. Lang’s and Davis’ photos evoke the distant land of childhood, the absorption in the moment, the all-encompassing drama of play, the questioning wonder, the simple fun. Davis’ visual journal of family, friends and the "anonymous actors that I cast in the drama of a moment’s glance," records their games and interactions: a girl grinning into a mirror at a birthday party, a blur of jumping feet on a sidewalk during perhaps a game of jump rope, two boys in baseball caps on a merry-go-round whispering conspiratorially, a cheerleader filled with pride, a little girl in flowered dress, knee high to the adult folk dancers around her, trying hard to follow their steps. What a world she opens up for us! "I’ve learned from these photographs something I had forgotten over time," she says. "While adult memories of play may blend into a confection of fun – the childhood experience of play is often very serious business." Lang’s photographs capture the "ordinariness and magic" of the childhood world of play, focusing on the Newton West Little League Rockies team and some informal games. "Baseball is a game of strategies and momentary occurrences," she says, "but it is also a game of leisurely duration, a lot of time and space where nothing much happens." Many of her photographs show the boys in the dugout, watching, waiting, blowing big gum bubbles. Her work distinctly captures the "ease and tension in the atmosphere" here where "each is thinking his own thoughts." Others show the awkwardness and sometimes natural athletic grace of the players in action as in "The Big Swing, Little League Size" where a small boy takes a mighty swing and all eyes are on the player, from the umpire and coach to the distant figures of parents in the stands. "The marvel of her work is that the children seem utterly unconscious of her intrusion," writes Boston Globe art critic Christine Temin. Davis has exhibited at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Creiger-Dane Gallery, Cambridge Art Association, Danforth Museum of Art, Boston Public Library, Harvard University and many other places. She was given a Congratulatory Resolution by the Cambridge City Council for her work in 1999. Lang’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, DeCordova Museum, Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum, Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas and other venues. She has exhibited at the Danforth Museum, the Duxbury Art Complex Museum, Cambridge Art Association, Hartford College of Art and many other galleries and museums in New Mexico, Texas, Rhode Island, New York and other places. Pictures: "Hot Peppers" / Karen Davis "The Big Swing, Little League Style" 1999 / Mary Lang To email Karen Davis, please click here. To email Mary Lang, please click here. To visit Karen Davis' website, go to: www.yesthatkarendavis.com
M A I N H A L L
September, 2 0 0 1
"IMAGES OF OUR WORLD" PHOTOGRAPHS BY DON GUREWITZ Don Gurewitz’s "Images of Our World: Documentary Photography as Art" will be exhibited in the Main Hall of the Newton Free Library September 5 – 27. World traveler Gurewitz presents a glimpse of the daily life and gorgeous surroundings of people from as far away as Thailand, Ecuador or Kenya in his exhibit. Whether it’s a close shot of an Indian woman draped in golden robes, praying by the Ganges River or a wide open vista of Halong Bay, Vietnam where fishermen ply their trade in small boats, his work gives us a candid view of the everyday lives of working people in very different cultural settings from our own. Gurewitz is a political and trade union activist, a machinist by trade. He has had the privilege of traveling to more than 50 countries during periods of layoffs over the years, "taking full advantage of this mixed blessing," he says. Because of his social awareness, he is very careful to avoid "exoticizing or patronizing" his subjects, but rather seeks to convey "elements of beauty and dignity in their daily work, creations, family lives and rituals." He also has a strong eye for composition and color, vividly capturing pink-tinged lotus flowers, mustard fields or a raging sunset over a sea. Gurewitz has won many awards in national photography magazine competitions and been included in the Photographer’s Forum magazine Best of Photography Annual for several years. He has given hundreds of slide lectures throughout the country and has exhibited in England, California, Kansas, Florida, New York and throughout Greater Boston. To email Don Gurewitz, please click here. You may view Don's work online at: http://www.crystalfineart.com/gurewitz_frameset.html

Library groups meet at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton Centre, unless otherwise noted.
All meetings are free and open to the public.

September, 2 0 0 1

African Literatures Group
Led by Anne Serafin, this group explores the rich variety of writings from Africa. The group meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:30PM, in Meeting Room A. Meeting Date: September 19, The Map of Love by Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueis. For further information, call 552-7145

Children's Book Writers Group
Meetings are usually held on the first Monday or the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:00PM, this month in Meeting Room B. This group is for writers who have work in progress. Pre-registration required. Please call Karen Day at 244-4830 for more information. Meeting Date: This month, only Wednesday, September 19.

Current Fiction Discussion Group
Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month, 7:30PM now in Meeting Room A. Participants should read works in advance. Group coordinator: Alice Simons. For information, call the Library at 552-7159. Meeting Dates: September 5: Philip Roth, The Human Stain; October 3: Saul Bellow, Ravelstein.

