Dina Vargo, Author of "Wild Women of Boston: Mettle and Moxie in the Hub," Will Describe a Parade of Reformers, Socialites, Criminals and Madams on Tuesday, December 6, at 6:30 PM

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Dina Vargo writes in her introduction to Wild Women of Boston that filling two or three volumes with the stories of Boston's female firebrands is "almost a no-brainer." A tour guide for the Boston By Foot, Vargo became interested in off-beat walking tours that revealed a hidden history of people and places which led her to the stories about women not so well known but revolutionary in their own right. An African-American abolitionist, Sarah Parker, refused to give up a seat in a play about a hundred years before Rosa Parks did. Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall handed the Audubon Society leadership to men so as to not cross prevailing boundaries of female comity, but at the same time brought the fashion industry to its knees when they led a boycott against plumage in ladies clothing.  And then there was Rachel Wall, a pirate, and  Ann Hibbing, who dared to take on a contractor who she felt charged her too much. Both Wall and Hibbing were hanged. Fargo will tell you all about it, and more. Her books will be available for sale and signing. The South End Writes is sponsored by the Friends of the South End Library. All the events are free. Books by the speakers will be available for borrowing, sale and signing by the author. The branch is fully handicapped accessible. We serve refreshments. Seating is limited.

This will be the final author talk of the 2016-17 season. 

Gordon Hamersley Tells His Admirers Cambridge May Offer the Best Food Nowadays and Young Chefs May Be Opening Up Restaurants "Way Sooner Than They Should"

Gordon Hamersley who, with his wife Fiona, put the South End on the map as a culinary destination at the dawn of the good-local-food revolution of the 1980s, told a packed room at the library that his many awards, honors and citations notwithstanding, the life of a celebrity chef was not for him. The tall, lean and voluble chef who now writes regularly about food for the Boston Globe, said that after more than two decades of a highly successful run of Hamersley's Bistro, where his wife created a fabulous wine list, they found themselves thinking about the next phase of their lives. They liked to do "other things," Hamersley said, like tying flies for trout fishing, training dogs, hunting grouse and woodcock, walking in the woods, writing, being a family. They had always agreed to wait for the other to be on the same page for any momentous decision about the Bistro. "Are you ready?" they asked each other one day in August 2014. "Totally," they both said. From that moment until they closed the restaurant, two months later, they were sold out each night. It had been their best year ever, financially. "But my kid still refers to me as 'my absentee father,'" joked Hamersley.

Gordon Hamersley signing copies of his (out-of-print) book, Bistro Cooking at Home.

Gordon Hamersley describing hosting President Obama at Hamersley's Bistro while his friend, Ron Geddes, listens

The financial pitfalls of opening a restaurant are many, and Hamersley credits the "Scottish blood" that runs in the veins of his wife, who also was  his business partner, for avoiding them. "Today, the South End is full," said Hamersley. "The best food by young chefs now is found in Cambridge." He cited Giulia's, run by another husband-and-wife team, Michael Pagliarini and Pamela Ralston, as a good example. Responding to complaints from a library audience member about so many mediocre meals served in newly opened restaurants nowadays, Hamersley commented that today's chefs start their own place as soon as they can, perhaps too soon. "I had ten years of experience before I opened Hamersley's, he said. "I am a big believer in experience. How many roast chickens I have done: I know how to mingle the flavors because of that experience. The culinary schools are remiss by not allowing for that. You have to teach cooking as you teach law: it requires experience. A culinary school can’t mimick the experience of a Saturday night at Hamersley’s when a cook doesn’t do so well at four but somehow by seven is on top of his game.”

Longtime South End realtor, Ron Geddes,  introduced Gordon Hamersley for his talk  about his experience as a restaurateur

Those hectic but exhilarating Saturday nights at the Bistro is what he still misses, Hamersley says, but other than that he has no regrets. He never took the awards and honors he received too seriously, and dismissed the authority bestowed on him by some in the media to comment on a variety of subjects merely because he was an award- winning chef. "What do I know about the meal tax?" he asked, "or what the best knife is?" Hamersley's philosophy was to prepare good-quality but simple food in a casual setting, which was different from the traditional chef’s role in the 1980s where the chef always stayed in the back. Hamersley was enthralled by the South End’s diversity. “I stood on Tremont Street and watched what was going on, felt the vibe, and decided I was going to be comfortable for us there,” he said. “We wanted the restaurant to be a reflection of us, Fiona and I, as if you would ‘come into our house,’” he added. Their approach to running a restaurant was based on the old European chef’s notion that they were part of the community. “This is what we wanted it to be,” Hamersley said. “We fulfilled our dream.”

A Record Crowd Came to Hear Nine Poets Whose Portraits Are on Local/Focus Display in the South End Library's Windows And Delivered Mesmerizing Performances of Poems and HipHop

John Pinkham

Last month's LocalFocus installation in the South End library's windows of Gregory Jundanian's Poet Portraits brought in a large crowd on October 6, when the poets featured in the display treated the audience to their exciting, sometimes raw, but always original take on contemporary culture. Jundanian,  an emerging artist and frequenter of Boston area poetry slams, described his photography series as a "visual open mike" where poets transcribe words on the photographs taken in places that were of significance to them.

Greg Jundanian's Poet Portraits installation in the SE library's window

Jundanian introduced each poet by pointing to their pictures pinned up on the community room wall, and encouraged the audience to attend poetry events by saying how much fun the slams were. He singled out the "house slams" at Haley House Cafe in Dudley Square every other Friday as a place "where people bare their souls" about sexuality, abuse, poverty, race, and mental illness. "The poetry, good and bad, is accepted and supported," he added.

