March 20, 2008
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | Sign Up for April's Poem-a-Day
| | | | | In celebration of National Poetry Month, we have a tradition of sending out a daily poem during the entire month of April. This year, our newest staff member, Corinne Fietcher, will be coordinating the mailings. She'll send out some additional information in the next week or so. To sign up for our Poem-A-Day: - At the bottom of this newsletter, click the link "manage your preferences."
- Your preferences page will appear in a browser window.
- 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), you can subscribe by sending an email to groots@peak.org with "Subscribe to Poem-a-Day" in the subject line.
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| Five Good Books
| | | | Red Bird: Poems
Mudbound
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet
I Don't Believe in Atheists
Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America
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Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver has written more than ten volumes of poetry and prose and is one of America's most honored poets — a winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. This collection of sixty-one new poems, the most ever in a single volume of Oliver's work, includes a new direction in her work: a cycle of eleven linked love poems. The pages overflow with her keen observation of the natural world and her gratitude for people she loves. But she also turns her attention with ferocity to the degradation of the environment and the denigration of people by those who seek power. Hardcover, $23.00
Publisher: Beacon Press, ISBN-13: 9780807068922
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Hillary Jordan
Jordan's poignant debut novel takes on social injustice in the postwar Mississippi Delta. Two families, the landowning McAllans and their black sharecroppers, the Jacksons, struggle with the mores of the Jim Crow South. Six distinctive voices narrate the complex family stories as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale. "Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still." — Barbara Kingsolver Hardcover, $22.95
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, ISBN-13: 9781565125698
| | | | | | Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet Jeffrey Sachs
In this sobering but optimistic manifesto, development economist Sachs ( The End of Poverty) argues that although the crises facing humanity are daunting, solutions are readily at hand. Sachs focuses on four challenges: heading off global warming and environmental destruction, stabilizing the world's population, ending extreme poverty, and breaking the political logjams that hinder global cooperation. By examining economic data, demographic trends and climate science, he creates a lucid analysis of problems and pragmatic, low-cost remedies. Hardcover, $27.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9781594201271
| | | | | | I Don't Believe in Atheists Chris Hedges
From the New York Times bestselling author of American Fascists and War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning comes this timely work about those who attack religion to enhance their own power. Hedges, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, observes that there are two radical and dangerous sides to the debate on faith and religion in America: the fundamentalists who see religious faith as their prerogative, and the "new atheists" who brand all religious belief as irrational. He contends that both sides use faith to promote a radical agenda, while the majority — those with a commitment to tolerance and to their faith — are caught in the middle. Hardcover, $25.00
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Trade; ISBN-13: 9781416567950
| | | | | | Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America Eric Alterman
Thanks to the machinations of the right, there is no dirtier word in American politics today than "liberal." But, public opinion polls consistently show that the majority of Americans hold liberal views on everything from health care to foreign policy. In this feisty, accessible primer, bestselling author Alterman sets out to restore liberalism to its rightful place in our political life as the politics of America's everyday citizens. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9780670018604
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| | Music
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Sera Cahoone $13.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
This is the second solo CD from this Seattle country-noir singer songwriter who began her career as a drummer for Band of Horses and Carissa's Weird. Here, gently strummed guitars and solemn lyrics create a warm, wistful sound.  Recommended if you like: Eleni Mandell, Gillian Welch
| A Mad And Faithful Telling DeVotchKa $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
This eclectic Colorado collective developed a fan base through their score for 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. For their major label debut, they continue their unique sound of cultural confluence, influenced by traditions as varied as Gypsy, Greek, Slavic and Mariachi. "…a performance that is at once elegant and wildly passionate." — All Music Guide Recommended if you like: Calexico, Beirut
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Celtic Thunder $18.95
Genre: Irish/Celtic
Celtic Thunder, featured on OPB, consists of five male vocalists ranging in age from 14 to 40. The group's debut album offers live performances of traditional songs ("Mountains of Mourne," "Come by the Hills"), international hits ("Brothers in Arms," "Desperado"), and original numbers by Irish tunesmith Phil Coulter.
