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Home > Programs, Press, Exhibits & Classes > Calendar Archives > May 2007

Calendar of Events

MAY 2007
Families - come to KidsFest at the Library		1 Short Fiction Group, 7pm	2 News Junkies Club, 7pm Contemporary Books Group 7:30pm	3 Newton History Talk on YMCA, 7pm	4	5
6 Concert, 2pm	7 Children's Book Writers Group, 7pm DWN Travel Group, 7pm Artist Reception in Gallery & Main Hall, 7:30pm	8 Great Books Discussion Group, 7:15pm Afghanistan Talk, 7:30pm	9 Sequences Group Meeting, 10am Author Talk, 7:30pm	10 Author Talk, 7:30pm	11	12 Kids Program, 1pm
13 KidsFest, 1pm Outdoors on Homer St.	14 DWN Transition, 2:30pm Short Story Discussion Group, 7:30pm Newton Camera Club, 7:30pm	15 Board of Trustees Meeting, 8:30am Health Talk, 7pm Women's Career Transition Group, 7:30pm	16 Chess Club, 4pm African Literature Discussion Group, 7:30pm	17 Concert, 10:30am Author Talk, 7:30pm	18	19 Singing Group, 12pm
20 Concert, 2pm	21 Green Decade Talk, 7pm	22 DWN Networking Meeting, 1pm DWN Transition Talk, 7pm YA Program, 7pm	23 Children's Book Writers Group, 7pm Concert, 7pm	24	25 Newton Corner Book Group at Evans Park, 10:30am	26
27 Library Closed for Memorial Day	28 Library Closed for Memorial Day	29 Auburndale Book Group, 10:30am Iraq Talk, 7:30pm	30 Waban Book Group, 10:30am	31 Health Talk, 7pm

For more information on any of the Library events,
please call the Library at (617) 796-1360

Unless noted otherwise, all events take place at the Library's Main Branch.
All events are free and open to the public.

The Library is handicapped accessible. For special assistance when attending programs, call 796-1410 during business hours and 796-1360 evenings and weekends.

To view a previous calendar, click here to view the Archives. (Available from October 2004.)

Art Exhibits

ART EXHIBITION INFORMATION

Are you interested in exhibiting your artwork at the Library? The Newton Free Library presents monthly exhibits by regional artists in the Gallery and Main Hall of the main library, a state-of-the-art facility which 11,000 people visit weekly. Please click here for more information.

MAIN HALL / MAY

Matthew Budd
Many Faces: One World, One Destiny
May 2 - 30 Reception: Monday, May 7, 7:30PM

Backlit Woman

Budd has visited the countries of Morocco, Myanmar, Bhutan, India and Mexico many times, camera in hand. His photos capture the exotic beauty of women in saris, flowers in hair; people reverently praying at temples in India; Buddhist festivals; and traditional dance and dramatic performances.

His portraits are particularly moving and personal. As he says, “The magic of the portrait is that it represents a meeting of the consciousness of the photographer with the consciousness of the subject…. Gelatin, silver, electrons and inks are only tools and vehicles. The miracle remains what it is....”

Budd is a retired physician and professor from Harvard Medical School. Exhibits include the Maine Street Gallery in Brunswick, ME, Gallerie de la Seine in Paris, Amherst College Museum Gallery and the Integrated Mind and Body Institute. He directs the F. Holland Day Center for Healing and Creativity and is in training to be a Jungian analyst.

GALLERY / MAY

Edith Green: Door to Door
May 2 - 30
Reception: Monday, May 7, 7:30PM

Colonial Doorway

Doors have long intrigued Green, from wooden icebox cabinets to huge mill doors, from America to Nepal. Recently she came across photographs from a trip to Mexico in the 1960s and found several images of doors, so there was something brewing in her imagination before she began to articulate it in a creative way.