Krysten Hill

Before he turned to photography, Jundanian was a cab driver, a bonds salesman, firefighter and glassblower. He is currently founder and president of Three Squares New England, an organization raises funds to combat hunger in Massachusetts.

Lakiyra (Oompa) Williams

Among those reading were DiDi Delgado, currently a host of the SOUPed Up Poetry Slam at the Dudley Cafe and recipient of the2015 Jack Powers Stone Soup Savor award. She was joined by  Krysten Hill, who is a recipient of the 2016 St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist award; Valerie Loveland, Lakiyra (Oompa) Williams, a Roxbury hip-hop artist and member of Flatline Poetry; April Penn, John Pinkham, Salem poet Oliver Prato, Allegra Thaler, and Tim Velsor.

Oliver Prato

Jundanian's photo exhibit, which will end this week, is the fifth in the South End library's Local Focus series which connects local artists, creative entrepreneurs and non-profits to the South End community by means of window installations. Jundanian's photos are available for sale; a portion of the proceeds will be used for the library's programming.

Louise Miller, Pastry Chef and Author, Will Present Her Debut Novel, "The City's Baker's Guide to Country Living," at the South End Library on Tuesday, October 25 at 6:30 PM

Poster design by Mary Owens

The South End Writes fall speaker season continues  with pastry chef and debut novelist Louise Miller who will talk about her work of fiction, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living on Tuesday, October 25. Miller received a scholarship in 2012 to attend GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator program, a year-long workshop. Her novel, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living, was picked up quickly for publication by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking this past summer. The story begins when its main character, a thirty-something pastry chef carrying a flambé dessert, accidentally sets fire to the swank private club in Boston where she works. She flees north to Vermont where she becomes enmeshed in a small town’s intrigues.

Miller grew up in the Boston area and attended Portland School of Art where she studied photography. She started her first baking job in 1994, at a little bakery in Cambridge, MA, where her baking mentor talked her into staying on by offering to teach her the art of pastry.  For the last twenty years Miller has been a baker/pastry chef, currently at The Union Club of Boston.

The South End Writes is sponsored by the Friends of the South End Library. All the events are free. Books by the speakers will be available for borrowing, sale and signing by the author. The branch is fully handicapped accessible. We serve refreshments. Seating is limited, so come early if you really want the best experience.

Photographer Greg Jundanian's Installation of Poet Portraits Will Be Celebrated With A Poetry Slam by the Poets featured in the Exhibit on Thursday, October 6 at 6:30 PM

Poster design by Mary Owens

On Thursday, October 6, at 6:30 PM,  nine poets will read at the South End library to celebrate the exhibit of photographer Greg Jundanian's Boston Poetry Series, portraits he took of the bards while visiting local poetry slams. Those reading include DiDi Delgado, Krysten Hill,Valerie Loveland, Oompa, April Penn, John Pinkham, Oliver Prato, Allegra Thaler, and Tim Velsor.  The October exhibit is the fifth Local Focus display this year. It is sponsored by the Friends of the South End Library to utilize the library's grand windows on Tremont Street and showcase work of local artists, non-profits and creative entrepreneurs. We serve refreshments. Seating is limited.

Greg Jundanian is an emerging artist focused on portraits and self-selected communities, however loosely defined. Born into an Armenian family largely defined by its history and traditions, Jundanian wondered what could have been if its past  had been different? These questions led him to explore other social groups, characterized by various common denominators. He describes his Boston Poetry Series, on display in the South End library windows, as a "visual open mike" based on a collaboration with poetry slammers in which the poets transcribe words onto the photographs. It is the story about a self-defined community, a place where an individual poet can receive the support to explore issues of identity critical to his or her poetic expression.

Boston Poetry Project by Greg Jundanian

A former cabdriver, bond salesman, firefighter and glassblower, Jundanian is also the founder and president of Three Squares New England, an organization focused on increasing awareness and fundraising towards battling hunger in Massachusetts. Additional exhibits of Jundanian's work scheduled for the fall include the PH21 Gallery in Budapest (Hungary); the Nave Gallery in Somerville, MA; the Atlanta Photography Group in Atlanta GA; and the Griffin Photography Museum in Winchester, MA.

Jundanian's photographs on display at the library are available for sale. Thirty percent of each sale will be donated to the South End library to benefit its programming.

You Are Invited to Join the Arts/Emerson Play Reading Book Club: Read Three Plays, Talk About Them With Emerson Artists, See the Performances Live on Stage: First Play is "Mala" by Melinda Lopez

Melinda Lopez, playwright of "Mala"

The Friends of the South End Library has agreed to fund an exciting initiative by South End staff librarians Anne Smart and Matt Krug, which invites local residents to join the ArtsEmersonPlay Reading Book Club. Participants will read, discuss, and analyze three plays before seeing them live on stage. Emerson College will provide scripts, facilitators and even refreshments (always a good thing). Conversations with the theatre artists will take place at the Paramount Theater in downtown Boston. The program has been available through the BPL's Dudley Library branch for three years and is highly recommended by its librarian, Alan Knight.

The first reading is of the world-premiere production by ArtsEmerson of Mala by Melinda Lopez. She has been described by WBUR as one "of Boston's most important writers"and is currently a Mellon playwright-in-residence at the Huntington Theatre Company.Mala runs from October 27 to November 20. The second play in the series is The Beauty Queen of Leenane, a 1996 black comedy by Martin McDonagh, a celebrated Irish playwright. It was nominated for numerous Tony awards, and will be on stage February 8 through 19. The third play candidate is still under discussion.

