Big Roster of September Library Activities

By KATHY McGILBERRY

Let’s crank up the air conditioning as high as it will go, perch ourselves on stadium seats we’ve lined up on the couch and pretend that it feels just a little bit like fall as we look toward September and the kickoff of a new season of programs and activities at McAlester Public Library.

Yes, obviously it’s still 100-plus-degrees outside, but with enough sustained, teeth-grinding concentration, I’m sure we can all remember what a crisp autumn breeze feels like. Ahhh, that’s it. Hut, hut, hut– let’s hike the ball and head downfield!

Steve Adams has fascinated us for two months with his history displays in the lobby about notable Old West shootouts and high profile crimes, and right now he’s preparing a new display about local football teams from the 1940s onward.

You’ll want to see that in September, as well as a number of new displays in other parts of the library. Nathan Forrest has switched from “Shelf of the Week” to new displays that answer common questions. So far, we’ve learned “What do I need to host a wedding?,” “How can I find a job?,” and “What can help me improve myself?.” Look for those displays weekly, smack in the middle of the New Books section. Janice Saaranen has an array of movies on display near the front desk; the first display showcased Best Director Academy Award winners, and the current display features Mini-Series.

The Diary of the Wimpy Kid books are extremely popular. But what can kids read once they’ve finished that series? Anita Ross and Krystal Baker have a big display of “Wimpy Kid” read-alikes at the entrance to the children’s section. You’ll also find displays for teens and ‘tweens that showcase vampires, witches and wizards. The back-to-school display in the lobby will soon give way to Lego creations, a snappy display made even more attractive by the fact that it will be locked up in the display case, where you can’t inadvertently step on the pieces.

Also, you’ll find a poster and display about the upcoming Fall Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma series near the New Books section. The theme this season is “Writing Worlds,” with books and films that explore how we affect our world merely by observing it. Books are going fast, so stop in soon and register for the series. Ask at the front desk; they’ll be happy to help you.

Children’s programming resumes this month, and there’s much to interest teens and adults too. Here’s the whole ten yards:

*Thursday, Sept. 1—The Bookies meet from 1-3 p.m. in the Conference Room to discuss Sally Gunning’s “The Widow’s War.” Teen Game Time runs from 3:45-5:45 p.m. in the mezzanine meeting room.

*Monday, Sept. 5—We’ll be closed for Labor Day.

*Tuesday, Sept. 6—Lap Sit for ages 3 and under resumes at 10 a.m. for caregivers and groups, and at 11 a.m. for families. Children’s Movie Time resumes at 4 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room. These activities repeat every
Tuesday in September. The Yu Gi Oh Club for teens meets at 4 p.m. upstairs.

*Wednesday, Sept. 7—Story Time for ages 3 and up resumes at 10 a.m. on this and every Wednesday in September, in the Whiteacre Room.

*Thursday, Sept. 8—Game Time for teens, 3:45-5:45 p.m. upstairs.

*Friday, Sept. 9—A new club for teens, Magic: The Gathering, meets from 4-6 p.m. upstairs. Also at 4 p.m., the first of a series of computer classes begins in the Whiteacre Room East. Today’s class is Basic Computing, and you’ll need to register to attend. Call 918-426-0930 for more information.

*Saturday, Sept. 10—Second Saturday Cinema at 2 p.m. features a PG-rated inspirational film about a teenager who must summon courage to return to the ocean after a shark attack leaves her without an arm. AnnaSophia
Robb, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt star, and Carrie Underwood is in it too. Good family movie, and free popcorn for all.

*Sunday, Sept. 11—We resume Sunday hours, open from 1:30-5 p.m. on this and every Sunday until next Memorial Day.

*Monday, Sept. 12—Arthouse Theater at 6 p.m. features Will Ferrell as a man who must start over following a divorce. This R-rated movie is based on a Raymond Carver short story. Free popcorn. The Manga Club for teens will meet from 4-6 p.m. upstairs too.

*Tuesday, Sept. 13—Teen Movie Time, 3:45 p.m. upstairs.

*Wednesday, Sept. 14—Free Crafts Workshop for adults, 1-3 p.m., Whiteacre East. We’ll be making custom football-player bobblehead dolls. Supplies are provided, but you’ll have to bring a photo of a loved one or favorite player for the face. Call 918-426-0930 to register. Spaces are limited. Next, there will be a Cooking Class for teens, upstairs, 4-5 p.m. The dish will be Fried Rice.

*Thursday, Sept. 15—Family Play Time for children resumes in the Whiteacre Room West from 11 a.m. to noon on this and every remaining Thursday in September.

*Friday, Sept. 16—Basic Computing Class, 4 p.m, Whiteacre East, taught by Anthony Smart. Spaces limited; registration required.

*Monday, Sept. 19—Light Readers, 6-7 p.m., Conference Room. The inspirational book club will be discussing Ann B. Ross’s “Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind.”

*Tuesday, Sept. 20—Night Readers, 6:30 p.m., Conference Room. The group will discuss Charles Dickens’s final novel, “Our Mutual Friend.” Also, the Yu Gi Oh club will meet upstairs from 4-6 p.m.

