Susan Eisenberg: Perpetual Care
September 5-27
Opening Reception
September 10 at 7:00 pm

The Villa Group painters
September 5-27
Opening Reception
September 6 at 7:00 pm

African Literatures Discussion Group, led by Anne Serafin, explores the rich variety of writings from Africa. The group meets monthly on the 3rd Wednesday at 7:30 pm, Room A. Next Meeting: September 19, to discuss Infidel – a memoir by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – originally from Somalia.

This group will resume in the fall.

Children's Book Writers groups are for writers who have work in progress. Pre-registration required: Maria Gianferrari (781-891-0153) leads the group that meets on the first Monday of the month at 7:00 pm in Room B. Next meeting: September 10 (due to the Labor Day Holiday the group is meeting on the second Monday of September). Karen Day at (617-244-4830) leads the group that meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm in Room A. Next meeting: September 26.

The Commonwealth Book Club focuses on books from the U. K. and former British colonies. Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 18, 7:30 pm in Room B to discuss Tim Winton’s novel Cloudstreet. Info: Chris Wangler 781-588-0149.

Contemporary Books Discussion Group

Contemporary Books Discussion Group meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7:15 in Room A. Info: Marilyn Miller, 617-332-4225. Next meeting: September 5, 7:30 pm. to discuss The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.
Contemporary Books 2007 - 2008 Reading List

Great Books Discussion Group meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:15 in Room A. Members read and discuss books from the Great Books Foundation (available at the library). The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 11 to discuss, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (conclusion and the chapter on The Puritan Revolution) by Tawney. For more information call Ruth Greene at 617-527-4143.

This discussion group, led by Reg McKeen, covers current events. The group usually meets in Meeting Room B on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm. Please keep abreast of the month’s topic and come with reflections and opinions. Next meeting: Wednesday, September 5 at 7:00 pm Topic: War in Iraq.

Newton Camera Club usually meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays at 7:30 pm. at the Nonantum Branch, to share slides.

Sequences: Women Tell Our Stories, a supportive, creative group has been meeting for eight years to read fiction, essays or poetry and discuss and write responses to the material. Led by Robin Mayer Stein, poet and journalist, the goal of the group is to have fun and experience literature in a congenial atmosphere. The September meeting will be held on the third Wednesday, September 19 at 10:00 am in room B. There after the group will meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 10:00 am in room A.

This workshop is geared for published writers and those actively pursuing publication. Pre-registration is required: call 617-332-3347. The group meets the 1st Tuesday of the month, 7:00 pm in Room A. Next meeting: October 2, 2007 (There will be no September meeting.)

Short Story Discussion Group usually meets on the 2nd Monday of the month at 7:00 pm in Room A. Info: Mary at 617-527-1505. Next meeting: September 10 to discuss Close by Alice Elliott Dark and The First Sense by Nadine Gordimer.

This group is for singers of all levels who enjoy singing classical and popular music. It meets monthly on Saturday afternoons at Noon in the Auditorium. Meeting Dates: September 8 and October 13. Call Miriam Simen, 617-244-6705 for info.

Led by career counselor Joyce Picard, this group, in its 3rd year, provides sharing and information for women in career transition. Info: 617-332-7600. Next meeting: Tuesday, September 18. Thereafter the group regularly meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm in Room A.

Join clarinetist Todd Brunel and pianist Joe Reid as they take you on a musical journey to some of the most beautiful places in the classical and jazz repertoire. The program will include works by Finzi, Gershwin, Mozart and numerous selections from the great American Songbook on Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 2:00 pm.

Clarinetist Todd Brunel enjoys a dual career as a cross-over classical and jazz musician. He has “Tremendous virtuosity and heart…” (the Boston Globe). He has played principal clarinet with numerous New York and Boston area orchestras. He has made guest appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and the legendary Preservation Jazz Hall in New Orleans.

Pianist Joseph Reid maintains a busy schedule performing in jazz clubs, with classical chamber ensembles, with dance troupes and numerous theatre groups. He is a frequent accompanist at the Longy School of Music and the New School of Music, in Cambridge, MA.

