Poetry Time Again

12th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry Contest

The Dover Public Library is pleased to announce the 12th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry contest for grades K-12. Prizes will be awarded in six different categories: Grades K-2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, and 11 &12. Poems will be judged on originality, style and creativity. Deadline for entry is April 16th. Students may pick up information about the contest at the Dover Public Library, any Dover school library, or at our website. All participants are invited to attend an “Evening of Poetry” on Monday, May 19th at 6:30pm; refreshments will be served. Students are invited to read their poetry at this event, but this will be purely voluntary. For more information about the contest please contact Denise LaFrance at 516-6082.

America's Romance with the English Garden, March 18, 7pm

The Friends of the Dover Public Library will host author Thomas J. Mickey on Tuesday evening,

March 18 at 7pm in the library’s Lecture Hall. Mickey will speak about his recently published book, “America’s Romance with the English Garden.”

     The book tells the story of tastemakers and savvy businessmen, and the beginnings of the modern garden industry, which fixated the proper English garden in the mind of the American consumer. During the 1890s, cheaper paper, faster printing, and improved mail delivery paved the way for mass-produced seed and nursery catalogs  with beautiful pictures of sprawling lawns, exotic plants, and the latest garden accessories—in other words, the quintessential English-style garden. These catalogs delivered aspirational images to front doorsteps from California to Maine, and a growing American middle class was eager to buy. The English garden became the look of America.

      Publishers Weekly called “America’s Romance with the English Garden” a “thoughtfully woven American landscape design history, with a critical examination of how commercial interests and mass media shape our preferences, even in our humble backyards.” The book is based on Thomas Mickey’s year-long research at the Smithsonian, where he received the Enid A. Haupt Fellowship from the Horticultural Division.  He is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. He is also a graduate of Harvard University's Landscape Institute, a former garden columnist for Foster’s Daily Democrat, and author of “Best Garden Plants for New England”.

This program is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact the Dover Public Library at 603-516-6050.  

In Memoriam to Literary Lions

Inspired by the Oscars' Memorial Tribute, I found a list of individuals who passed away in 2013 who contributed to 20th and 21st century literature in English. Let us now praise famous men (and women): their published words will endure for decades to come.

Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart)
Iain Banks (The Bridge; Excession)
Tom Clancy (Hunt for Red October)
Evan Connell (Mrs. Bridge; Mr. Bridge)
Richard Ben Cramer (What It Takes: the Way to the White House)
Janet Dailey (100 romance novels)
Roger Ebert (Life Itself)
Vince Flynn (counter-terrorism thrillers)
Marcella Hazan (Classic Italian Cookbook)
Seamus Heaney (Nobel Prize winning poet)
E.L. Konigsburg(From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala  (Heat and Dust)
Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty)
Doris Lessing (Golden Notebook)
Richard Matheson (I Am Legend)
Michael Palmer (medical thrillers)
Barbara Park (Junie B. Jones series)
Barbara Robinson (Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
Jack Vance (science fiction)
Bernard Waber (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile)
Charlotte Zolotow (70 children's books)

Great Stone Face Booktalk #14

The Power of Poppy Pendle
by Natasha Lowe

Ten year old Poppy Pendle was born to ordinary parents. The non-magical type, that is.  Poppy’s passion is baking. She is amazingly good at it and her talents are well known.  However, when it is discovered that Poppy has inherited her Great Aunt Mabel’s magical talent, the family has other ideas. Join Poppy on her adventures as she tries to convince her family that her talents really lay with the non-magical baking.
Booktalk by Catherine Ryan, GSF Committee

The Lorax Will Be Shown Tomorrow at 2

The Lorax will replace Alpha & Omega 2 as this Saturday's matinee since the DVD we ordered never arrived. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will enjoy The Lorax instead.  The imaginative world of Dr. Seuss comes to life like never before in this visually spectacular adventure from the creators of Despicable Me! Twelve-year-old Ted will do anything to find a real live Truffula Tree in order to impress the girl of his dreams. As he embarks on his journey, Ted discovers the incredible story of the Lorax, a grumpy but charming creature who speaks for the trees. Featuring the voice talents of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Betty White. The Lorax is rated PG. The matinee starts at 2:00 in the Lecture Hall, Saturday March 1st.

Updated! Scandinavian Crime Fiction Authors

Dover Public Library mystery fans love Scandinavian crime fiction! Fortunately, many Nordic authors are now being translated and published in English in the U.S. Here's our latest list of authors, updated in February 2014.

Denmark:

Adler-olsen, Jussi

Blaedel, Sara

Gazan, Sissel-Jo

Hammer, Lotte & Soren

Hewson, David

Hoeg, Peter

Kaaberbøl, Lene and Agnete Friis

Finland:

Nykanen, Harri

Thompson, James

Tuomainen, Antti

Wagner, Jan Costin

Iceland:

Bates, Quentin

Indridason, Arnaldur

Ingolfsson, Victor Arnar

Ridpath, Michael

Sigurdardóttir, Yrsa

Norway:

Brekke, Jorgen

Dahl, Kjell Ola

Enger, Thomas

Fossum, Karin

Holt, Anne

Miller, Derek B.

Nesbø, Jo

Staalesen, Gunnar

Sundstol, Vidar

Sweden:

Alvtegen, Karin

Ceder, Camilla

Dahl, Arne

Edwardson, Åke

Ekman, Kerstin

Eriksson, Kjell

Grebe, Camilla & Asa Traff

Hermanson, Marie

Jansson, Anna

Jungstedt, Mari

Kallentoft, Mons

Kepler, Lars

Koppel, Hans

Läckberg, Camilla

Lapidus, Jens

Larsson, Åsa

Larsson, Steig

Lindqvist, John Ajvide

Mankell, Henning

Marklund, Liza

Nesser, Håkan

Ohlsson, Kristina

Persson, Leif G.W.

Roslund, Ander and Börge Hellström

Segerberg, Ebba

Sjöwall, Maj and Per Wahlöö

Soderberg, Alexander

Theorin, Johan

Tursten, Helene

Free Organic Gardening Course offered in March (3 nights)

The Dover Public Library is pleased to offer a free, comprehensive 3-part organic gardening course on consecutive Monday nights, March 10, 17 and 24, from 6-8pm in the Library’s Lecture Hall.  The course, totaling six hours over the three nights, will included practical tips on how to create a new garden, soil preparation, seed starting, planting techniques, cultural techniques during the growing season (such as watering, fertilizing, and pest and weed control), how plants and soil interact, succession planting, planting multiple crops in the same space at the same time, how to compost, crop rotation, cover cropping, and mycorrhizobials. 

    The sessions will also include discussions about our existing industrial food production system, including globalization and famine, organic alternatives of urban gardens, small scale farming, and backyard gardening. (The full-course syllabus is available for viewing at the Circulation desk.)

    The instructor is Vincent Cirasole, an experienced teacher and commercial vegetable grower from Rochester. He taught physical education and organic gardening in New York before relocating to NH in 2013.  He is a Master Gardener and organic growing enthusiast who owned a landscape gardening business for 18 years and a 12,000 square foot commercial organic garden for 11 years. For seven years, he was on the Board of Directors for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York.

      Over a period of years, Cirasole devised this popular tri-part course which has garnered great enthusiasm from participants who’ve praised its usefulness.  Reference material and sources of additional information will be distributed to all at no charge, but pre-registration is required.  Interested gardeners should call the Dover Public Library at 603-516-6050 before March 7 to sign up for Mr. Cirasole’s course.