Notes from my inbox

Poetry events have been dominating my email recently:

• The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum's upcoming Readings in the Gallery series will feature Donald Hall: July 1, South Congregational Church
  Garret Keizer and Rigoberto Gonzalez: July 15, South Congregational Church
  Marge Piercy: September 9, St. Johnsbury School
  All programs are at 7:00 PM
  
• The Hyla Brook Reading Series continues at the Robert Frost Farm, 122 Rockingham Rd (Rt 28), with a reading by seacoast poet Pat Parnell on Thursday, July 9, 2009, 6:30-8:30pm. Also reading is Hyla Brook poet Midge Goldberg. An Open Mic will follow the readings and all audience members are invited to share their work. The Hyla Brook Poets, the group which organizes the readings, meet for monthly workshops on the third Saturday of the month at 10am. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 18. Please bring 15 copies of a poem for critique. The workshops and reading series will be held at the Frost Farm through September and then return to the Coffee Factory. For questions, please contact Robert Crawford .
  
  
• From Tom Diegoli: "The Conway Public Library and Host Tom Diegoli are pleased to continue our monthly Open Mic series featuring Poetry, Acoustic Music, and Storytelling to be held on the 2nd Monday of every month, from 6:30-8:30PM, downstairs at the Library. Everyone is welcome to come and share, or just to listen. Light refreshments will be served. On Monday, July 13th we will slide into summer with an ALL OPEN MIC evening. Bring your instruments, songs, stories, poems, and especially your friends. We have traditionally had a very big turnout in July, so come and be a part of it. New faces are always welcome: we want to hear what you’ve got. The Rules for the Open Mic are: Max 5 minutes per performer. There will be a Sign-Up Sheet for all who would like to participate. Performers may be allowed more time but they must arrange it with Tom beforehand, time permitting. For more information, directions, etc., you can email Tom at thomasjdiegoli@earthlink.net (and please be sure to put “Open Mic” in the subject line to get past the spam filter) or you can call the Library at 447-5552."
  

Book of the Week #25

Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942 by Daniel Ford (Harper Collins/Smithsonian Books, 2007).

Author Daniel Ford lives on the north shore of Great Bay in New Hampshire and, in addition to being a writer, is a recreational pilot.

This book was originally published in 1991, and has been updated and revised for this 2007 edition. According to World War II Magazine (November 2007):

"During the dark, early days of World War II, when the Imperial Japanese army, navy, and air force were running roughshod over Asia and the Pacific, it seemed that nothing could stop them. Only a small band of American mercenary
fliers based in Burma and known as the Flying Tigers, led by a leather-faced fighter named Claire Chennault, seemed able to challenge and defeat the Japanese....

"The exciting story of this legendary fighting force that wore American uniforms but Chinese insignia is told in Daniel Ford's definitive history of the legendary Flying Tigers. Every page contains a new tidbit of information and rich, long-forgotten detail."

Books for Your Beachbag

On Friday, June 26, 2009 Michael Herrmann (Gibson's Bookstore) and Dan Chartrand (Water Street Bookstore) will be guests on NHPR's The Exchange. They will be talking about great books for summer reading. What books are you looking forward to reading this summer?

Notes from my Inbox

Here are a few items from my recent email that you may find of interest:

• Appalachian Odyssey Authors Signing Their Back-in-Print Book About Hiking from Georgia to Maine. Last year the Authors Guild in New York selected Appalachian Odyssey; Walking the Trail from Georgia to Maine for its Back-in-Print series, and recently iUniverse reprinted the book into its third paperbound edition. Upcoming signing events for authors Steve Sherman and Julia Older include July 18 at the Toadstool Bookshops in Keene NH (11:00 a.m.) and Peterborough NH (2:00 p.m.). On July 25 they’ll be at Bayswater Book Company in Center Harbor NH (1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.) Appalachian Odyssey has been described as "probably the most literate account of hiking the Appalachian Trail's 2000-odd miles" and "recommended reading by through-hiker and day-tripper alike."
  