Great Books Discussion Group
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month now at 7:15PM in Meeting Room A. Members read books from the Great Books Foundation (available at the Library). Meeting Date: September 11: "Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare. For further information, call the Library at 552-7145.

Landscape of Aging
This group will resume meeting in October.

Newton Camera Club
Meetings are held at 7:30PM on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at the Nonantum Branch Library. Group coordinator: Elisif Brandon: (617) 243-0557. Meeting Dates: September 10: Members present summer slides. September 24: Slide presentation by Lindsey Brown on Nature Photography: Shooting for Publication.

Playreading
Meetings are held at Newton Corner usually on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00PM. Preparation is not necessary. Meeting Date: September 11. For further information, please call the Library at 552-7145 or the branch at 552-7157.

Sequences: Women Tell Our Stories
In this women's workshop, participants read, discuss and write about literature by women. The group meets the second Wednesday of each month from 10 - 11:30AM in Meeting Room A. Leader: Robin Mayer Stein. Meeting Date: September 12. For further information, call 552-7145.

Short Fiction Writing Group
This workshop provides an atmosphere of expert support to polish short fiction It is geared for published writers as well as those who are actively pursuing publication. Preregistration is required: 617-965-8835. The group meets the first Tuesday of each month, Meeting Room A, 7:00PM. Meeting Date: September 4. Please bring 5 copies of work to the meeting. Coordinator is Halcyon Mancuso, a writing professor and writer.

Short Story Discussion Group
Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 7:30PM now in Meeting Room A. Group leader is Mary Lanigan. For further information, call 552-7145. Meeting Date: September 10: Raymond Carver, "Kindling," and Jeannette Bertles, "Whileaway."

Sound and Sense Poetry Workshop
This new workshop for experienced poets concentrates on honing literary skills with a focus on publication. The group now meets weekly on Saturdays, 10:30 – 12:30PM, in Meeting Room A.

All concerts are free and open to the public. For directions to the Library, click here.

September, 2 0 0 1

"THE WIT AND WOES OF DOROTHY PARKER"

"Men seldom make passes/ At girls who wear glasses." Dorothy Parker

Libby Franck, David Ingle, Dave MacPherson and Ken Batts will present "The Wit and Woes of Dorothy Parker," a funny, insightful presentation of stories, poems and reviews at the Newton Free Library, Sunday, September 9, 2:00PM.

Known for her acid wit and as the brightest star of the Algonquin Round Table, Parker was a poet, playwright, short story and screen writer as well as a drama critic and book reviewer for the New Yorker and Esquire who hobnobbed with literary giants like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. As a socialist, she was called before the House Un-American Affairs Committee for her outspoken views.

Franck, Ingle and MacPherson will perform Parker’s poems, stories and reviews and speak about her genius, her famous New York literary associates and her life with its joy and pain, as they reflect on the writer who tried to define what it meant to be a woman in the changing times of the early –mid 20^th century.

Franck is an accomplished actress and award-winning storyteller who has performed widely, including previous shows at the Library. She runs the popular "Outspoken Word" bi-monthly program at the Natick Center for the Arts which previewed the Dorothy Parker show.

Ingle is well known to Library audiences as a collector of folk material from the British Isles, Scotland and America. Together with fellow musicians and storytellers, he has performed many shows based on traditional songs and tales: "Drinking: The Musical," "Outlaw Heroes," "Victorian British Humor," "Real Men: 19^th Century American Humor" and others. He has performed at the New England Folk Festival as well as at colleges, churches, libraries and other venues.

MacPherson has been reciting Parker’s poems since the fourth grade. He performs satirical monologues at both storytelling events and slam-poetry contests.

Batts is a folksinger and song writer who performs frequently in coffeehouses and folk clubs. He will perform an original song on the dark side of Parker’s life.

GUITAR DUO OF JOHN MURATORE AND PETER CLEMENTE

Two of New England’s leading classical guitar soloists, Peter Clemente and John Muratore, will team up for a guitar duo concert of music by Vaughan Williams, Ponce, Albeniz and Chick Corea, among others. These two award-winning performers display their varied musical interests, keen sense of style and seemingly effortless ensemble in their programs that move from traditional concert repertoire to wider realms of jazz and improvisation. This concert is part of the annual All Newton Music School series held at the Newton Free Library and will take place on Sunday, September 23, at 2:00PM.

Muratore performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and concerto soloist throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the former Soviet Union. He serves on the guitar faculty of the All Newton Music School. Clemente was the First Prize winner in both the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Solo Competition and the Ovation Classical Guitar Competition of Puerto Rico and a finalist in the Segovia Fellowship Competition. Having first performed together in 1998, Muratore and Clemente have been featured at numerous venues throughout New England, including live broadcasts on WGBH Radio’s "Classical Performances."