Martin McDonagh, playwright of The Beauty Queen of Leenane

The Play Reading Book Club is one of several initiatives sponsored by ArtsEmerson's Seats Lab project to promote theater literacy throughout the city.  It is facilitated by trained teaching artists in the Emerson College Master in Theater education program. The purpose of the program is to expose as many people as possible to the theater and the experience of theater going.

To reserve your place, please contact Anne Smart or Matt Krug by email at asmart@bpl.org or mkrug@bpl.org, or by phone at 617 536-8241. Or just stop by at the library. The program is free to all. Tickets will be at a reduced rate. The limit is 30 participants. 

Award-winning Suspense Author, Joseph Finder, Says the Inspiration for his 2016 Thriller, "Guilty Minds," Came From the Downfall of Elliot Spitzer and the Demise of Gawker

"...But right now I can't even remember the details ofGuilty Minds," joked Joseph Finder, whose publishing contract with Dutton has him produce a thriller a year. He explained to  the small but enthusiastic library audience on October 27 that he is already deeply ensconced in the details of his new novel, scheduled to come out in 2017. Guilty Minds seems eons removed from the book he's focused on now, which he works on, he says, in an office close to home ("can't work at home when your child lives there, too"), or in the barn next to his second home on the Outer Cape, where he and his wife write and paint, respectively.

Finder traces his fascination with conspiracies to the 1973-74 Watergate hearings when he was a teenager. "My siblings were watching Star Trek but I was glued to the words of Howard Baker," Finder recalled, adding the 1970s were already the heyday for paranoia and conspiracy thrillers. "So when one of Richard Nixon's assistants, Alexander Butterfield revealed that everything in the Oval Office was taped, I realized there actually was a conspiracy." Now Finder sees conspiracies where others don't, and describes himself as a "conspiratologist," which he says is different from being a conspiracy theorist: Finder studies the impact of conspiracies on society. Two of Finder's twelve suspense novels, Paranoia  and High Crimes became major motion pictures.Answering a question of an audience member, he estimated he has sold some five million copies of his work. His 2006 Killer Instinct won him the International Thriller Writer's Award for Best Novel.

Thriller writer Joseph Finder talking about his work at the South End library

The plot of Guilty Minds, which centers on the threat to defame a Supreme Court Justice by a gossip web site, echoes the downfall of former New York governor, Eliot Spitzer, who was outed by the FBI for using an escort service where he was listed as Client Number Nine. "What was the FBI doing with a list of call girls from the escort service Spitzer used?" Finder asked. "And what about Clients One through Eight?" Spitzer had made too many powerful enemies, especially on Wall Street, who had him followed and brought him down, he suggested. The saga was not a mere accident, Finder posited, anymore than the law suit against Gawker that led to a $140 million judgment that shut down the gossip blog was. The Gawker case that was brought by wrestler Hulk Hogan over the web site's publication of a sex tape featuring him as the lead character, turned out to have been funded by another Gawker victim, PayPal's billionaire founder Peter Thiel, who had been outed as a gay man by the same site.

Finder's private-eye character Nick Heller is the hero of Guilty Minds, as he was in two earlier thrillers, Buried Secrets and Vanished. Heller is a composite of people Finder has known, former CIA employees who, after the Cold War ended, went into the private sector doing the same kind of work. "I like this character," Finder said. For Guilty Minds, he had to reread the Heller books he wrote a few years back, and take notes, to make sure he wouldn't get previous details wrong which, he said, he would be sure to receive emails about from his very attentive readership. The next novel will  be another "standalone" thriller but after that, he said, he'll go back to Nick Heller.

WGBH Commentator Callie Crossley Tells a Huge Audience "Hillary's Motivation Is She Knows How to Do Things and Wants to Find Solutions;" Trump "Just Wants to Say 'I Won,' But Does Not Like Policy"

The acclaimed WGBH journalist and commentator,Callie Crossley, stood for an hour-and-a-half in  a filled-to-capacity community room at the South End library last Tuesday, patiently answering questions about the current political scene, but not before she teased the enthusiastic crowd by sighing, "It's been such a boring season." And not until she professed her love for libraries by reading from an essay she wrote for an anthology by local authors about libraries, called Cambridge Voices: A Literary celebration of Libraries and the Joy of Reading, put together for the opening of the renovated Cambridge Public Library in 2011. "It's impossible for libraries to disappoint me," she said, adding she carries two library cards with her at all times. Then the questions of the Political Gabfest began: Is Hillary lack of transparency a woman's thing or is Hillary held to a different standard?  Why are black millennials not more enthusiastic about Hillary? Why was Hillary not indicted? Why did Roger Ailes, the former CEO of Fox News, get $40 million when he was ousted over sexual harassment accusations but Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who was harassed, only $20 million, when she had done "nothing wrong?" What motivates each of the presidential candidates? What question would Crossley ask if she were a moderator of a candidates' debate? What will Bill Clinton do as First Fellow? What about the hacking threat by Julian Assange?

Crossley's answers were elaborate and direct: Yes, being private is in part a woman's thing, but that's not the whole story. Yes, Hillary has been held to a different standard, and will continue to be. Yes, she and other African-American colleagues are very concerned about the lack of enthusiasm for Hillary among black millennials. Crossley who, like Hillary Clinton graduated from Wellesley College,bemoaned the "meh, meh" approach to voting by many young black women she talks with on college campuses, among them, she confessed, her niece. She attributes it, in part, to the millennials not having a historical context of Hillary's decades-long dedication to families and children, which began well before this generation was even born.

ccrossley

As to the motivation of the candidates: For Hillary it is her desire to find solutions and her belief she knows how to get things done, Crossley said,  and, no, Hillary is not power hungry. She took former Secretary of State Colin Powell to task for describing Hillary as having "unbridled ambition." "Here is a man who became a four-star general in one of the most competitive institutions, the US Army," said Crossley. "Yet, he accuses Hillary of being ambitious."

