Muslim Journeys Bookshelf: Poetry Night, April 24 at 7PM at the library

By Lisa M. Rabey
Systems & Web Librarian

GRCC Library is pleased to present, “Muslim Journeys Bookshelf: Poetry Night,” a night of poetry showcasing the diversity of Islam, Muslim lives, arts, and culture. The event, located on the 2nd floor of the library, will begin at 7PM. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact please contact Lisa Rabey.

Bring The Noise: A Night Of Empowerment Open Mic Night, April 8 at GRCC Library

By Lisa M. Rabey
System & Web Librarian

In celebration of National Poetry Month and GRCC’s Pride Week, the StandOUT! Gay-Straight Alliance student group in partnership with GRCC Library is proud to present an open mic night, on April 8.

The event will be held on the second floor of the library at the Learning Resource Center. Doors and the sign up list opens at 6:00PM, performances begin at 6:15 and will go till 8:45PM.

The event is free and open to the public.

We’re looking to empower people whose voices have been held back in the past, be it because of color or sex, religion or orientation. This is the night to lift those voices up. This is the night to let amplifier, mic, and tongue work in tandem to shake the air with words, music, or just plain sound.

Bring your anger, bring your pain. Bring your joy and your victories, your sorrow and defeat. Bring the whole package because that’s what we are as people. We aren’t a few slices of adjectives or characteristics, we are being, whole and complete and as such we have the right to let our voices be heard.

So whatever you bring, know that you are bringing it to a stage built on love. Held up by beams of respect in the aims of peace and the hope that when we use our voices Monday night, that we can carve a place of unity in this world.

For more information, check out StandOUT!’s Facebook page for the event  (You do not need to RSVP to attend) or contact Lisa Rabey.

National Poetry Month: Pablo Neruda

Image of Pablo Neruda courtesy of WikiCommons

By Janelle Yahne
Library Circulation Associate

Poetry and I are merely acquaintances.

I read poetry when required for class, and recommended by friends. I listen intently as poets read aloud carefully chosen words and sometimes I understand what the person is trying to say. I am unable to distinguish average from amazing poems in the way I do not hear the difference between musical chords, but I enjoy the sound.

Thankfully, I have friends who understand poems intimately. Some of these friends can explain the nuances in meter and tone using the correct vocabulary. Some of these friends are poets themselves. Each friend has a favorite and I sent out a call to these friends to give me recommendations. The most common name on this list is Pablo Neruda
.
Pablo Neruda is considered one of the greatest Spanish language poets but also one of the more controversial due to his Communist politics and poetry. His poetry ranged from love to politics to the sea and everywhere between. Reading some of his poetry, especially about love and nature, reminded me a little Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short stories based in Magical Realism with striking imagery built upon thoughtful words. Even in The Book of Questions, filled mostly with two line questions, it is the visions Neruda creates that grabs the reader more than the words: “How long does a Rhinoceros last / after he’s moved to compassion?” and “How do we thank the clouds / for their fleeting abundance?” are personal favorites.

As I have said, I am not an expert or an avid reader of poetry. Thankfully, the library has numerous books about Pablo Neruda and his poetry, along with books to assist with the understanding of poetry’s creation. Below is a brief list of materials we have for your use. Plenty more can be found in our collection.

• How to read a poem : and fall in love with poetry by Edward Hirsch
• Memoirs by Pablo Neruda. Translated by Hardie St. Martin
• Pablo Neruda : a passion for life by Adam Feinstein
• Pablo Neruda and the U.S. Culture Industry edited by Teresa Longo
• The Poetry of Pablo Neruda edited by Ilan Stavans (The anthology I mentioned in the post.)
• Twenty love poems and a song of despair by Pablo Neruda. Translated by W.S. Merwin

National Poetry Month: Different types of poetry

By Marcia Lee
Serials Specialist

Interested in learning how to write a poem? Want to know how to construct meter and verse? The library has a plethora of materials ranging from theory of poetry to how to write a poem.

Also, did you know there are over 55 different types of poetry styles? Listed below are some of the more commonly known types:

• ABC poems – A poem that has five lines that create a mood, picture, or feeling. Lines 1 through 4 are made up of words, phrases or clauses while the first word of each line is in alphabetical order. Line 5 is one sentence long and begins with any letter.
• Acrostic – Poetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a word or message when read in a sequence.
• Ballads– A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tail or legend which often has a repeated refrain.
• Bio – A poem written about one self’s life, personality traits, and ambitions.
• Blank verse – A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter and is often unobtrusive. The iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of speech.
• Burlesque – Poetry that treats a serious subject as humor.
• Couplet – A couplet has rhyming stanzas made up of two lines.
• Elegy – A sad and thoughtful poem about the death of an individual.
• Free verse – Poetry written in either rhyme or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern.
• Haiku – A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five morea, usually containing a season word.
• Lay – A long narrative poem, they were often sung by medieval entertainers.
• Limerick – A short sometimes vulgar, humorous poem consisting of five anapestic lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables, rhyme and have the same verbal rhythm. The 3rd and 4th lines have five to seven syllables, rhyme and have the same rhythm.
• Lyric – A poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.
• Narrative – A poem that tells a story.
• Quatrain – A rhyming poem has the repetition of the same or similar sounds of two or more words, often at the end of the line.
• Sonnet – A lyric poem that consists of 14 lines which usually have one or more conventional rhyme schemes.
• Visual – The visual arrangement of text, images, and symbols to help convey the meaning of the work. Visual poetry is sometimes referred to as a type of concrete poetry.

National Poetry Month: e.e. cummings

By Marcia Lee
Serials Specialist

“if you like my poems let them
walk in the evening, a little behind you…”

In honor of National Poetry month, I wanted to share a bit about my favorite poet, e.e. cummings. GRCC Library has several resources to help you take a closer look at e.e. cummings and his work.

Biography
e.e. cummings( Edward Estlin Cummings)
1894-1962

e.e. cummings’ life story is one of love, loss & words to describe the previous two. His life was perhaps no more tragic than any other and he suffered no more loss than anyone else, however he allowed his emotions, love, and observations to pour out in the written forms of poems and plays.

From the beginning, Cummings’ family – particularly his father – played a huge role in forming him as a man & as a writer. His father, Edward Cummings, was a man that e.e. looked up to, deeply loved and respected throughout his entire lifetime. His father was tragically taken from him in 1926 as a result of a horrific car accident. His mother survived the crash with significant head injuries & passed away in 1947 after suffering a stroke.

During his 68 years on earth, he had 2 brief marriages and 1 daughter whom he went without seeing for 22 years. His daughter Nancy was conceived with first wife, Elaine Orr. After Elaine left him for another man just 2 months after they wed, she took their 5 year old daughter with her to Ireland. Although allocated 3 months custody each year, Cummings did not see his daughter again until she was 27 years old.

After his first marriage to Orr ended, Cummings went on to marry once more for a mere 3 year stint and after the second marriage ended in 1932, he met the woman he would spend the remainder of his life with, Marion Morehouse. Although the two never legally married, they fulfilled the role of husband and wife for one another from 1932 until his death in 1962. Needless to say, Morehouse was the love of his life and stayed by his side during times of heartache.

His poems were influenced by what was going on at the time in his own personal life – as art often is. Events and people such as the women he loved, his father’s death, and his world travels were all translated into his writings. His unique writing style, which started at a young age, was and is, at least in my opinion, full of beauty and truth.