All library locations are open and fully operational today, Friday, July 5.
May 13, 2014
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Frank Bruni wrote in praise of the recent rise in numbers of young readers. For Bruni this rise in numbers came as a surprise because of his presumption that technology had outsourced the value of books to generations past. Bruni asserts that reading has much to do with the transformation […]
May 12, 2014
An interesting blurb on NPR today mentions that a bill has been approved in Calabria, Italy that would (if passed by the Italian Parliament) reduce prison sentences in exchange for reading books. The plan for reduced sentences is in response to the Government’s ban on prisoners receiving books. Mario Caligiuri, Calabria’s culture representative, said: “Reading […]
May 8, 2014
We are thrilled to announce a special May treat for our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL. Throughout this month, we’re proudly featuring the work of the E/ artgroup, an eclectic collection of Chicagoland artists “dedicated to exhibiting and growing artistically.” Comprised of artists Mary Beth Bellon, Susanne Clark, Sarah Hahne, Mary Hilger, bert […]
May 6, 2014
The 2014 Edgar awards were presented last week in New York to honor best mystery writing in fiction, nonfiction, and television. William Kent Krueger’s novel Ordinary Grace, “about a man’s look back at the summer of 1961 in Minnesota”, won the award for best fiction. Other winners include The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot […]
April 30, 2014
Time sure flies when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe another National Poetry Month is already drawing to a close, but for one last hurrah, don’t miss this great clip of actor Bill Murray reading a pair of Wallace Stevens’ poems. Enjoy, and make sure to keep coming back to Off the Shelf for […]
April 30, 2014
Classic Ballroom Dances by Charles Simic Grandmothers who wring the necks Of chickens; old nuns With names like Theresa, Marianne, Who pull schoolboys by the ear; The intricate steps of pickpockets Working the crowd of the curious At the scene of an accident; the slow shuffle Of the evangelist with a sandwich board; The hesitation […]
April 29, 2014
From the Dark Tower by Countee Cullen We shall not always plant while others reap The golden increment of bursting fruit, Not always countenance, abject and mute, That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; Not everlastingly while others sleep Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute, Not always bend to some more subtle […]
April 28, 2014
Black Dog Goes to Art Colony by Maggie Anderson I like it here. I like it here. They do things in packs, At night they pile together on the floor. I lie down on the leather jackets and boots and the skinny ties I sink my teeth into and shake. Tonight, as usual, they are […]
April 27, 2014
Recuerdo by Edna St. Vincent Millay We were very tired, we were very merry– We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry. It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable– But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table, We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon; And […]
April 26, 2014
The Applicant by Sylvia Plath First, are you our sort of person? Do you wear A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch, A brace or a hook, Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch, Stitches to show something’s missing? No, no? Then How can we give you a thing? Stop crying. Open your hand. Empty? […]