Donald Trump does not like policy, Crossley believes, and suspects Trump had not expected to topple his primary opponents so easily. If he wins the election, he'll wonder, "Now what?" she speculated. As to the question of what she would ask if she were the moderator of a presidential debate, she had her answer ready: She would want to know whether the candidates support the practice to settle with families of victims of police brutality, in return for their silence. "I get it that this is not all cops or even most cops who behave that way," she said, "but huge amounts of taxpayers'  money have been paid out under this policy," Crossley said, "even to families who were not asking for it." If you are a conservative, you would not want to have funds spent that way, she added, and would want to know what causes the problem so you can fix it.

To answer a question about "First Fellow" Bill Clinton, should Hillary become president, Crossley referred to an informative CBS News report on six other First Fellows, namely the current spouses of  six female governors, including New Hampshire's Thomas Hassan and Rhode Island's Andy Moffit. As to the threat by Julian Assange to release documents to damage the Hillary Clinton campaign, Crossley said it was "weird" but not unprecedented. There was a low-tech way to confirm gossip in office settings decades ago when she worked for ABC News, she recalled with a laugh. "It was the night cleaning lady who would tell me who was having an affair with whom," she said. "She knew."

Dynamic Vocalists at the Final Summer Jazz and Blues Concert on August 23 in Library Park Crowned a Perfect Season of Rain-free Outdoor Performances by Pat Loomis & Friends

concert 4 7

concert 4 6

concert 4 8

The last of the four jazz and blues concerts with Pat Loomis and his Friends completed a perfect run of outdoor music in Library Park where rain was but a distant memory. This was the fourth year of the concert series, sponsored jointly by the South End branch of the Boston Public Library and the Friends of the South End Library which received a generous donation for this purpose from the Ann H. Symington Foundation.Titled Let's Groove Tonight: A Funky Dance Party with Ivory Jones and White Chocolate, the event featured four vocalists, including a grandfather and son team, as well as the heart-rending Sarah Soulchild, whose powerful evocations of Janice Joplin could be heard on Tremont Street all the way down to Massachusetts Avenue.

Bring Your Dancing Shoes on Tuesday, August 23rd, 6:30 PM, to the Final Summer Jazz & Blues Concert in Library Park, Featuring Three Vocalists with Pat Loomis and his Friends

Rusty Scott on organ; Benny Benson, drums; and, from the back Antonio Loomis, guitar

As per tradition, the fourth and final  Library Park Summer Jazz and Blues concert coming up on Tuesday, August 23rd, at 6:30 PM with Pat Loomis and his Friends will bring you three vocalists for the session of Let's Groove Tonight: A Funky Dance Party with Ivory Jones and White Chocolate. Performing will be Pat Loomis on the alto sax; Antonio Loomis, guitar; Tommy Bounce on drums; Thunderfoot will do percussion; and Jimmy Dow-Dow is on keyboard. The vocalists include the versatile Pat Loomis, Sarah Soulchild and the multi-talented Jimmy Dow-Dow. There may be a surprise guest or two. There may be dancing in the streets. The weather is supposed to be warm and dry.

Benny Benson drumming with tenor-sax player Yesseh Ali

The August 9 concert, Grits 'N Gravy: A Soulful Evening of Jazz and Blues, saw an enthusiastic and gratified audience, including District Councilor Tito Jackson and his staff. The fine organist, Rusty Scott, brought his humongous wood-cased organ, and played beautifully with the outstanding drummer Benny Benson,  alto-saxophonist Pat Loomis and Antonio Loomis on guitar. The fantastic tenor-sax solos by Berklee student Yesseh Farah Ali brought some in the audience to their feet.

The songs featured in The Soulful Evening of Jazz and Blues featured Au Privave, by Charlie Parker; Stanley Turpentine's Sugar; Body and Soul, by Johnny Greene; Caravan, by Juan Tirol; Back at the Chicken Shack, by Jimmy Smith and, like last week when surprise guest

District Councilor Tito Jackson was among the audience of the jazz and blues concert in Library Park

Arni Cheatham came by,  another rendition of Errol Garner's Misty.  Concerts in Library Park are free and sponsored by The Friends of the South End Library (that means you!) and the BPL’s South End branch. We serve freshly sliced watermelon...

We thank the Ann H. Symington Foundation for their generous grant to FOSEL to bring music to Library Park. There will be limited seating so bring your own chair if you can. Restrooms are available inside the library. The South End branch is fully handicapped accessible. We thank the Boston Parks Department for their continued efforts to make the park shine.

A New Window Display Showcasing the Image of the Book in Ceramics and Folded Art Will Be Installed This Week in the Library's Tremont Street Window as Part of its "Local Focus" Initiative (Copy)

Lori Pease's earthenware book tile

Since a board member of the Friends of the South End Library discovered the potential of the South End library's beautiful large windows as a community exhibit space earlier this year, the branch has showcased a range of displays.  Coming up next is a dual display in the Tremont Street window of the image of the book itself, one by a local ceramicist who used to work in publishing; the other, the town librarian of a small public library in New Hampshire who wanted to do something more creative with the to-be-discarded books, and learned how to fold them into paper sculptures. (The local connection is that a FOSEL board member also volunteers at the NH library.)