• New England College (Henniker, NH) has announced their schedule of summer events and poetry readings. It includes a Panel with Donald Hall and Post-MFA faculty on Donald Hall's historic essay "Poetry and Ambition" on July 8, 2009 (free and open to the public).
  
• Gibson's is having a Father's Day Sale! Everything in the store will be 25% off, this Friday and Saturday only, June 19 and 20 (they will be closed on Sunday, in honor of fathers everywhere). This was announced in their store events email newsletter.

Book of the Week #24

Sunday Evening at the Stardust Cafe by W. E. Butts (Fairfield, Iowa: 1st World Publishing, 2006)

This collection of poetry is the latest book from the current New Hampshire Poet Laureate who has several upcoming readings:

• Hyla Brook Poetry Reading Series/Frost Farm, June 18, 2009, 6:30pm
  
• New Hampshire State Library, June 20, 2009, 3:00pm (This event is on Facebook)
  
• As part of the Canaan 1793 Meetinghouse Readings, July 23, 2009, 7:30pm

Literary Corner

Eleanor Strang, Chair of the Center for the Book Advisory Board, invited me to be a guest on Literary Corner, a program she hosts for Derry Community Television. We taped the program yesterday afternoon and talked about current and future projects of the Center. If you live in Derry, check the Cable 17 schedule to see when you can watch. (Search for "Literary Corner" to find dates and times.)

Dublin Winner Announced

Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas has won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the world’s richest literary prize, announced today by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Éibhlin Byrne, Patron of the Award.

Book of the Week #23

Men of Granite: New Hampshire's Soldiers in the Civil War by Duane E. Shaffer. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008)

Duane E. Shaffer was a library director in New Hampshire for twenty years. He currently lives in Florida and is head of collection development and adult programs for the Sanibel Public Library on the island of Sanibel, Florida. His book tour will be in the Granite State later this month:

• Barnes & Noble - Portsmouth on June 21 at 1:00 PM
• Madbury Public Library on June 22 at 3:00 PM
• Rochester Public Library on June 22 at 6:30 PM
• The Portsmouth Athenaeum on June 25 at 5:30PM
• Barnes & Noble - Manchester on June 26 at 7PM

"During the Civil War, some thirty-five thousand New Hampshire Soldiers 'representing approximately 11 percent of the state's population' were dispatched to serve the union in seventeen infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments, three artillery batteries, and three companies of sharpshooters and as members of miscellaneous naval and marine units. Duane E. Shaffer tells the story of these forces in Men of Granite, a thorough history of New Hampshire combat troops in the years before and during the Civil War. Focusing on the day-to-day experiences of the common soldier and his reasons for taking up the fight against the Confederacy, Shaffer has mined myriad primary sources to draw together the experiences of all of the state's regiments and units into this single, cohesive narrative. Told in chronological order, Shaffer's narrative follows the experiences of New Hampshire troops, primarily in Virginia and South Carolina. Granite state soldiers were stationed at Hilton Head for much of the
war, and they offered vivid accounts of bivouac duty and of inland raids in low country South Carolina. A chapter each is devoted to The Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, a fight that included the largest concentration of New Hampshire soldiers in the war, and the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, in which the Twelfth New Hampshire suffered more casualties than any regiment on either side. Shaffer also details the disaster of the Battle of Fort Wagner in July 1863, in which New Hampshire lost more soldiers than in any other operation." [from mymenofgranite.com]

News from Newport, NH

The Trustees of the Richards Free Library and the Judges of the Sarah Josepha Hale award recently announced that Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has won the 2009 Hale Award. He will accept the award on October 3, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. at the Newport Opera House.

Henry Louis Gates is an author, literary scholar and historian. He is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He is a graduate of Yale University and Cambridge University. He has received many awards including a MacArthur Grant, an American Book Award and was named to Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Americans” list in 1997.

Former editor of the Concord Monitor Mike Pride says of Gates: “In a long, distinguished career, he has operated with vigor and eloquence in both the academic realm and the popular culture in his quest to enrich the American literary canon with African American voices and to bring these voices to the public.”