*Friday, Sept. 23—Microsoft Office will be the subject for Computer Class at 4 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room East. Call ahead to register.

*Saturday, Sept. 24—Documentary Matinee, 2 p.m., Whiteacre East. The most recent Morgan Spurlock documentary, Rated PG-13, looks at branding, advertisement and product placement.

*Monday, Sept. 26—This month’s first-run independent movie is “A Screaming Man,” an unrated drama in French and Arabic, with English subtitles. It begins at 6 p.m. and there will be free popcorn, as always. It’s the story of Adam, a former swimming champion in his 60s who is a pool attendant at a hotel in Chad. He’s forced to give up his job to his son, and he must deal with repercussions from his country’s civil war. In a moment of weakness, he makes a decision that he will forever regret. Also on Monday, the Teen Book Club will meet at 4 p.m.

*Tuesday, Sept. 27—On the final Tuesday of every month from 10 a.m. to noon, Socrates Café participants meet to discuss…well, whatever
strikes their fancy. It’s philosophical inquiry for the common man, where the only hard and fast rule is you must be respectful of others. Join us for conversation and brunch-y munchies. Also on Tuesday, Teen Movie time, 3:45 p.m.

*Wednesday, Sept. 28—Teen Crafts, making duct tape wallets, 4-5:30 p.m. upstairs. Teen Librarian Sarah Standish will teach this sticky subject.

*Thursday, Sept. 29—Scholarly presentations and book discussions don’t start until October, but this movie special is a good kickoff for the Fall Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma reading and discussion series. Sean Connery stars in a PG-13 film about a scientist who finds love while working in the Amazon Rain Forest. The film begins at 6 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room East, and there will be free popcorn.

*Friday, Sept. 30—Computer Class at 4 p.m. in the Whiteacre East will focus on Facebook. Anthony Smart will teach. Call ahead to register.

Well, that’s it, the clock has run out. I know, with all these activities, it seems like we’re running up the score. But as every true Oklahoma football fan and library-goer knows, there’s no such thing as too much
of a good thing. Hope to see you at the library!

Regards,

Fall ‘Let’s Talk’ Examines the Act of Observation

You can observe a lot by watching.

That’s a famous quote from Yogi Berra, New York Yankees legend. It’s also the underlying theme of the Fall, 2011 Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma (LTAIO) reading and discussion series at McAlester Public Library, scheduled to begin in late September.

Books are now available for sign-out for the series “Writing Worlds: The Art of Seeing in Anthropology, Fiction and Autobiography.” The five-book series asks if anthropologists are objective observers of culture, and if writers are imaginative inventors, and whether observers of every stripe invent their own realities.

By exploring how we observe and participate in our own cultures, the season-long series of books, films and lectures asks participants to consider whether they see only through the constraints of our own particular life contexts, and how the act of watching affects both the observer and observed.

At each book discussion, a Humanities scholar will make a scholarly presentation on the readings. Small-group discussion will follow. At the end, everyone comes together for a brief wrap-up. Books, services and other materials for this series are provided by LTAIO, a project of the Oklahoma Humanities Council, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for this series was provided by a grant from the Inasmuch Foundation, and local funding was provided by Friends of the Library.

Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to register and borrow the reading selections at the library, 401 N. 2nd. Brochures describing the series theme and the local schedule are also available. Participants may attend any or all of the sessions, and agree to return the books at the end of the series. All films and book discussions are held at 6 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) in the Whiteacre Room. Free popcorn is offered at each movie screening, and free refreshments and a door prize are offered at each book discussion.

The Fall schedule includes:

*Thursday, Sept. 29—A PG-13 film set in the Amazon rain forest, starring Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco.

*Thursday, Oct. 6–Kenneth Good’s Into the Heart: One Man’s Pursuit of Love and Knowledge Among the Yanomami. Called the most vivid account of a rain forest people by a Westerner, the story follows Good as he travels deep into the heart of the Amazon to study one of the last Stone Age tribes on earth. Challenging the conflict at the heart of contemporary anthropology, he “goes native” and becomes a participant within the culture he is supposed to observe. Dr. Lewis Parkhill of Tishomingo, professor emeritus from East Central University, will present the program.

*Thursday, Oct. 13—A PG-13 film based on the Mario Vargas Llosa novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. The film stars Barbara Hershey, Keanu Reeves and Peter Falk, and features actor Paul Austin, familiar to local residents as the spouse of author Rilla Askew.

*Thursday, Oct. 20–Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Storyteller. This mysterious novel by the acclaimed Peruvian writer provides a perfect companion piece for Kenneth Good’s book. Saul Zuratas, a marginal individual in Lima’s intellectual society, journeys into the world of an Amazonian culture. Can a novelist who weaves together myth and history capture the essence of reality? Dr. Rex Morrell of Tishomingo, also recently retired from ECU, will present the program. Dr. Morrell is an expert on Latin American literature and magical realism.

*Thursday, Oct. 27—A G-rated Southern Gothic tale based on the Carson McCullars novel The Heart is Lonely Hunter, starring Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke.