Many of these textured mixed-media works refer to photos taken by her daughter on trips to India, Bhutan and Nepal or those from her own camera. Originally her doors were all closed, but now some are open, inviting the viewer to peek inside and wonder what else is there that can’t be seen. Others have evolved into abstract paintings in earthy or pastel colors with grid-like shapes for the windowpanes and door panels, blocks of color, patterns, squares. And over all there is the rich texture of the surface, drawn, painted, scraped or sanded away, then repainted. Her technique of roughing up the surface of the canvas complements her weather-beaten subjects from another time and place.

Green is affiliated with several galleries in New England, with works held in corporate collections nation-wide. She has won prizes from the Danforth Museum, Concord Art Association (where she is a Distinguished Artist member), National League of American Penwomen (Past Director) and others. Exhibits include Nave Gallery in Somerville, South Wharf Gallery, Nantucket, Depot Square Gallery, Lexington, SoHo 20 Gallery, New York and others.

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Clubs

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.

	African Literatures Discussion 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: May 16: The Fire of Origins by Emmanuel Dongala of Congo. For further information, call 527-1072.
	New! Chess Club
	International Chess Master Satea Husari from Chess Corps leads a drop-in club for players at all levels of skill on the third Wednesday of the month in Druker Auditorium. For all ages. Bring your own chess set if possible. Meeting Date: Wednesday, May 16, 4 – 5:30PM.
	Children's Book Writers Group
	Meetings are held on the first Monday or on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:00PM in Meeting Room A. This group is for writers with work in progress. Pre-registration required. Please call Maria Gianferrari at 781-891-0153 or Karen Day at 244-4830 for more information. Meeting Dates: Monday, May 7 or Wednesday, May 23.
	Contemporary Books Discussion Group
	Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month, 7:30PM, in Meeting Room A. Group coordinator: Marilyn Miller. Meeting Dates: May 2: It Might Have Been What He Said by Eden Collinsworth, June 6: The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez. Contemporary Books Booklist - September 2006 - June 2007
	Great Books Discussion Group
	Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:15PM in Meeting Room A. Members read books from the Great Books Foundation (available at the Library). Meeting Date: May 8: “Arcadia,” a play by Tom Stoppard. For further information, call Ruth Greene at 527-4143. Great Books Booklist - January 2007 - June 2007
	New! News Junkies
	This discussion group, led by Reg McKeen, covers current events. The group meets in Mtg. Room B on the first Wednesday of the month at 7:00PM. Please keep abreast of the month’s topic and come with opinions. Meeting Date: May 2. Topic: Iraq.
	Newton Camera Club
	Meetings are usually held at 7:30PM on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at the Nonantum branch. Meeting Date: May 14: Banquet & Scavenger Hunt at other location. Group coordinator: amy.oppenh @verizon.net, www.newtoncameraclub.org.
	Sequences: Women Tell Our Stories Group
	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: May 9.
	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. Leader is Michael Kaufman. Pre-registration is required: call 617-332-3347. The group meets the first Tuesday of the month, 7:00PM in Meeting Room A. Meeting Date: May 1.
	Short Story Discussion Group
	Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 7:30PM in Meeting Room A. Group co-leaders are Mary Lanigan and Barbara McGinley. For further information, call 527-1505. Meeting Date: May 14: “The Magician’s Wife” by Mary Gordon and “Rue” by Susan Dodd.
	Singing Group
	This group is for singers of all levels who enjoy singing classical and popular music. It meets monthly on Saturday afternoons, Noon – 1:30PM in Druker Auditorium. Meeting Date: May 19 . Call coordinator Miriam Simen at 617-244-6705 for more information.
	Women in Career Transition
	Led by career counselor Joyce Picard, this group is for women downsizing careers, entering (or re-entering) the workforce or thinking of opting out. It focuses on goals, allowing time to share concerns and gain support. For further information, call (617) 332-7600. It meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30PM in Meeting Room A. Meeting Date: May 15.
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Concerts/Entertainment