 

In a passionate style that is uniquely her own, Unkyoung Kim, violin, will perform Bach, Mozart, Handel and other Selections with Dr. Jhughun Song, viola, on Sunday, September 16 at 2:00 pm.

A native of Seoul, Korea Unkyoung Kim began violin lessons at the age of twelve. She is a winner of international competitions in Korea, Vienna and London. Miss Kim has participated in international music festivals in Europe and the United States.

 

Elizabeth Anker, contralto; Scott Woolweaver, viola; and John McDonald, piano will perform new and recent works written for them by composers across the United States on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 2:00 pm. The program will include the new song cycle, "Domestic Affairs" by Boston composer Francine Trester, songs by John McDonald, Elinor Armer, Howard Frazin and an improvisation with Ms Anker and Mr. McDonald.

Elizabeth Anker sings in a variety of musical styles. Her credits include Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Camerata, Bach festivals in the U.S. and Europe, and many recital and music festival appearances.

A champion of new music, Scott Woolweaver graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan School of Music. Scott has premiered many works for the viola. He is a faculty member at Tufts University and the All Newton Music School.

John McDonald's compositions have been performed on four continents, and his work is frequently featured in the U.S.A. by such ensembles as Boston Composers String Quartet and Kalistos Chamber. He is currently Associate Professor of Music at Tufts University.

 

Classical musicians Jonathan Miller, cello, Sharan Leventhal, violin and Lois Shapiro, piano will perform at the library on Sunday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m.

Mr. Miller, a member of the Boston Symphony has also performed as soloist for The Boston Pops and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Boston. He performs on an important Goffriller cello made in Venice in 1700.

Sharan Leventhal has built an international reputation as a champion of contemporary music Ms. Leventhal has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops, the Boston Ballet and the Milwaukee and Vermont Symphonies.

Ms. Shapiro has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, the former USSR, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Hungary, Mexico and Canada. She is in residence at Wellesley College.

 

Come celebrate September with other teens at our afternoon Ice Cream Taste Test party on Thurs. Sept. 6th at 4:00 pm.  Look for details about this delicious YA event in the Young Adult area on the second floor.

Please join the Trustees and Newton officials at the 10th annual Fall BBQ on Sunday, September 9, 3:00-5:00 p.m., at the home of Library Trustee Sandy Butzel and her husband, John. Once again, our “Celebrity Chefs” will include Mayor Cohen and other elected officials and community leaders. We appreciate their kind participation in this busy election year.

Suggested contributions range from $25-$250 per person. Families are welcome and children are free. This year’s proceeds go towards WiFi installation throughout the Library. Reservations and contributions should be sent to the Development Office, Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton, MA 02459. Kindly include your check, payable to the Trustees of the Newton Free Library, and indicate the number of persons attending, your name, address and phone number. To pay by credit card or for further information, call the Development Office, 617-796-1407. See you at the BBQ!

On September 11, 1:00 pm, Discovering What’s Next (DWN) will host speakers from several community organizations, each with particular interest in attracting the contributions and involvement of Nexters like ourselves.

Under the direction of Doug Holder, the library’s annual poetry series kicks off with poets Gloria Mindock, John Hodgen, and Paul Hostovsky on Tuesday, September 11 at 7:00 pm.

Gloria Mindock was a founding editor of the Boston Literary Review, and is the founder of the Cervena Barva Press of Somer-ville, MA. Her work has appeared in such major magazines as Phoebe, River Styx, Poet Lore and others.

John Hodgen won the Grolier Poetry Prize for Poetry, an Arvon Foundation Award, The Yankee Magazine Award for Poetry, and others. He is the author of several poetry collections, most recently “Grace.”

Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth will be shown at the Newton Free Library on Saturday, September 15 at 1:00 pm.

Even if you’ve already seen Al Gore’s film – and especially if you haven’t –- join us for this special showing! Professor Eric Olson, Brandeis University and Chair of the Green Decade’s Energy Committee, will lead the discussion afterwards. Dr. Olson will briefly describe ways of tackling global warming that can form a basis for individual and political next-step actions, and will encourage audience commentary on both the film and possible solutions. Visit www.greendecade.org or call 617-965-1995 to find out more about Green Decade .

