March 27, 2008
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | | Poem-A-Day Reminder
| | | | | In celebration of National Poetry Month, we have a tradition of sending out a daily poem in April. To sign up for our Poem-A-Day: - At the bottom of this newsletter, click the link "manage your preferences."
- Check "April Daily Program" and click Submit.
If you received poems last year and have the same email address, you are already subscribed. You can use the same procedure to check your preferences or unsubscribe. If you receive your newsletter in plain text format (no images and formatting), send an email to groots@peak.org with "Subscribe to Poem-a-Day" in the subject line. We'd like to include works by local authors. To contribute a poem for consideration, send email to groots@peak.org. Thanks.
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| Five Good Books
| | | | Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood
The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories
Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living
The Angels Knocking on the Tavern Door: Thirty Poems of Hafez
| | Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood Robyn Scott
Scott moved with her wandering, eccentric parents from New Zealand to Botswana in 1987, when she was almost seven years old. There, she was homeschooled by her imaginative mother while her "accidental doctor" father saw more than 100 patients a day. In minute detail, she sketches the landscape, the people she encountered, and the innumerable problems that beset her family. Her storytelling skill depicts childhood ventures with remarkable immediacy and liveliness. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), ISBN-13: 9781594201592
| | | | | | The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer has been engaged in conversation with the Dalai Lama (a friend of his father’s) for the last three decades. In this insightful book, he reveals a demythologized portrait of his Holiness while expressing a clear-eyed respect for his achievements. This is not a biography, but an extended journalistic analysis organized according to aspects of the Dalai Lama's work and character: icon, monk, philosopher, politician. "This is a brilliant pairing of writer and subject." - Publishers Weekly Hardcover, $24.00
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group, ISBN-13: 9780307267603
| | | | | | Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories Tobias Wolff
Wolff's first story collection, In the Garden of the North American Martyrs (1981), was a major contribution to the short story renaissance. This new collection features ten new stories, along with 21 of the finest from Wolff's three previous collections. According to the Los Angeles Times, he once again proves himself “a writer of the highest order: part storyteller, part philosopher, someone deeply engaged in asking hard questions that take a lifetime to resolve.” Hardcover, $26.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9781400044597
| | | | | | Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living Doug Fine
Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts but knows they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix, car, Wi-Fi, and subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? To find out, he moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, vowing to grow his own food, use solar power, and drive on restaurant grease. The undertaking uncovers surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change. Both a hilarious romp and an inspiring call to action, his story makes a profound statement about trading instant gratification for a deeper kind of satisfaction. Hardcover, $24.00
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9781400066445
| | | | | | The Angels Knocking on the Tavern Door: Thirty Poems of Hafez Translated by Robert Bly and Leonard Lewisjohn
The great Persian poet Hafez is so beloved in Iran that most families keeps one of his collections close at hand, and schoolchildren sing his poetry at his graveside. For fifteen years, the great Islamic scholar Leonard Lewisohn worked with Robert Bly to produce this first English translation. They succeed in capturing Hafez's nimbleness and fierce humor, his astonishing range of thought, and the delight of his love poems. A master of the ghazal form, one of the greatest inventions in the history of poetry, Hafez has been described as "Rumi's wild younger brother." Hardcover, $22.95
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers ; ISBN-13: 9780061138836
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| Music
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Tim O'Brien $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Americana and bluegrass multi-instrumentalist O'Brien entered the studio with just his songs, his instruments (guitars, bouzoukis, mandolins, and fiddles) and his voice, to create this album of 16 solo originals.
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Tony Trischka $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
For his follow-up to the popular Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, banjoist extraordinaire Trischka pares down to just one or two banjos. Twelve solos explore a panorama of tunings, banjo sounds, and traditions. Nine additional selections partner Tony with fellow banjoists Pete Seeger, Mike Seeger, Bill Evans, Bill Keith, Bruce Molsky, and other guest artists.
| Music from Rudy Maxa's World Various $16.95
Genre: World/Ethnic
Rudy Maxa is a regular part of NPR's Savvy Traveler. For this compilation, he selects diverse music from around the world, including songs from Karsh Kale, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and Midival Punditz.
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She and Him $15.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
"She" is actress Zooey Deschanel; "Him" is indie folk singer-songwriter M Ward. Deschanel wrote most of the album's songs, backed by Ward's tasteful guitar. Also joining Ward are musicians from bands such as Devotchka, Decemberists, and more.  Recommended if you like: Feist, Over the Rhine
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Baird Hersey, Prana, Krishna Das $17.95
Genre: World/Ethnic
Gathering In The Light pairs two musical forces: Kirtan master Krishna Das, and Baird Hersey's overtone singing choir Prana. With the open hearted sound he is so well know for, Krishna Das sings seven of his most beloved chants over arrangements created by Baird and sung by Prana. Neither a Prana nor Krishna Das album, it is a unique, innovative sound. Recommended if you like: Deva Premal, Jai Uttal
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| Special Events
| | | | | Poetry Reading
Sunday April 6, 3pm in the Grass Roots loft.
A celebration of new releases from Traprock books featuring readings by Paula Lowden, Erik Muller, and Linda Gelbrich.
- Paula Lowden's new chapbook from Traprock Books is This Narrow Place We Navigate. Paula, a lifelong Oregon resident, is a massage therapist in Portland. Her work has appeared in The Oregonian and Verseweavers, the publication of the Oregon State Poetry Association.
- Erik Muller is a Eugene resident and publisher of Traprock Books. Erik will read from his new book For All I Know. He has been writing appreciations of Oregon poets, including Richard Dankleff and Paulann Petersen.
- Linda Gelbrich is a long-time Corvallis resident and, counselor in Integrative Medicine. Her poems often have themes related to the natural world, where she finds inspiration, healing, and renewal. Her work has been included in several publications including The Sun, ArtSpirit, To Topos, Verse Weavers, Riven, and River Songs. She has written two chapbooks, Looking For Poems, and Westward Images ( a collaborative project with her husband, Keith that combines his photography with her poems).
Melissa Haggins, Patchwork of the Soul: A Quilt of Healing and Wholeness
Sunday May 10, details TBD
Larry Weinstein, Grammar for the Soul: Using Language for Personal Change
Saturday May 17, details TBD
Jo Dereske, author of the Miss Zukas mysteries
Saturday May 24, details TBD
Molly Gloss, The Hearts of Horses
Wednesday June 4, Corvallis Arts Center, details TBD
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| On Our Nightstands
| | | | |  Here's what we've been reading this week.
Jack:
Thepurplebook Green Edition : An ECO-Friendly Online Shopping Guide
Hillary Mendelsohn, Ian Anderson
Paperback, $11.95
Sandy:
Beatrix Potter : A Life in Nature
Linda J. Lear
Paperback, $19.95
Tiffany:
Red Bird : Poems
Mary Oliver
Hardcover, $23.00
Melody:
This Is Who I Am: Our Beauty in All Shapes and Sizes
Rosanne Olson, Rita Charon
Hardcover, $25.95
Deborah:
Last Single Woman in America
Cindy Guidry
Hardcover, $24.95
Anna:
Three Cups of Tea
Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Paperback, $15.00
Corinne:
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston
Paperback, $13.95
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