WAYLAND READS POETRY! This year WAYLAND READS will focus on poetry. We will be reading, writing, studying, and listening to poetry. We’ve also invited distinguished poet Robert Pinsky to kick-off our series with a poetry reading at the Wayland Middle School on the afternoon of Sunday, March 24, at 4pm. Pinsky, a professor at BU, was the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, serving three consecutive terms. His tenure was marked by ambitious efforts to prove the power of poetry as a meaningful and integral part of American life. He appears frequently on public radio. We have invited many other notable poets who reside in our area to read their poetry in Wayland during April, including 2012 National Book Award winner David Ferry, Pushcart Prize winners Jill McDonough and David Rivard, and Emerson Distinguished Writer-in-Residence Gail Mazur. If you harbor the ill-conceived notion that poetry is irrelevant or difficult, you need to come hear the edgy, hip, and exciting work that these modern poets produce. We ask Wayland residents to submit the names of favorite poems our “Wayland’s Favorite Poem Project.” The poems can be anything from a nursery rhyme that your mother sang to you to Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” as long as it means something to you. You can submit titles online at waylandlibrary.org. As part of Wayland’s 375th anniversary, we’re also asking people to submit poems that they have written themselves to be included in a commemorative booklet to be produced in the fall. To submit your own poem, click here. And continue to watch this space for information, including special programs for kids.
UNDER ONE SKY: Songs & Stories to Celebrate Reading. On Thursday, February 21, at 2:30 p.m., our library will celebrate the season, February school vacation, and reading by presenting Parent’s Choice award-winning storyteller Davis Bates in “Under One Sky,” a performance of participatory of stories and songs for the whole family. Pete Seeger has called Davis a “genius of a storyteller.” The program will include traditional and contemporary folk songs and stories from New England and around the world. Hear how coyote got his howl, how foam came to be in the ocean, and more, and be prepared to sing, move and clap your hands. There will even be a short lesson on how to play the musical spoons, and a guest appearance by a dancing wooden dog named Bingo. Davis’ traditional and participatory performance style empowers and encourages audiences to join in the fun, and to take the songs and stories home with them to share with others. The program is appropriate for ages four and up. This program is funded, in part, by a grant from the Wayland Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
ELEPHANT AND PIGGY DAY On Tuesday, February 19, from 2-4 p.m., kids can drop in to the library and join Pam McCuen to celebrate Mo Willems’ wonderful Elephant and Piggy books. We will read (or listen to) an Elephant and Piggy book, make Elephant and Piggy crafts, or act out Elephant and Piggy skits.
MAPLE SUGARING On Wednesday, February 20, from 2-3 p.m., Megan Rynne from Land’s Sake Farm in Weston will tell us all about maple sugaring. She will read a story, show some maple tapping tools, and even bring some maple syrup for a taste test! For ages 5 and up in the Raytheon Room
READ TO TUGGER, THE BEAGLE Kids can sign up to read to our visiting beagle, Tugger. Saturday, February 23, 1-2 p.m. Call the Children’s Room at 508-358-2308 for more information.
RAISING GLOBAL IQ On Sunday, February 24, at 3 p.m., Wayland resident Carl Hobert will be at the library to talk about his new book, Raising Global IQ: Preparing our Students for a Shrinking Planet. Hobert is a Clinical Instructor at the BU School of Education. He will describe the work he is doing to create a roadmap for improving global literacy and conflict-resolution skills in middle and high schools across the United States. Drawing on nearly thirty years teaching, developing curricula, and leading conflict-resolution workshops here and around the world, Hobert’s book offers pedagogical ideas to help improve our children’s GIQ (Global Intelligence Quotient). Some of his recommendations include: teaching foreign languages early in life, honing students’ conflict-resolution skills, providing creative-service learning opportunities, and offering cultural-exchange possibilities in students’ own communities (as well as nationally and abroad) before students graduate from high school. This program is sponsored by the Gossels Fund for Human Dignity.
AUTHOR GEORGE HARRAR On Tuesday, February 26, at 7 p.m., long-time Wayland resident George Harrar will be at the library to discuss his last novel, Reunion at Red Paint Bay, as well as his other work. Reunion at Red Paint Bay is Harrar’s seventh novel. He holds the unusual distinction of having three novels published within one year for three different audiences: adults, young adults, and middle-grade readers. Also an accomplished short fiction writer, Harrar won the Carson McCullers Prize from Story Magazine for “The 5:22,” which was then selected for Best American Short Stories, 1999. Harrar lives in Wayland with his wife, Linda, a documentary film producer.
FITTING CAREER DEVELOPMENT INTO YOUR CURRICULUM As part of our series of programs for special needs individuals and their families, Marci Shaffer, M. Sc., Disability Specialist at Northeastern University will discuss career development in the context of the college experience. Students with hidden and apparent disabilities utilize college career services less than peers with no known disability. College disability services offices can help students develop the essential self-advocacy and self-knowledge skills they will need to create the lives and careers they want for themselves. Monday, February 25, 7 p.m. in the library’s Raytheon Room.
“MAKING TRANSITION WORK” RESCHEDULED Terri McLaughlin, Coordinator of Transition Projects at the Federation for Children with Special Needs, will discuss transition planning. Her talk is entitled “Together, Families and Schools Can Make Transition Work.” Originally scheduled for Monday, January 28, this program was canceled due to weather and has been rescheduled for the evening of March 6 at 7 p.m.
NORWEGIAN WOOD/LOG CONSTRUCTION. On Tuesday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. David Hirzel will give a program on the history of Norwegian log construction, which he investigated as a Fulbright student at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim. He extensively studied Norwegian Farm Buildings and Stave Churches dating from 1050 to the 1800s. Using photographs, plans, details and diagrams, he will explain these most beautiful and interesting architectural structures, including siting and construction perspectives. David studied architecture at Washington State University and has worked at Sasaki Associates for over 40 years.
