Russell J. Archives - Page 7 of 12 - Evanston Public Library

Poetry 365

June 23, 2012

This month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring the latest collection from virtuoso poet Albert Goldbarth. Author of over 25 volumes and the only two-time winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, the prolific Chicago native is best known for a singular, sprawling style that mixes dense philosophical ideas with wildly energetic word play. In Everyday People, he presents 66 new poems that nimbly explore the wonders of everyone from Hercules and Jesus to overprotective parents, online gamblers, and newlyweds. Fearless, funny, and tender, Everyday People argues that “our ordinary failures, heroics, joy, and grief are worth giving voice to and giving thanks for.” So check out this extraordinary new book, sample a shorter poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

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Poetry 365

May 29, 2012

The sun may have set on another National Poetry Month but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end. No, here at Off the Shelf we like to celebrate year round with Poetry 365, a monthly-minus-April feature that highlights a contemporary poet’s most recent work. This month we pick back up with Alan Shapiro’s ambitious new book Night of the Republic. Inventive, urgent, and moving, this twelfth collection from the L.A. Times Book Prize winner takes readers on a dreamlike tour of America’s public places. Breathing fresh life into generic spaces such as a gas station restroom, a dry cleaner, and a funeral home, the book offers unexpected insights that “illuminate the mingling of private obsessions with public space.” So while you bask in the afterglow of National Poetry Month, check out this excellent new collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

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An Interview with John Huston

May 24, 2012

johnhustonhood2 — Polar explorer John Huston visits EPL on May 31st at 7 pm. (Photo © ForwardEndeavors.com)

When John Huston was eight years old he wanted to be Indiana Jones, and minus the snakes and booby traps, he’s living that boyhood dream. In 2009 – after years as an Outward Bound wilderness instructor and major expeditions to Greenland and Antarctica – the Evanston adventurer reached the pinnacle of polar exploration with a historic Arctic journey he chronicles in his new book Forward: The First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole. Illustrated with breathtaking photos and interwoven with the rich history of polar travel, Forward puts you right alongside Huston and his expedition teammate Tyler Fish as they guide their 300-pound loads over the unforgiving surface of the frozen Arctic ocean on a 55-day adventure that pushed them to the limits of human endurance. On Thursday, May 31st, you can meet Mr. Huston when he visits EPL’s 1st Floor Community Meeting Room at 7 p.m. for a multimedia presentation that includes readings from Forward, a display of expedition gear, and a discussion of the lessons he learned in leadership, teamwork, and perseverance while conquering the North Pole. In anticipation of his visit, we recently spoke with him via email about his love for the wintery North, his 7000 calorie daily diet, the differences between Chicago and Arctic cold, and his upcoming expedition to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic.

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An Interview with Ronnie Dukes

May 3, 2012

Ronnie Dukes is a local painter, illustrator, designer, and the latest artist to be featured in our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL. His show – titled Vitruvian Hero: Act I – was on display at EPL’s Main Branch throughout April and inspired by Da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man drawing. The first of a planned three-part series, the collection explores the possibilities of “super” human evolution using elements of sci-fi and fantasy in the striking style of comic-book illustrations. If you missed it, however, don’t fret. You can view more of Mr. Dukes’ work by visiting his website, and he recently spoke with us via email about his artistic beginnings at Maggie Daley’s Gallery 37 and in Harlem, his creative process, and his vision for his forthcoming graphic novel.

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An Interview with Kendra Pierre-Louis

April 22, 2012

The message was seemingly clear. If we would only swap Mr. Clean for Seventh Generation, switch from old light bulbs to compact fluorescents, and start schlepping our organic groceries in reusable bags, we could reverse the damage we’ve caused the Earth and heal our ailing planet. But according to sustainability expert Kendra Pierre-Louis, our commitment to shopping “green” is only a small first step toward righting our environmental wrongs. In her eye-opening new book Green Washed: Why We Can’t Buy Our Way to a Green Planet, the New York-based environmentalist thoroughly examines the rise of organic food, green housing and clothing, solar power, and the hybrid car before persuasively concluding that the true path to helping the Earth is not buying “green” but buying much, much less. Pointing to America’s growth economy as the main culprit behind our unchecked consumption, Pierre-Louis ultimately advocates for adopting an alternative system that doesn’t pit “our short-term well-being against our long term survival.” In honor of Earth Day, we recently spoke to Ms. Pierre-Louis via email about nature in New York City, the “IKEA effect,” alternative economies, the importance of community engagement, and how she plans to celebrate today.