September, 2 0 0 1

Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the New Building

Hard to believe, but we're celebrating our 10th anniversary in the beautiful Theodore D. Mann building this fall. The Library has grown enormously since the state-of-the-art facility opened in September of 1991 with circulation now topping 1,600,000 annually, a very busy Children's Room, an Information Technology Training Center, computer terminals with Internet access that are always in use, and top notch concerts and lectures.

On Sunday, September 30, from 1 - 4:00PM, come celebrate your Library with an afternoon of entertainment for the whole family. We'll have Sarah Lamstein Puppets performing "Funnybone Tales" for children 4+ and their families, a magic show by Peter Warren, a performance of the Children's Room play "Wings for a King," face painting and appearances by Newton South High School's

a cappella group, the Newtones, and Newton North's Jazz Ensemble and Honors String Ensemble. There'll also be a short tribute to the Library by Mayor Cohen, Library Director Kathy Glick-Weil and former and current Trustees, followed by a cake cutting.

Career Workshops on Career Change

Are you looking for more meaning from your work? Has your definition of "success" changed? If so, come to an interactive workshop on Career Change on Tuesday, September 11, 7:00PM in Druker Auditorium. Led by Harriet Hofheinz, a Career Moves counselor, the workshop will help you clarify whether you are seeking a job, industry, career or life change, identify proven strategies for making a successful change and outline the next steps in your transition.

This workshop is funded through the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners with funds from the LSTA, a federal source of library funding.

Newton History Series

Charlotte Winslow will give a presentation on the history of the village of Auburndale, illustrated with historic slides, on Thursday, September 20, 7:00PM. The talk opens the Library's 4th annual Newton History Series which is held in the Special Collections Room.

A Newton resident for more than 20 years, Winslow has worked as a volunteer on numerous projects relating to Auburndale. With her husband Donald, she wrote the history section of the book Historic Auburndale published in 1992 and 1996. Formerly an English professor at Emerson College, she currently volunteers at the Auburndale branch library.

The Special Collections room features the Newton Collection, an historical collection of Newton materials. Staff and volunteers are available in this room to assist patrons with research during regular Library hours.

Jane Austen Society presents lecture on "Pride and Prejudice"

The Jane Austen Society of North America will present a talk on "Pride and Prejudice: a Look at Earlier Dramatic Adaptations" given by Colin Bourn, Professor Emeritus of Fitchburg State College. Bourn will consider three 20^th century adaptations of the novel: a movie, a musical and a play. The talk will take place at the Newton Free Library on Sunday, September 16, 2:00PM.

AUTHOR ALAN HIRSHFELD TO SPEAK AT LIBRARY ON HIS NEW BOOK
"PARALLAX: THE RACE TO MEASURE THE COSMOS"

There is no denying the human penchant for competition from attempts to scale Mount Everest and historic expeditions to the North Pole to the greatest challenge of all: the astronomical race to determine a star’s distance from the earth using stellar parallax.

Hear Newton author Alan Hirshfeld speak at the Newton Free Library on his exhilarating new book: Parallax: The Race to Measure the Cosmos on Thursday, September 20, 7:30PM.

Parallax recounts the story of how we evolved from wondering at the universe with naked eyes to the discovery of how crude sand could be transformed into complex telescopes, how to accurately map the heavens and finally determine a star’s distance to the earth. Against a sweeping backdrop filled with kidnappings, dramatic rescue, swordplay, madness and bitter rivalry, the book offers a fascinating human account of the people who defied the limits of their time to fill in pieces of the stellar parallax puzzle and make today’s space travel possible. Illustrated with diagrams, period engravings and paintings, Parallax is an unforgettable tale that illuminates the distinctly human side of science.

The author is astronomer at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and an Associate of the Harvard College Observatory. He is co-author of Sky Catalogue 2000.0, a two volume astronomical reference book.

"A PARENT’S GUIDE TO SEX, DRUGS AND FLUNKING OUT,"
A TALK BY AUTHOR JOEL EPSTEIN

Difficult roommates, alcohol and drug use, money matters and academic pressure are just a few of the potential trouble spots awaiting college students.

Join student affairs expert Joel Epstein as he offers parents practical advice in assisting their children with the important transition to independent living. Based on his new book, A Parent’s Guide to Sex, Drugs and Flunking Out: Answers to the Questions Your College Student Doesn’t Want You to Ask, his talk will take place at the Newton Free Library, Monday, September 24, 7:00PM.

Helping college-bound children make good decisions – in the midst of newfound freedoms and unprecedented excesses – presents an entirely new set of parenting challenges. The book provides parents with a clear understanding of the choices their children will need to make and the environment in which they must make them. Other key issues addressed include: selecting the right school, handling financial issues, making sound academic choices, dealing with difficult social situations and ensuring personal health and safety.