New Hampshire librarian Veronica Mueller's folded books

Ceramic books for artful decoration, by Lori Pease

Lori Pease was for many years the design director for a local literary publishing house, Zoland Books, but has since worked with the image of the book in clay, using the book's texture, form and color as her inspiration. Pease's clay books can be hung on the wall, used as coasters or book ends, or arranged in decorative groupings. Veronica Mueller, the town librarian in Warren, NH, began to practice folding books after a seeing a picture of it on the Internet. She has given classes to adults and children, and folds books upon requests for special occasions. They make unique gifts for friends and family who want names or messages folded into the books, she explains. "The only tools required are old books without value, a pencil, a ruler, graph paper, and depending upon the design, a bone folder. There is no cutting or gluing involved," she says.

The Local Focus initiative was formerly called Window Take-over. It is meant to use the library windows as a showcase for local artists, non-profits and entrepreneurs and has to be compatible with the library's mission to serve and inform the community. All inquiries are welcome and should be directed to Anne Smart, head librarian of the branch.

The Friends of the South End Library are finalizing simple guidelines, which will be available at the library as soon as they are completed. Price lists of any items for sale are at the circulation desk. Thirty percent of Lori Pease's ceramics will be rebated to the South End library to support its programs.

A New Window Display Showcasing the Image of the Book in Ceramics and Folded Art Will Be Installed This Week in the Library's Tremont Street Window as Part of its "Local Focus" Initiative

Lori Pease's earthenware book tile

Since a board member of the Friends of the South End Library discovered the potential of the South End library's beautiful large windows as a community exhibit space earlier this year, the branch has showcased a range of displays.  Coming up next is a dual display in the Tremont Street window of the image of the book itself, one by a local ceramicist who used to work in publishing; the other, the town librarian of a small public library in New Hampshire who wanted to do something more creative with the to-be-discarded books, and learned how to fold them into paper sculptures. (The local connection is that a FOSEL board member also volunteers at the NH library.)

New Hampshire librarian Veronica Mueller's folded books

Ceramic books for artful decoration, by Lori Pease

Lori Pease was for many years the design director for a local literary publishing house, Zoland Books, but has since worked with the image of the book in clay, using the book's texture, form and color as her inspiration. Pease's clay books can be hung on the wall, used as coasters or book ends, or arranged in decorative groupings. Veronica Mueller, the town librarian in Warren, NH, began to practice folding books after a seeing a picture of it on the Internet. She has given classes to adults and children, and folds books upon requests for special occasions. They make unique gifts for friends and family who want names or messages folded into the books, she explains. "The only tools required are old books without value, a pencil, a ruler, graph paper, and depending upon the design, a bone folder. There is no cutting or gluing involved," she says.

The Local Focus initiative was formerly called Window Take-over. It is meant to use the library windows as a showcase for local artists, non-profits and entrepreneurs and has to be compatible with the library's mission to serve and inform the community. All inquiries are welcome and should be directed to Anne Smart, head librarian of the branch.

The Friends of the South End Library are finalizing simple guidelines, which will be available at the library as soon as they are completed. Price lists of any items for sale are at the circulation desk. Thirty percent of Lori Pease's ceramics will be rebated to the South End library to support its programs.

The Third Summer Concert in Library Park with Pat Loomis and his Friends Will Bring You "Grits 'N Gravy: A Soulful Evening of Jazz and Blues," and Watermelon, Too, on Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30 PM

The August 2nd concert with Pat Loomis & Friendsin Library Park, with Scott Aruda on trumpet

After hours of rain on August 2, the sun returned  and dried out Library Park just in time for another fine outdoor jazz and blues evening presented by Pat Loomis and his Friends. The first songs, Green Dolphin Street and There Will Never Be Another You, had already warmed up the crowd when surprise guest sax player Arni Cheatham walked into the park, unpacked his instrument case, and joined the band. The audience was treated to a great session of Misty, with Pat Loomis, trumpeter Scott Aruda, and Cheatham each doing their solo interpretation.  The high-energy final piece, What Is This Thing Called Love, could be heard blocks away by lucky Southenderssitting on their roofdecks and balconies.

Playing Misty, with Arni Meacham, Scott Aruda, and Pat Loomis

More of the same coming up Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30 PM, with that evening's theme of Grits 'N Gravy: A Soulful Evening of Jazz and Blues. With Pat Loomis on alto-sax and Antonio Loomis on guitar, we'll hear Rusty Scott's organ, and Benny Benson on drums. Again, the weather should cooperate, and the watermelon will be sliced fresh.

The final concert, Let's Groove Tonight: A Funky Dance Party with Ivory Jones and White Chocolate, will take place on Tuesday, August 23rd, 6:30 PM. It will feature a number of vocalists including Pat Loomis, who in addition to playing the alto-sax also sings a really great tune; Sarah Soulchild; and keyboardist Jimmy Dow-Dow, another marvelous vocalist. Then there will be Antonio Loomis, guitar, Tommy Bounce on drums, Thunderfoot performing percussion and..a special guest or two.

A happy crowd of South End jazz aficionados in Library Park. Courtesy, Lane Newman

Concerts in Library Park are free and sponsored by The Friends of the South End Library (that means you!) and the BPL’s South End branch. We thank the Ann H. Symington Foundation for their generous grant to FOSEL to bring music to Library Park. There will be limited seating so bring your own chair if you can. Restrooms are available inside the library. The South End branch is fully handicapped accessible. We thank the Boston Parks Department for their continued efforts to make the park shine.

The Friends of the South End Library (FOSEL) Has Launched Its 2017-18 Membership Drive: Please Support Us So We can Continue Our Great Programming and Library Support For You

FOSEL sponsors a popular author series, the South End Writes, here with South End author Jean Gibran reading from her memoir Love Made Visible: Scenes from a Mostly Happy Marriage, the one with acclaimed sculptor, Kahlil Gibran.