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Poetry 365: Laura Kasischke

March 16, 2012

This month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting Laura Kasischke’s ambitious new volume Space, in Chains. A 2011 NY Times Notable Book, the Pushcart Prize winner’s eighth collection finds her pursuing her signature stream-of-consciousness style while also exploring her new interest in the prose poem. Mingling homey memories of childhood with questions about the existence of God, Kasischke’s haunting and hypnotic pieces often resemble impressionist paintings as they “walk that perfect Plathian line between the everyday… and the eternal.” So check out this profound new collection, sample a poem below, and clear your calendar… our National Poetry Month celebration is about to begin.

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An Interview with 'The Family Fang' author Kevin Wilson

February 16, 2012

Kevin Wilson has the book world buzzing for a reason. A pair of them, actually. Back in 2009, the Tennessee native hit the lit scene with Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, an artful, mischievous short-story collection that nabbed him a 2010 Alex Award. Now Wilson is back with his first novel The Family Fang, and the critics are raving. Comic, tragic, and endlessly inventive, The Family Fang tells the madcap tale of siblings Annie and Buster as they return to their childhood home after years spent avoiding their performance artist parents Caleb and Camille. For Annie – a movie actress shamed by an Internet nudity scandal – and Buster – a novelist nearly brained in a potato gun mishap – their reluctant homecoming is born from a desperate need to nurse their wounds in seclusion. Their parents, however, couldn’t be happier to have them back. After years of casting their kids as the stars in their Candid Camera-style stunts, Caleb and Camille have plans for one final family performance that might not actually be a performance at all. Named a Top Ten Book of 2011 by TIME Magazine, Esquire, and Booklist, The Family Fang has been described by Ann Patchett as “a tour-de-force examination of what it means to make art and survive your family… I have never seen anything like it before. The best single word description would be genius.” Mr. Wilson recently spoke with us via email about the positive response to The Family Fang, novels vs. short stories, the tricky business of parenting, “true” art, Nicole Kidman as Camille Fang, and, of course, potato guns.

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Poetry 365

February 13, 2012

This month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Tracy K. Smith’s brilliant new volume Life on Mars. A 2011 NY Times Notable Book, the Princeton professor’s third collection showcases her impressive range as it blends “pop culture, history, elegy, anecdote, and sociopolitical commentary to illustrate the weirdness of contemporary living.” Hypnotic, ironic, and spiritual, Life on Mars is a stunning tour de force that finds Smith pausing to mourn her late father before blasting off to explore her vision of our sci-fi future. So check out this remarkable new collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

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Poetry 365

January 28, 2012

This month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting Troy Jollimore’s eagerly awaited follow-up to his acclaimed debut Tom Thomson in Purgatory, winner of the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award. In At Lake Scugog, the California State University professor continues his exploration of age-old philosophical questions in clever, flexibly formal verse that includes 14 new sonnets featuring his neurotic title character. Witty, eccentric, and vulnerable, this engaging collection is further proof that Jollimore is “an utterly fresh, original voice” in American poetry. So check out this stellar sophomore collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

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An Interview with Martha Meyer

December 30, 2011

Martha Meyer is a local photographer, business owner, and the latest artist to be featured in our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL. Her show – titled Grecian Spring, Italian Summer – is currently on display on the 2nd floor of EPL’s Main Branch where it invites you to slow down and appreciate the world’s beauty with a radiant photographic series captured during a recent trip abroad. You can warm your winter days with Grecian Spring, Italian Summer through January 5th, and after that, you can learn more about Ms. Meyer’s work by visiting her Fotogiardino website. We recently spoke with Ms. Meyer via email about her artistic inspirations, taking “pretty” pictures, and the blessing that is Lake Michigan. Continue reading “An Interview with Martha Meyer” →