For over fifty years, the Sarah Josepha Hale Award, has been given by the trustees of the Richards Free Library, in recognition of a distinguished body of written work in the field of literature and letters. The award honors Sarah Josepha Hale, author, poet, and essayist, who as editor of Godey’s Lady’s Magazine shaped the opinion of nineteenth century American women.

Book Awards in the Granite State

Several New Hampshire book awards have recently announced winners:

• The 2009 Flume Award winner was Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes
  
• The 2008-2009 Isinglass Teen Read Award went to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
  
• The 2008-2009 Great Stone Face winner was Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.

Notes from my inbox

There have been a number of interesting book-related items in my email recently:

• White Birch Books announced the 2009 Celebration of Books Gala featuring special guest Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog and Garden of Last Days. The Gala event will be held on Tuesday, June 23, at the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort, and will feature a 3-course meal, a visit with Andre and a book signing. They will throw in some free books and some fun and games to round out the evening. Tickets are $40 per person or $300 per table of 8 and are available only at the bookstore. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go to the North Conway Library. White Birch Books is located at 2568 Main Street, North Conway, NH (603-356-3200)
  
• On Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 3 o'clock the NH State Library will host the Poetry Society of New Hampshire and its guests Walter Butts, New Hampshire Poet Laureate and Patricia Fargonoli, immediate past New Hampshire Poet Laureate. Both poets will read their work.
  
• NYT bestselling author Lisa Gardner will release her new book, The Neighbor later this month. White Birch Books will host a debut party for the book on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 7 p.m., at the Lutheran Church across from the bookstore. White Birch Books is located at 2568 Main Street, North Conway, NH (603-356-3200)
  
• The Conway Public Library and Host Tom Diegoli are continue their monthly Open Mic series featuring Poetry, Acoustic Music, and Storytelling to be held on the 2nd Monday of every month, from 6:30-8:30PM, downstairs at the Library. Everyone is welcome to come and share, or just to listen. On Monday, June 8th, there will be a triple feature: Library’s June Artist of the Month will be Dawn Marion; Featured writers Poet Brad Marion, (Dawn’s husband); and Biker Poet Extraordinaire K. Peddlar Bridges. Rumor has it that Tom has a brand new story in his Scratch Wooley series, too....
  According to Tom: "The Rules for the Open Mic will be: Max 5 minutes per performer. There will be a Sign-Up Sheet for all who would like to participate. Performers may be allowed more time but they must arrange it with Tom beforehand, time permitting. A second round may also be possible if time allows, so bring some extra material along, too. For more information, directions, etc., you can email Tom at (and please be sure to put “Open Mic” in the subject line to get past the spam filter) or you can call the Library at 447-5552."
  
• The Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough is hosting readings this month with P. J. O'Rourke (Saturday, June 6th at 11am); Nancy Mellon (Saturday, June 13th at 11am); and Lita Judge (on Saturday, June 13th at 2pm).
  
• New Hampshire is kicking off the summer reading program, “Summertime…and the Reading is Easy.”

If you have book related NH news, please send me an email about it!

Book of the Week #22

Finely Carved & Nicely Painted: The Life, Art and Decoys of George H. Boyd: Seabrook, New Hampshire 1873-1941 by Jim Cullen, photography by Andrew Davis. (Rye, NH: published by the author, 2009)

George Boyd lived in Seabrook, NH and created hunting decoys "in five species of ducks and geese and two species of shorebird. His miniatures, however, represent over 65 species of waterfowl, game birds, and songbirds." (p. 58)

Jim Cullen has created the first completed book on the life and work of this gifted decoy sculptor. Numerous beautiful photographs, including some that show how a decoy is constructed, complete the volume.

A favorable review of the title appeared in Rye Reflections. Another recent review of the book said:

"This work is impressively researched and documented. It abounds in references to many and diverse sources from which the author has drawn important information, about Boyd and his work. ... Collectors will be able to use this book to good advantage in identifying Boyd carvings." (Hunting & Fishing Collectibles Magazine, May-June 2009 issue, p. 70)

Cullen will be giving presentations on his book at the Rye Public Library tonight (June 2, 2009) at 7pm and at the Seabrook Library on July 9, 2009.