It's been a while since FOSEL volunteers have asked for your financial support to assist the South End library staff with programming, library refurbishing and repair, but here's the moment you can do what we know you've been longing to do all along: Donate generously to the best institution in town.

Dancing to the Jazz and Blues performed by Pat Loomis and Friends in Library Park

In addition to sponsoring the annual jazz-and-blues concerts with Pat Loomis and Friends in Library Park, we have lined up another outstanding series of writers and commentators for the 2017-18 season (Callie Crossley, Richard Fifield, Louise Miller, Gordon Hamersley,Dina Vargo, and Jenna Blum) and are in the middle of arranging additional bookings for authors who have agreed to come but not yet settled on dates  (Junot Diaz,Gish Jen, Allegra Goodman, Steve Kinzer, and Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, among others).

The iconic first outdoor event of spring: the FOSEL Easter Egg Hunt in Library Park

That is not all: since the beginning of this year, we have lobbied the BPL's executives and our local and state representatives to support renovating and expanding the physical space of our too  small and worn-out branch; we hope to solidify our efforts this fall. And, finally, the Boston Parks Department's project manager has begun to scope out Library Park for a renovation that will take place in the 2017-18 fiscal years. None of this would have happened without the dedicated advocacy and community efforts of your FOSEL board. We hope you will return the favor by becoming a member at a financial level you can afford so we can continue to make the South End branch the best it can be.

FOSEL funds children's programs in Library Park as per the request of library staff

Please click on the convenient DONATE button on the web site, or pick up a donation letter with an addressed envelope at the South End library. If you have received our solicitation letter in the mail, and prefer to use that, please do so. Thank you for your support.

appeal letter

Coming Up: The Next Summer Jazz and Blues Concert with Pat Loomis in Library Park on Tuesday, August 2, at 6:30 PM, Themed "Heritage: A Celebration of the Great American Songbook"

Pat Loomis alto-sax blow-out, with drummer Zeke Martin and Christof Glaude, bass

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After the fantastic opening concert by jazz and blues group Pat Loomis and Friends on July 12 in Library Park, you will be ready for the next one on Tuesday, August 2 at 6:30 PM. The theme for the second Library Park feast in the summer series of four is Heritage: A Celebration of the Great American Songbook. Playing with Pat Loomison alto sax will be Scott Aruda on trumpet; Antonio Loomis, guitar; Steven Higgs, piano; Dave Zox, bass; and Dave Foxon drums. FOSEL has ordered the same sultry weather so perfect for summer nights in the city that we saw on July 12. FOSEL volunteers will slice fresh watermelon on site.

The final two jazz-and-blues blowouts will take place on August 9 and August 23, with  the handles Grits 'N Gravy: A Soulful Evening of Jazz and Blues and Let's Groove Tonight: A funky Jazz Party with Ivory Jones and White Chocolate, respectively. The Grits 'N Gravy performance will showcase the Loomis father and son team accompanied by Rusty Scott, organ and Benny Benson, drums.  For the final event of the season, Let's Groove Tonight, the Loomis team will play with vocalist Sara Soulchild, as well as two others singers who also happen to be instrumentalists, Ivory Jones, alto-sax, and Jimmy Dow-Dow, keyboard. They will be accompanied by Stevie Q, bass;Tommy Bounce, drums; Thunderfoot, percussion; AND…special surprise guests…

Zeke Martin's solo

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Concerts in Library Park are free and sponsored by The Friends of the South End Library (that means you!) and the BPL’s South End branch. We thank the Ann H. Symington Foundation for their generous grant to FOSEL to bring music to Library Park. There will be limited seating so bring your own chair if you can. Restrooms are available inside the library. The South End branch is fully handicapped accessible. We thank the Boston Parks Department for their continued efforts to make the park shine. 

The First Jazz & Blues Concert of the Season With Pat Loomis and His Friends Is Tuesday, July 12, at 6:30 PM in Library Park, Inspired By "Chameleon: The Many Musical Moods of Herbie Hancock"

pat loomis 2016

Yes, it must be summer because the first of four themed jazz-and-blues concerts with Pat Loomis and his ever-changing band of stellar musicians will happen on Tuesday, July 12 at 6:30 PM in Library Park. The evening's theme is Chameleon: The Many Musical Moods of Herbie Hancock. Pat Loomis alto sax will take over the park with, on his side, his son Antonio Loomis on guitar. In addition, there are the fabulous drummer, Zeke Martin; Joshua Sutherland of the Berklee City Music Network on keys; and Berklee student Daniel Day on bass.

The next three performances are scheduled for Tuesdays in August, namely the second, the ninth and the twenty-third, with between seven and nine musicians for the final night, including three vocalists. The specifics are:

Heritage: A Celebration of the Great American Songbook, with Pat Loomis on alto sax; Scott Aruda on trumpet; Antonio Loomis, guitar; Steven Higgs, piano; Dave Zox, bass; and Dave Fox on drums. Tuesday, August 2.

Grits 'N Gravy: A Soulful Evening of Jazz and Blues, with Pat Loomis, alto sax;  Antonio Loomis, guitar; Rusty Scott, organ; and Benny Benson, drums. Tuesday, August 9.

Let's Groove Tonight: A Funky Dance Party With Ivory Jones and White Chocolate, featuring Ivory Jones, alto saxophone and vocals; Antonio Tha Great, guitar;  Sarah Soulchild, vocals; Jimmy Dow-Dow, keyboard and vocals; Stevie Q, bass; Tommy Bounce, drums; Thunderfoot, percussion; AND...special surprise guests...Tuesday, August 23rd.

