2010

October 17th 2010
Every October it becomes important, no, necessary to see the leaves turning, to be surrounded by leaves turning; it's not just the symbolism, to confront in the death of the year your death, one blazing farewell appearance, though the irony isn't lost on you that nature is most seductive when it's about to die, flaunting the dazzle of its incipient exit, an ending that at least so far the effects of human progress (pollution, acid rain) have not yet frightened you enough to make you believe... Read Post
August 15th 2010

This is a Black Sparrow Press edition of Women, by Charles Bukowski, published in 1996, two years after his death.

I reckon the library kept this copy fed and clothed for approximately ten years, where it sat on a shelf just long enough to recover from the hangover of the previous borrower before being dragged off again. The taped spine and brittle, battered cover age the book like baby oil and too many summer days spent at Revere Beach, so it looks as if it should be... Read Post

May 21st 2010
Did you know that the Somerville Public Library runs on less than 1% of the City's total budget? Annually, the Library spends less than the cost of one hard cover book per resident to make the entire Massachusetts public library system (370 libraries, networks, and regions) available to everyone in Somerville. These resources include books, movies and music, magazines and newspapers, free Internet access, online databases, friendly assistance from skilled, professional librarians, and much... Read Post