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

	Violinist Barbara Englesberg will present “Boston Area Composers – Then and Now”
	Duo Anime, composed of violinist Barbara Englesberg and pianist Esther Ning Yau, will return to the Library on Sunday, May 6, at 2:00PM. Their program of “Boston Area Composers – Then and Now” will feature works by Arthur Foote, Walter Piston, Yehudi Wyner and others. Englesberg is assistant concertmaster and a founding member of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, a long-standing member of the Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra and a found-ing member of Trio 21 and the Leonora Quartet. She has performed with Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Cantata Singers and many other organ-izations as well as at the 92nd Street Y in New York City and the Scarlatti Festival in Sicily. A well-respected chamber music coach, she serves on the faculties of Northeastern University and All Newton Music School. Yau is an active collaborative pianist who has performed at Jordan Hall, Hong Kong Government House, Taipei National Concert Hall and the Museum of Arts in Puerto Rico. A founding member of the New Piano Quartet and Dahlia Trio, she serves on the faculty of the Longy School of Music and the New School of Music and is staff accompanist at the Boston Conservatory.

	Morning Concert: Music of Lerner & Loewe
	Pianist Stanley Macht and vocalist Linda Mellen will present music from "Brigadoon," "My Fair Lady" and other songs from Lerner & Loewe musicals at a concert at the Library on Thursday, May 17, at 10:30AM. Macht's popular programs are informative and entertaining. He often appears at Lasell Village and other retirement homes, senior centers and at private functions.

“I Never Saw Another Butterfly" performed by Children's Choirs

The Greater Boston youth chorus Youth pro Musica, with artistic director Peter Krasinski, and New School Singers, the treble chorus of the New School of Music in Cambridge, with artistic director Sandi Hammond, will present "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" in a Holocaust Memorial Concert at the Newton Free Library on Sunday, May 20, at 2:00PM. Pianist Nicholas Warseck will accompany the two choirs.

This song cycle for children's voices was composed by Charles Davidson based on poems by children from Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, a show camp for Red Cross visits. "As tragic as the music and poetry are, they hold a message of life persevering despite the worst of conditions; from the text it is clear that the prisoners found beauty in each other," said Krasinski.

Edward Krasa, a child imprisoned at Terezin, will speak at the afternoon program. The Terezin Chamber Music Foundation arranged for his appearance.

Both vocal ensembles have talented members, admitted by audition, ranging in age from 11 - 18. They will perform together especially for this concert. For further information on this free event, please call the Library at 617-796-1360.

	Newton Singers
	The Newton Singers, conducted by Ben Youngman of Newton South H. S., will present their annual concert at the Library on Wednesday, May 23, at 7:00PM. The concert will feature songs from Lionel Bart's "Oliver," Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" and Randall Thompson's "The Road Not Taken" based on Robert Frost's poem. This 17 year old community chorus is composed of 35 adults of all ages; no audition is necessary to join. Repertoire consists of show songs and folk songs.