The concerts are free and sponsored by The Friends of the South End Library (that means you!) and the BPL's South End branch. We thank the Ann H. Symington Foundation for their generous grant to FOSEL to bring music to Library Park. There will be limited seating so bring your own chair if you can. We serve fresh sliced watermelon. Restrooms are available inside the library. The South End branch is fully handicapped accessible.

Bucking a Poor Performance by a Search Firm, BPL Trustees Chose Interim President David Leonard as President, Serendipitously Picking Someone Who May Have Been the Best Candidate to Begin With

David Leonard, the new BPL president. Courtesy, the Boston Globe.

After a public process that included about a dozen citywide "listening sessions" and many hours of work spent by the well-connected 14-member search committee appointed by Mayor Marty Walsh, the Spencer Stuart executive search firm tasked with  finding the best new BPL president can factually claim it delivered. Never mind that David Leonard already was the interim president who nimbly had taken over a year ago from the tilting leadership boat captained by Amy Ryan and her stubborn defender, former Library Board chair, Jeff Rudman. Never mind that one of the two other candidates selected from more than a hundred applications,  Andrea Sáenz, first deputy commissioner at the Chicago Public Library, dropped out on the eve of her public interview "for personal reasons." Or that Spencer Stuart did not vet the other finalist, Jill Bourne, the city librarian of the San Jose (CA) Public Library, well enough to find out that actually moving to Boston would create "personal problems" preventing her from relocating. Or that, after Bourne was unanimously chosen for the job by the nine BPL trustees over Leonard, the city of San Jose would do all it could to keep their popular library director in town, including giving her a salary increase that could not be matched by Boston's wage rules. Apparently, Spencer Stuart's contract with the BPL was not paid for by taxpayers' funds. Martha Stewart would have called that "a good thing."

Jill Bourne, city librarian of the San Jose (CA) Public Library, the day of her interview at the Copley Library

Leonard, a longtime South End resident who took on the interim  presidency at one of the lowest points in the BPL's relationships with its branches, staff and Friends groups, has by many accounts been "a breath of fresh air." He's been more accessible than the previous leadership, and was already well-versed in the operations side of the BPL, where he started as chief technology officer in 2009. He has overseen the $78 million renovation of the Johnson Building, due to open on Saturday, July 9, as well as  branch improvement projects, including the ongoing construction of the Jamaica Plain branch, expected to be completed in 2017. Reports from the BPL fundraising scene hold that he seems comfortable and effective in that setting, having recently obtained several private grants for library projects. He mentioned during his candidate's interview that his partner works in the philanthropic arena, as well. Leonard's  reports to the public meetings of BPL trustees in the last year have been informative, comprehensive and well organized (FOSEL attends most of them). In his seven years at the BPL, Leonard has also served as both the acting director of administration & finance and separately as acting chief financial officer. He recently began a PhD program in Library Information Science at Simmons College.

Andrea Saenz, first deputy commissioner at the Chicago Public Library

During his presentation to the Library Board in May, Leonard described himself as an immigrant from Dublin, Ireland, an only child and the first one among his cousins to attend college. As a young gay man, before Ireland's Reconciliation and economic boom, he experienced firsthand the power a library's safe space holds for someone like him who is "trying to work out who you are." Developing non-municipal funding sources for the BPL and collaborating productively with the community, staff and  various other public groups are among his top goals, he said. In response to Library Board members' questions, Leonard cited the lack of appropriate processes at the BPL and inattention to environmental concerns as contributing to the calamitous events of 2015.  He said he learned, especially in regard to procedures, how little had actually been written down. This does not lend itself to accountability or knowledge transfer and is "ironic" in a library, he commented. Diversity in programming and in staffing was another subject the trustees broached: Leonard said that issues of race, diversity and inclusion had not been tackled "systematically" at the BPL but that "conversations and corrective measures around diversity will soon begin."

It must have been awkward for the Library Board to have to ask a candidate they did not vote for as their first choice to please take the job after all, but Leonard was as gracious in defeat as in victory. When the trustees selected Jill Bourne over him, he called it "a great choice." When they turned to him after Bourne declined to accept the top post, Leonard said he was "thrilled, humbled and honored"  to become the library's new president.

Summer Arrived in Library Park with Musician David Polansky Entertaining a Happy Crowd of Kids Singing Songs about Spiders, Rabbits and Buses Going 'Round and 'Round

The South End has only six percent open space which may be why its parks are so treasured, even when the pavement is cracked and the weeds at times more prominent than plantings. Summer arrived in Library Park today when the first of a series of children's events planned by the South End library staff kicked off with a much-appreciated return by musician David Polansky.

The performance is one of the many sponsored by the Friends of the South End Library. It was attended by some forty children accompanied by parents, nannies and teachers, and elicited enthusiastic sing-along responses and curious investigations by young Southenders of instruments, stuffed animals used to illustrate songs, and other props.

Other programs for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers coming up are: 

*Sing and Dance Along with Little Groove, a Boston-based Music and Art Enrichment group, Mondays, June 20, July 18 and August 15 at 10:30 AM

*English-Spanish Story Time with Pine Village Preschool, a Boston Parents Paper Family Favorite Language Immersion program with songs, stories and crafts, Wednesdays June 15, August 17, September 21 at 10:30 AM.

*Jouvet Shortell and Spanish in Motion for pre-schoolers, Wednesdays, July 13, July 20 and July 27 at 10:30 AM

*A Music Concert for Pre-schoolers with the Community Music Center of Boston in Library Park, Wednesday, August 10 at 10:30 AM

All events are free. For further information, contact the South End library at 617 536-8241 or check their web site, linked here. 