Newton resident Epstein is the former Director of Special Projects and Senior Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. He is currently a senior associate in the Health and Human Development Programs division at Education Development Center in Newton. He frequently speaks, writes and consults on student safety and related topics.

CENTER FOR ITALIAN CULTURE

The Center for Italian Culture will present a literary talk by Gabriele Del Rossi on "Giacomo Leopardi: The Operette Morali and the Ideology Within" on Tuesday, September 25, 7:30PM, at the Newton Free Library.

Leopardi was a 19^th century author who wrote Le Operette Morali, a series of essays illustrating the darker side of human nature. Most of his studies as a child concentrated on the classics, mythology and many foreign languages. As he grew older and the dawn of the industrial age was approaching, he saw a tendency for man to withdraw from the world around him. Before the turn of the century, Italian thinkers were anticipating the troubles that lay ahead for both mother nature and humankind.

Del Rossi is a Master’s candidate in Italian Literature and Culture at Boston College where he is the Italian Editor for the Romance Review, a graduate research journal. He recently completed a seminar in Italy on the philosophy of Leopardi and previously attended a congress in Italy in which 120 foreign participants discussed contemporary Italian culture.

10^th ANNUAL LIBRARY POETRY READING SERIES FEATURES
SANDY CHADIS, JACK MCCARTHY AND CLARA SILVERSTEIN

The Newton Free Library Poetry Reading Series celebrates its 10^th anniversary season beginning with readings by Sandy Chadis, Jack McCarthy and Clara Silverstein on Wednesday, September 12, 7:00PM. The series is coordinated by poet Robert K. Johnson.

Chadis has given readings at Radcliffe, the Arlington Street Church Women’s Reading Series and the First Unitarian Society in Newton. She is a student of Kinereth Gensler’s poetry course at Radcliffe Seminars and has attended writing workshops with Marie Howe at Harvard and Gail Mazur at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Previously she worked as a journalist for newspapers in England and in Connecticut and as a copy editor for the Boston Globe. She also co-authored the cookbook, A Taste of Provincetown and has taught ballet. She lives in Newton.

McCarthy has been called "Boston’s Best Standup Poet" by the Boston Phoenix and was named "Boston’s Best Love Poet" at the Boston Poetry Awards. He was a member of the 1996 Boston National Slam Team and retired undefeated as "Champion of Champions" in the Providence poetry slam. As a member of the Worcester team at the 2000 National Poetry Slam, he finished as the 10^th ranked individual. McCarthy has attended the Library’s Poetry Workshop and is the author of two collections of poetry, Grace Notes, and a chapbook, Actual Grace Notes. He hosts the cable TV show "Standup Poetry."

Silverstein’s poems have appeared in Yankee, Larcom Review, Sow’s Ear, Poetry Digest and The Anthology of New England Writers. She is Co-Director of the summer Writers’ Center at Chautauqua (NY) and a staff writer at the Boston Herald. Previously she was editor of the Newton Graphic. She has read her poems at Wesleyan University, the Chautauqua Institution and the New England Writers Conference. She lives in Newton.

Upcoming readings will be held on Tuesday, October 9 and Tuesday, November 13. For further information on this free series, please call the Library at 552-7145.

LIBRARY HOSTS TALK ON MONSTER HOUSES AND THEIR ALTERNATIVE

The Newton Free Library will host a panel discussion on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Monster Houses in Newton: Is There an Alternative?" led by architects Anatol Zukerman and Jeremiah Eck and planner Philip Herr. The talk will take place on Wednesday, September 5, 7:00PM.

Very large homes have been built and well received in Newton for generations, but in recent years, many have been derided as monster houses or Mcmansions. What has gone wrong, if anything? In a panel discussion format, three design professionals will present their views, illustrated with slides from Newton and elsewhere. Their discussion will include the essentials of good design, freedom of choice, the responsibility of homeowner and designer within the social, economic and natural context, the loss of modest-priced housing and other aspects of this topic. A question and answer period will follow.

Zukerman is a West Newton architect and member of the Boston Society of Architects who wrote Design Guidelines for the City of Newton. Eck, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is a former lecturer in architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and award-winning designer of a wide range of houses. Herr’s work centers on community planning and growth management and he is a member of the Newton Housing Partnership.

Community Leaders Cooking for Library Benefit Barbeque

There's still time to sign up for the Library Benefit Barbeque at Herb Regal and Judy Austin's Newton home on Sunday, September 9, 4:00PM. Congressman Barney Frank, Mayor David Cohen and many other elected officials and community leaders will be "Chefs of the Day." Suggested contributions start at $25. Please make checks payable to the Newton Free Library and mail to Herb Regal, 155 Homer Street, Newton, MA 02459 to arrive by September 5. After Sept. 5 or for further information, please call the Library at 617-965-7702.