	"Profile of Marc Blitzstein" Features Charles Osborne, Leonard Lehrman, Helene Williams
	Composer/pianist Leonard Lehrman, Cantor Charles Osborne and soprano Helene Williams will give a musical tribute to 20th century composer Marc Blitzstein, known as “the social conscience of American music” at the Library on Saturday, June 2, at 2:00PM. Richard Feffer, an active Board member of the New England Opera Club (NEOC), will speak on Blitzstein's life and career with audio/visual excerpts from the operas. The presentation is sponsored by NEOC. Blitzstein (1905-64) developed an aesthetic philosophy during the Great Depression which demanded that the artist create solely for social reform. His works include the opera “The Cradle Will Rock,” supporting labor unions, "Airborne Symphony," "Regina," based on Hellman's drama “The Little Foxes” and many others. Inspired by the dismal plight of immigrant labor, and realizing the fundamental injustice of capital punishment, he wrote an opera based on the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. This work, unfinished, was found in the trunk of his car after his untimely death and finished by Lehrman.
The program will include a selection from Blitzstein’s musical version of the story “Idiots First” by Bernard Malamud, performed in memory of his widow Ann DeChiara Malamud who recently passed away. Lehrman and Williams (husband and wife) have performed together throughout North America (400 appearances), on European, Australian and Israeli tours and made three recordings of Blitzstein’s music. Lehrman has composed 181 works and completed 20 works left unfinished by Blitzstein. He is the author of Marc Blitzstein: A Bio-Bibliography and editor of The Marc Blitzstein Song Book. He is the founder and director of the Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus and Laureate Conductor of the Jewish Music Theater of Berlin. Cantor and composer Charles Osborne is founder and director of Adath Shir Rinah, the Music Shul in Newton, and director of the cantorial program at Hebrew College.

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Lectures

Talk on Our YMCA

The final lecture in this year's Newton History Series, Service to Others, will be held at the Library on Thursday May 3, at 7:00PM. Mark Mancuso, Chairman of the West Suburban YMCA’s Board of Directors, will speak on "West Suburban YMCA – 130 Years of Service to the Families of Newton," portraying the history of a branch of one the oldest and largest human service organizations in the world: the YMCA.

YMCAs in the U.S. have a proud history of serving the people in their communities in a variety of ways in areas such as sports, health, education and summer camps. Learn how the West Suburban YMCA has impacted the lives of local children, youth and adults who have been supported by and participated in its programs.

The presentation includes slides of historic photographs, postcards, artifacts, and documents related to the YMCA’s earliest years in Newton, to the organization's move in 1910 to its present location at 276 Church Street and to its more recent years of growth and expansion.

The Newton History Series is sponsored by the Library and the Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead Historical information on the West Suburban YMCA is available in the Newton Collection (Special Collections Room) at the Library and the Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead.

Rebuilding Animal Health Care in Afghanistan

Veterinarian David Sherman will speak and show slides on “Rebuilding Animal Health Care in Afghanistan” on Tuesday, May 8, at 7:30PM.

At its core, Afghanistan is a traditional, agrarian society. It is estimated that as much as 80% of the population depend on livestock directly or indirectly for their livelihood, so access to animal health care is critically important. Sherman, a Newton resident, has spent the last 2 1/2 years in Afghanistan setting up a national network of privatized veterinary clinics which provide animal health care services to the farmers and herders of the country. He will describe the challenging evolution and positive outcomes of this successful development project at his talk.

Besides providing animal health care, this USAID-funded program has created reliable employment for hundreds of animal health care workers and has helped to repopulate the depleted livestock resources of the country that were decimated by war and drought.

Dr. Sherman previously served on the faculty of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and later served as the state veterinarian in Massachusetts. He is the author of Tending Animals in the Global Village and has worked and consulted in more than 20 countries.

	Booktalk on Photographs from the FORWARD
	On April 22, 1897, the first issue of the Yiddish-language Jewish Daily Forward hit the newsstands and gave voice to an entire culture—the vibrant Jewish community that had grown up on New York’s Lower East Side. For over one hundred years, immigrants and native New Yorkers read about the world—and themselves—in its pages. Known by its audience and creators as the Forverts, the articles and photographs showed readers the way life really was, from the pushcarts and markets of the urban ghetto, to the Polish shtetl, to the lives of Jewish film stars and early immigrants to Palestine. On the eve of the newspaper’s 100th anniversary, its staff discovered a wealth of files of old photographs, letters, keepsakes and documents chronicling generations of Jewish life. Editor Alana Newhouse has compiled a rich collection of these photographs in A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward. She’ll speak on Wednesday, May 9, at 7:30PM at the Library, followed by a booksigning with books from New England Mobile Book Fair. In the early 1920s, the Forward had a larger daily circulation than the New York Times. Under the direction of the legendary and “crustily independent” Abraham Cahan, the paper not only chronicled Jewish life, it was part of it.
Newhouse and archivist Chana Pollack have assembled what playwright Tony Kushner has called a collection of “piercing vitality,” contained in a book of “great, unsettling, sensual and intelligent joy.” There is commentary on many topics from the Holocaust to Jewish contributions to sports, Hollywood and politics. Photographs of Ellis Island immigrants, factory workers and young Talmudists give place to the stars of Yiddish theatre, Ben Gurion and Golda Meier, who, in turn, give way to the Chabad-Lubavitch, Hasidic reggae superstar Matisyahu and the Material Girl. Newhouse is the Arts & Culture editor at the Forward. Her arts reporting has also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe Ideas section, and Slate.