*Thursday, Nov. 3–Flannery O’Connor’s Everything that Rises Must Converge. In these unforgettable stories, O’Connor–one of America’s greatest 20th Century writers–captures the folklore, texture, and soul of the South as few writers in any form ever have. With the eye of an anthropologist, she renders her region as an “indigenous” observer. Dr. Trisha Yarbrough, director of the honors program at ECU, will be the presenter.

*Thursday, Nov. 10—A PG-13 film from director Anh Hung Tran examines family issues from a Vietnamese perspective in a lushly-photographed tale.

*Thursday, Nov. 17–Robert Olen Butler’s A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Butler renders the world of Louisiana, the Vietnamese refugee’s perspective of it, and the world left behind in Southeast Asia. In these poignant, humorous, and serious stories, readers are challenged to consider whether or not an individual can transcend his own culture. Dr. Douglas Watson of Oklahoma Baptist University will make a scholarly presentation.

*Monday, Nov. 21, 5:45 p.m.—A PG-rated film examines the life of writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling. Mary Steenburgen stars.

*Thursday, Dec. 1–Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood. In this autobiography of her childhood and adolescence, Dillard creates a hybrid between the fieldwork techniques of an anthropologist and the poetic prose of a lyrical novelist. She not only renders the world of Pittsburgh in the 1950’s but also describes her “other”–the child that she was–and how that child grew up like an anthropologist, trying to figure out the implicit assumptions about what life is and how it is to be lived. Dr. Kenneth Hada of ECU will be the presenter.

Books in this series were selected by Harbour Winn, director of the Center for the Study of Childhood and Family through Literature and Film at Oklahoma City University. Films were selected by local Project Director Kathy McGilberry, Assistant Librarian. For more information about this or any other library program, call 918-426-0930.

 

Fall Math Tutoring Resumes

Volunteer math tutor Grover Walker has resumed his tutoring schedule at McAlester Public Library for the fall season. Walker will be on hand in the mezzanine meeting room every Saturday morning until Dec. 15, beginning at 9:45 a.m. and continuing until 1:30 p.m.

“These sessions are mainly for math turoing, but everyone is welcome who wants to improve math skills,” Walker said. “There is no fee for these sessions, but students are asked to provide their own transportation, paper and pens.”

The schedule is: 9:45 a.m.-10:30 a.m., seventh and eighth grade math; 10:30-11:30 a.m., Algebra I; 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Geometry; 12:30-1:30 p.m., Algebra II, Calculus, College Algebra and Trigonometry.

For more information, call Walker at 918-423-5019.

 

Working Class Poetry Event Features Hada, Alexander

An event billed as “Working Class Poetry” will run from 7-9 p.m. tomorrow night, Thursday, Aug. 25 at the Downtown Library in Oklahoma City. Kenneth Hada of East Central University in Ada will serve as emcee.

“Help Oklahoma poets celebrate working cllss Oklahoma with an evening of soil, sweat and soul,” Hada, a frequent presenter at McAlester Public Library events, said.

Among the poets featured at the event will be Dorothy Alexander of Cheyenne, who read from her works at McAlester Public Library last week. “Along with Dorothy Alexander’s striking perspectives of rural Oklahoma, hear Shirley Hall’s clarion voice for social justice, Jason Poudrier’s Purple Heart experiences and Bob Bearden’s labor poems which are certain to entertain and inspire,” Hada said.

More details are available at www.oklahomalaborfest.org . Laborfest runs from Aug. 25-27 and will feature other music and poetry shows.

Poetry Reading

DOROTHY ALEXANDER, poet/author/publisher, read from “Lessons from an Oklahoma Girlhood” and other works at a poetry reading Thursday, Aug. 18 at McAlester Public Library. Here, she signs a book following the program.

 

True West Poster Winner

 

TRUE GRIT POSTER WINNER—Paul W. Gaines shows off the framed True Grit poster he won in a door prize drawing at McAlester Public Library Thursday night. The poster, donated by True West magazine, shows actors John Wayne and Jeff Bridges both in character as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 and 2010 True Grit movies. The prize was awarded at the close of the “More Than True Grit” scholarly presentation by Dr. Jennifer Kidney of Norman. Participants in the library’s adult summer reading program heard from local historian Tom Crowl July 28 about the establishment of the J.J. McAlester store mentioned in the book, viewed both versions of the movie, and received free copies of the Charles Portis novel. Adult summer reading events conclude Thursday, Aug. 18 with a poetry reading by Dorothy Alexander of Cheyenne, who will read from her book, Lessons from an Oklahoma Girlhood, and other works.

 

 

BOK Book Donation

ACCEPTING A DONATION from local Bank of Oklahoma assistant branch manager Kitty McCarty (right) is McAlester Public Library teen librarian Sarah Standish-Burke. BOK recently donated children’s books and a grant of $250 as part of its annual Literacy Campaign and Book Drive. BOK locations statewide collected book donations from the public, and the bank partnered with Oklahoma members of  Volunteers of America in the effort, which also included the children’s mascot character “Will Readmore.”