The Main and the Robert Crown Branches of EPL will be closed Dec. 24th & Dec. 25th. We will reopen Dec. 26th for regular library hours.
April 4, 2016
The Bumble Bee’s Religion by Emily Dickinson
His little Hearse like Figure
Unto itself a Dirge
To a delusive Lilac
The vanity divulge
Of Industry and Morals
And every righteous thing
For the divine Perdition
Of Idleness and Spring–
This poem was selected by Nancy E. (North Branch)
April 3, 2016
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?
This poem was selected by Jeff B. (Readers’ Services)
April 2, 2016
The White Birds by William Butler Yeats
I would that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea!
We tire of the flame of the meteor, before it can fade and flee;
And the flame of the blue star of twilight, hung low on the rim of the sky,
Has awakened in our hearts, my beloved, a sadness that may not die.
A weariness comes from those dreamers, dew-dabbed, the lily and rose;
Ah, dream not of them, my beloved the flame of the meteor that goes,
Or the flame of the blue star that lingers hung low in the fall of the dew:
For I would we were changed to white birds on the wandering foam: I and you!
I am haunted by numberless islands, and many a Danaan shore,
Where Time would surely forget us, and Sorrow come near us no more;
Soon far from the rose and the lily, and fret of the flames would we be,
Were we only white birds, my beloved, buoyed out on the foam of the sea!
This poem was selected by Bridget P. (CAMS Branch)
April 1, 2016
The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
This poem was selected by Russell J. (Adult Services Librarian)
If you’re anything like us, you’ve been counting down to this very day. Besides kick-starting the showers that bring the flowers, April 1st officially makes it next year for the Cubs and finally gives you cause to unleash that new whoopee cushion. What’s most exciting, however, is that today means National Poetry Month is finally here, and we can get our poetry party started. You see, today begins Off the Shelf’s 7th annual National Poetry Month extravaganza during which we showcase one “Poem of the Day” for the entire month of April. For your poetry pleasure, we’ll also have plenty of poetry news, quotes, features, and much, much more. So sit back, relax, and stay awhile. This poetry party is just getting started.
March 26, 2016
On this day in 1874 the beloved American poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco. After his father’s death from tuberculosis in 1885, Frost moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts with his mother and sister, and on November 8, 1894, his first published poem “My Butterfly” appeared in the New York newspaper The Independent. He eventually earned four Pulitzer Prizes and the 1960 Congressional Gold Metal for his poetry while becoming – according to poet/critic Daniel Hoffman – “our nearly official poet laureate and a great performer in the tradition of… Mark Twain.” So celebrate the American Bard’s birthday with his Collected Poems, Prose, and Plays, and for a special treat, don’t miss this ultra-rare clip of Frost reading his famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” courtesy of Poetry Everywhere with Garrison Keillor. Enjoy!
March 21, 2016
This month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Kevin Young’s impressive selected volume Blue Laws. Perfect for those new to his work, this extensive collection includes a hefty helping of unpublished poems along with picks from his nine books including his 1995 debut Most Way Home and his 2012 American Book Award winner Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels. Whether giving voice to historical figures like Jack Johnson or exploring Southern food, family, and the blues, Young’s poems – as described by Time Out New York – are “alive to their very bones, sexy and sad and true… Like any great blues, Young’s is universal.” So plan to spend some time with this riveting collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.
February 5, 2016
This month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting Dean Young’s excellent new book Shock by Shock. Influenced by the New York School poets and Surrealists such as Andre Breton, this twelfth collection from the Pulitzer Prize finalist is his first of all-new work since undergoing a life-saving heart transplant in 2011. Slightly more meditative while still bursting with his trademark wit and agile imagery, these finely-crafted poems show why the American Academy of Arts and Letters named Young “one of the most inventive and satisfying poets writing today.” So don’t miss this terrific new book, sample a library-related poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.
September 15, 2015
Day Two of the ever-so-slowly released National Book Award nominee longlists. Poetry got real play today with titles well known and appreciated, titles forthcoming and appealing, and titles obscure and alluring. How many have you read? Here are the books. Be sure to follow the links to reserve them in the EPL system: Continue reading “National Book Award 2015 Nominees: Poetry”
July 25, 2015
This month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Kate Tempest’s extraordinary long poem Brand New Ancients. Winner of the 2012 Ted Hughes Award, the British poet/rapper/novelist’s second book of verse finds the mythic in the mundane story of half-brothers Thomas and Clive and their violently converging fates in southeast London. Hypnotic, operatic, and “written to be read aloud,” Brand New Ancients was lauded by The Scotsman as “a torrent of poetry so brilliant that the words often seem to glow and smoke with intensity.” So check out this powerful new voice, sample an excerpt below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.