Author Talk on the Global Power of China

China is one of the most exciting rising powers in the world today, a global player with significant economic and political aspirations beyond its borders. Although it seems as if the emergent superpower’s relationship with the rest of the world sprouted overnight, scholar Harry G. Gelber reveals in The Dragon and the Foreign Devils that China’s ties to other nations are anything but new.

He will speak on his new book at the Library on Thursday, May 10, at 7:30PM, followed by a booksigning.

China has always intrigued outsiders. From the incursions by steppe horsemen and the Mongol conquests to the first arrival of Europeans and their ultimate exploitation of Shanghai and Hong Kong, foreign fascination with China has followed certain patterns: curiosity, admiration and greed for trade or territory.

As China gradually rises from the turbulence of Mao Zedong’s rule to the economic growth and political stability of the 21st century, the dynamic between East and West has slowly shifted. Gelber explores the recurring themes and cycles of these relationships, revealing important clues to what the future with China may hold.

Gelber is an internationally renowned scholar of history and political science who has taught at Harvard, Boston University and the London School of Economics, among others. He is the author of thirteen books and numerous papers and articles.

Hip Replacement Alternatives, HPV Vaccine Talks

Brigham & Women's Hospital presents two upcoming talks at the Library.

Orthopedic surgeon John E. Ready, MD, will speak on New Alternatives to Traditional Hip Replacement On Tuesday, May 15, at 7:00PM. For active adults under 60 years old with hip pain, new orthopedic hip procedures offer alternatives to total hip replacement. This informative discussion will cover new techniques designed to maintain joint mobility, delay or eliminate the need for conven-tional total hip replacement, and prevent extensive revision surgery.

Preventing Cervical Cancer:
All You Need to Know about the HPV Vaccine and More will be discussed on Thursday, May 31, at 7:00PM. If you have questions about cervical cancer screening and the new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer, either for yourself or your daughter, get the facts from OB/GYN Sarah Feldman, MD, Director, Pap Smear Evaluation Center, who will discuss prevention, HPV, and how the new vaccine can help young women.

	Talk on Impact of Microloans on Developing Nations
	Nicholas P. Sullivan's You Can Hear Me Now: How Microloans and Cell Phones Are Connecting the World’s Poor to the Global Economy focuses on GrameenPhone in Bangladesh as the ideal story of bottom-up development that dramatically sparked widespread economic growth. He shows how information technology and private investment can be an alternative to ineffective foreign aid and a model for addressing human needs on a large scale. Hear him speak at the Library on Thursday, May 17, at 7:30PM, followed by a booksigning. As Sullivan explains, “From the phone ladies in Bangladesh to the sari shopkeepers and resellers in the Philippines to the phone top-up shops in Africa, the cell phone explosion in poor countries has already created more than 1 million new income opportunities.” The book includes profiles of other cell phone companies in Africa and the Philippines and of new ventures such as bringing electricity to rural Bangladeshi villages through generators powered by methane extracted from cow dung.
Sullivan has written widely about technology, entrepreneurship and international development issues. A former editor-in-chief of Home Office Computing and Inc.com, he is a partner in the Global Horizon Fund and publisher of Innovations: Technology/Governance/Globalization.