"All Dogs Are Perfect; People Need Help," Says Monica Collins, a.k.a. the Dog Lady, Who Will Be at the South End Library, Tuesday, May 31, 6:30 PM

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Ask Dog Lady by Monica Collins is one of the many unique columns that our distinguished neighborhood rag, the South End News, has launched since it first began publishing in the mid-1980s. There was the Area D4 Police Blotter, penned by its Poet Laureate, Police Officer John Sacco, widely known for his usual tart conclusion that "the scoundrel was arrested on the spot."  Then we had food writer Lydia Walshin's  delectable series, called The South End Cooks, and Alison Barnet's South End Character, the iconic reporting on the ebb and flow of the South End's culture of artists, immigrants, yuppies, washashores and, now, millionaires and billionaires. The South End News began to publish Ask Dog Lady in 2002 as ahumor/lifestyle column about dogs, life and love when Collins was  a media columnist and TV critic for USA Today, TV Guide and the Boston Herald. It has since become widely distributed in media outlets all over the country. On Tuesday, May 31 at 6:30 PM, Collins will be at the South End library to talk about her credo, All Pets Are Perfect; People Need Help. 

Collins says on her web site that she changed her journalistic focus from TV critic to lifestyle columnist after she acquired a West Highland white terrier. She realized how much a pet can transform relationships and shake up daily routines for the better; over the years, she  has answered pet owners’ most confounding questions involving relationships, dog park etiquette, divorce, custody complications, and whether the dog belongs in your marital (or single) bed. Collins produces and sells her own column and has written various profiles for USA Weekend magazine, including a cover piece on CNN's Anderson Cooper. She has contributed her work to Vogue, Boston Magazine, Town & Country, and Forbes/Life and she has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, The O'Reilly Factor, Inside Edition, and been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered. Collins also writes and coaches writers for non-profit organizations, and consults on media strategy. She lives in Belmont with her husband, a comedy writer, and is working on a book, of which she will read one chapter. She promises "it won't be boring."

The South End library is fully handicapped accessible. The event is free. Seating is limited. We serve refreshments.

This is the last talk of the 2015-16 season, which will resume in September. The previously announced June 24 speaker, best-selling author Jenna Blum, had to cancel due to a family emergency in California. She will return in the fall and her talk will be rescheduled for the fall/winter season. FOSEL regrets the difficulty and wish Jenna Blum the very best. 

Bowing to Public Demand for a Change in BPL's Top-down Culture, Library Trustees Appoint Jill Bourne as President, a West Coast Librarian Who Values Collaboration and Outreach

After a lengthy search process for a new BPL president that for the first time included numerous sessions with the public and staff, the BPL's Library Board choose the candidate they said would represent a change to a more inclusive, collaborative and transparent management culture.BPL's interim-President, David Leonard, and the Director of Libraries of San Jose, CA, Jill Bourne, each made their case on Saturday, May 21 in front of the nine BPL trustees and a surprisingly large audience of members of Friends groups, library employees and patrons. The two were the only ones left standing out of an initial group of 200; a third candidate opted out at the last minute. While the trustees repeatedly praised Leonard during his presentation for the outstanding job he had done stabilizing the BPL after last summer's raucous disintegration of the previous BPL leadership, it was clear from some of their questions during the interview, and comments after both candidates had spoken, that the "outsider" would win out over the "insider."

Jill Bourne after her public interview in a conversation with Search Chair John Palfrey, seen from the back

Trustee questions about Leonard's take on "lessons learned" from all that went wrong when he worked under the last BPL president, Amy Ryan, were an early indicator of what one trustee  described as the "incumbency penalty" that would be hard to overcome, despite Leonard's strong and, at times, moving presentation. In her interview, Bourne focused on the many ways in which she said she had worked at increasing library services in poor and immigrant communities in Seattle and San Francisco, expanded library hours and staffing, and created beneficial partnerships with Silicon Valley tech companies in the city of San Jose which, she explained, did not have a strong tradition of philanthropy. In choosing the outsider over the insider in less than twenty minutes, the Library Board cast aside the obvious advantages Leonard would have brought, having held senior positions for more than nine years at the BPL in administration, finance, technology and project management. "We are at an inflection point," commented trustee Carol Fulpe, who added that Bourne represented "a new way of thinking" and "a breath of fresh air." "I believe it won't take Jill long to start working," assured trustee Byron Rushing.

Bourne gained the bulk of her librarian's experience in the innovative and forward-looking libraries of Seattle and San Francisco. Seattle renovated its entire library system within ten years by means of a $200 million dollar bond issue, called Libraries For All, that voters approved by almost 70 percent in the 1990s. (The average time it takes to plan and renovate one library in Boston is ten years.) The Seattle renovation included a stellar new downtown library and 26 branches redone in whole or in part, including three that combined affordable housing and libraries, according to a report on this project. Bourne worked on a number of them.

Jill Bourne (facing), making the case for her appointment to the BPL trustees in a public hearing

In San Francisco, the public library was the first in the nation to hire social workers on its staff, in 2009, to assist and manage their large homeless population, a venture that has since expanded to include the formerly homeless, and has been featured on PBS. A moving and path-breaking photo exhibit of homeless patrons at the San Francisco downtown library, moreover, called Acknowledged, also described the many ways in which those showcased in the exhibit had become homeless. One of them was a descendant of President Abe Lincoln. In 2015,Acknowledged moved to the MLK library in San Jose, where Jill Bourne was in charge as its director.