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Jesse Cook $17.95
Genre: New Age
In recent albums, nouveau flamenco guitarist Cook incorporated other world music elements. For Frontiers, Cook returns to his original, simpler arrangements. This is a more introspective album with a wide range of music, from upbeat to smooth to tender. Recommended if you like: Ottmar Liebert, Govi
| Umalali: Garifuna Women's Project Various artists $16.95
Genre: Ethnic/World
Umalali is not a group name, but the Garifuna word for voice. The Garifuna are descendents of African slaves who escaped from a massive shipwreck in 1635 and settled on the Caribbean coast. The United Nations UNESCO arm recognizes their music and culture as a threatened one, part of humanity's intangible treasures. The Garifuna Women's Project is a collection of traditional and composed songs by various well-regarded Garifuna female elders and youngsters. The music blends familiar Afro-Caribbean sounds with shadows of blues, funk and Latin music.
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| Arthur C. Clarke — (December 16, 1917 – March 19, 2008)
| | | | | When I heard that Arthur C. Clarke had passed away at age 90, my reaction was pure gratitude for the wonderful stories, worlds, and ideas he created. Childhood's End was the first sci-fi book I read. Like millions of others, I was mesmerized by the epic scope of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the vivid imagery of Rendezvous with Rama. In the engineering world, people talk about thinking "outside the box." But Clarke enlarged that box, thinking "outside this world." Consider his well-known three Laws of Prediction:
- When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
- The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Clarke was both a writer and engineer. As a member of the British Interplanetary Society, he played an important role in developing the concept of using geostationary satellites for telecommunications. He also wrote non-fiction books describing the technical details and societal implications of rocketry and space flight. In recognition of his contributions, the geostationary orbit 22,000 miles above the equator is officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union as a "Clarke Orbit." Stanley Kubrick and Clarke first met in 1964 to discuss a film project, and decided that the story would be loosely based on Clarke's short story The Sentinel. Originally, Clarke was going to write the screenplay directly, but he and Kubrick decided it would be best to write a novel first and then adapt it for film. In the past few days, Clarke has been eloquently eulogized by dozens of writers, scientists, and engineers whose lives he touched. They inspired me to find a way to celebrate the long life of this wonderful man. I decided to treat myself to something special: rereading Childhood's End.
— Anna | | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
| Special Events
| | | | | WHY DO THEY ACT LIKE THAT? Understanding the teenager in your life
Catherine VanWetter, MSWMarch 22 , 4pm, Grass Roots loft Catherine will lead an open discussion and introduction to her 6 week resolution-based class. Topics will include: - Parenting teens today
- Perception, misperception, and self-fulfilling prophecy
- Adolescent development
- Communication between parents and teens
- Conflict resolution
- The adolescent brain
Poetry Readings
March 22, 4pm, 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 the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland where she lives with her teenage daughter. Her work has appeared in The Oregonian and Verseweavers, the publication of the Oregon State Poetry Association.
- Erik Muller is a Eugene resident, and editor and publisher of Traprock Books, Erik will be reading 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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| Reviews@Roots
| | | | |  Here is a review submitted by a member of our Grass Roots community. You can submit a review by visiting: www.grassrootsbookstore.com and clicking Reviews@Roots in the navigation menu.
Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season
Nick Heil
Genre: Non-fiction
Reviewer: AMC Hut Boy (alias)  I've read several Mt. Everest books, but his one was the best! Not only did it cover the controversies surrounding the 2006 climbing season, but it also provided very good background material regarding the different routes and approaches for climbing Everest. The 2007 Discovery Channel special on Everest was filmed during the 2006 climbing season, so you may recognize many of the people discussed in this book. This book leaves you to ponder the ethical question Everest climbers face: is my desire to reach the top more stronger than my desire to try to aid another climber in dire straits? Both sides of this question are touched on in this book.
Hardcover, $26.00
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company; ISBN-13: 9780805083101 | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
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