	The Politics of Garbage
	Heather Rogers will speak on “The Conquest of Garbage” at the next Green Decade Coalition talk on Monday, May 21, at 7PM at the Library. Covering the history and politics of household garbage in the US, this talk will address the issue of why the US produces so much rubbish. With just 4 percent of the global population, the US consumes almost a third of the planet’s resources and generates a third of all wastes created by the world’s most developed nations.
Rogers is a journalist and film-maker based in Brooklyn. She has authored Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, with a documentary film of the same name that screened in festivals around the globe. She has spoken at numerous conferences and universities.

	Emily Franklin Visits for Teen Program
	Young Adult author Emily Franklin will visit the Library to speak to aspiring young writers and answer questions on Tuesday, May 22, at 7:00PM. This open forum, followed by a booksigning will begin with a brief reading from Franklin's Principles of Love series. Teens are encouraged to read one of Franklin's books before the session. The event, sponsored by Newton Girl Scout Cadet Troupe 3039 and their leader Toni Rosenberg, is geared for fans of the series, parents looking to explore new books with their teens and young writers interested in the book publishing business. Newton resident Franklin is the author of two novels for adults, the seven-book YA series Principles of Love, and has had work published in the Boston Globe and Mississippi Review and stories included in anthologies. Forthcoming is a new series, Chalet Girls.

	"Report from Iraq"
	For the last few years, Doug Grindle has worked as an embedded reporter in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. His stories capture daily life for civilians as well as American soldiers out on patrol and back on base. He will discuss his inside knowledge of wartime Iraq and show slides at the Library on Tuesday, May 29, at 7:30PM. Grindle is a freelance correspondent and reporter who develops, produces and delivers his stories from war zones for broadcast companies and newspapers. His stories have appeared on the evening newscasts of dozens of network affiliates and on “CNN Presents.” He also produced, directed, shot and edited several half-hour documentaries for PBS stations in New Hampshire and Rhode Island on National Guard soldiers and the US Coast Guard. Prior to starting his own news and documentary company, he worked as a local news reporter in Worcester and for the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh.

Computer Classes

Take advantage of our free computer classes. Stop by a Reference Desk or call 617-796-1380 to sign up.

Morning Programs at the Library

	Auburndale Book Group At Auburndale, the book club will discuss The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh on Tuesday, May 29, at 10:30AM.
Newton Corner Book Group Newton Corner's group will discuss Toni Morrison's Beloved on Friday, May 25, at 10:30AM at Evans Park in Newton Corner.
Waban Book Group The Waban branch book club will discuss Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy on Wednesday, May 30, at 10:30AM.

Booklists Available

Looking for a good book to read or conducting research in a particular area? The Reference Department has compiled many booklists in a variety of subjects: African Americans in American Life, College Admissions, Books for Modern Parents, Buddhism, Day Trips, Gardening Guides, Rise and Fall of Saddam Hussein, Retirement and much more. Ask a Reference librarian at the YA Desk on the second floor for help in locating a list, or click here.

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For Your Information

Consider a Gift to the Library

Please help supplement our municipal funding and contribute towards the purchase of books, audio/visual materials or equipment. Send your check, payable to the Trustees, to: Development Office, Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton, MA 02459. For further information, call 796-1400. Thank you.

To Our Concert Goers:

Please be considerate of the performer today as well as your fellow audience members and refrain from leaving the auditorium during a piece of music. If you have small children with you, please sit in the back rows. If you leave the auditorium between pieces, please close the door quietly behind you and wait to re-enter after a musical piece. Also, if you have a cellphone, please shut if off. Thank you.

PLEASE DON'T SAVE SEATS!

When attending a Sunday afternoon concert, please do not save more than one seat as this deprives others of attending the concert. The rule is first come, first served.