Sophie Freud, granddaughter of Sigmund Freud, will lead the audience through her new book, Living in the Shadow of the Freud Family, in a reading on Monday, September 17 at 7:00 pm. A book signing will follow.

During WW II, with German cannons sounding in the distance, Esti Freud and her then 16-year-old daughter Sophie waited in Paris before deciding to escape the Nazis by bicycle across France. Both women survived by sheer miracle and, in their own ways, came to feel a need to keep a personal record of those tumultuous times.

In a compelling combination of historical events and intriguing personal and family stories, Sophie Freud, granddaughter of Sigmond Freud, turned to her mother Esti’s memoir and used it as a scaffold for Living in the Shadow of the Freud Family. Esti Freud was the daughter-in-law of Sigmund. In her memoir, she looked back on her life stretched through two world wars and the Holocaust.

In her new book, Sophie Freud weaves into the text letters she inherited, including letters from her father, Martin, written while he was a prisoner of war, and excerpts from her own diary, kept as an adolescent.

Out of these documents the author has created a fascinating, many-voiced mosaic—the story of a famous family and of a century seen through the eyes of many characters. The resulting mosaic will fascinate—and perhaps disturb—readers interested in Freud and psychoanalysis, as well as those intrigued by relationships and family.

Sophie Freud is a distinguished internationally known professor emerita from the Simmons College School of Social Work where she taught courses on psychology, psychotherapy and human development for 30 years. She continues teaching and writing in her retirement.

 

In a unique program that links the African Diaspora to their heritage, Imani McFarlane will present the Art of the African Head Wrap Workshop on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 7:00 pm. The program is also aimed at those experiencing hair loss; particularly due to illness and treatment such as chemotherapy.

Raised in Portland, Jamaica, Ms. McFarlane fell in love with the head wraps worn on the island, especially the decorative styles worn at spiritual ceremonies. Imani was inspired by the varied styles worn by Bob Marley and his band, the I Threes, and she began wearing and designing head wraps herself.

Imani’s House of Tafari Collection head wraps have been endorsed by the American Cancer Society and are a part of their 'Look Good, Feel Better' program which offers patients with hair loss encouraging solutions. The head wraps are created with natural silks and cottons which feel luxuriously soft on the skin, and are intended to uplift the spirits, bringing light, color and cheer to those that wear them.

Imani’s head wraps will also be featured in the first floor display cases for the month of September 2007.

 

Join John Root on Thursday, September 20 at 7:00 pm for "Edible Wild Plants of New England". The PowerPoint program gives a comprehensive introduction to the identification and uses of our native plants for food and beverage and features the most appealing and readily available species. Fresh specimens are also provided for participants to examine and sample.

Seasons of availability, habitats, methods of preparation, historical uses, nutritional value, and healing properties of these plants are discussed, and guidelines for ecologically responsible and safe foraging are presented as well.

Illustrated pamphlets with descriptions of plants and their uses, recipes, and a bibliography for further study will be distributed at the conclusion of the program.

John holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Oberlin College, and did his Graduate Study in Botany, University of Maryland and University of North Carolina.

 

Ellen Miller, Dorothy Dahl and Holocaust survivor Ilse Heyman will speak about, The Window Shop, a new book on immigrants from Nazism, on Monday, September 24 at 7:30 pm. A book signing will follow.

The Window Shop on Brattle Street in Cambridge, MA, was founded in 1939 by three Harvard faculty wives who wanted to help the refugees who were arriving in the Boston area from Germany and Austria. It began as a thrift shop and evolved into a restaurant/bakery, a gift shop and a social services agency.

The Jewish women who staffed and managed the Window Shop worked alongside the board, mostly non-Jewish faculty wives from Harvard and MIT. These women, who were culturally worlds apart, built a unique organization that helped thousands of refugees from many countries, gain a foothold in America. The Window Shop closed in 1972, but its spirit continues to inspire those who work with immigrant groups today. Ellen Miller wrote The Window Shop: Safe Harbor for Refugees with the help of Ilse Heyman, a Holocaust survivor who worked at the Window Shop for 25 years, and Dorothy Dahl, who served as board president for several years.