Category Archives: USA

Book Power

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

BOOK POWER by Gwendolyn Brooks BOOKS FEED AND CURE AND CHORTLE AND COLLIDE In all this willful world of thud and thump and thunder man’s relevance to books continues to declare. Books are meat and medicine and flame and flight … Continue reading →

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Bowie : Station to Station

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

This week, New York City transit riders have been lining up to purchase special edition David Bowie MetroCards. The city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has teamed up with Spotify to offer five different options each celebrating the late artist’s varied personas. … Continue reading →

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Tales of Good and Evil

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

I have long been aware that Edward Gorey designed and illustrated his own books, but I was surprised to discover that he worked as a book designer for Doubleday Publishing throughout the 1950s. While employed by Doubleday, Gorey created more … Continue reading →

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Freedom to Read

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

During National Library Week, the American Library Association released its annual Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books . American libraries continue to face challenges—including the potential for censorship—to a variety of books, programs and periodicals. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom … Continue reading →

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My First Memory of Librarians

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

A last tribute to libraries and librarians for National Library Week from the brilliant Nikki Giovanni. MY FIRST MEMORY (OF LIBRARIANS) This is my first memory: A big room with heavy wooden tables that sat on a creaky wood floor … Continue reading →

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Pity the Nation

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

April is National Poetry Month in the United States. I can think of no one better than America’s greatest living poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to mark the occasion. “Pity the Nation”, which was written in 2007, is especially appropriate in the … Continue reading →

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National Bookmobile Day

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Almost missed it.

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San Francisco Stories

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

I recently shared a post about Short Edition free story vending machines coming to Philadelphia. Now, it seems the concept has already reached San Francisco and the Café Zoetrope, which is owned by the director Francis Ford Coppola. Take a … Continue reading →

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Hammer & Pickle

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

The legendary New York street artist Robbie Conal recently visited Philadelphia and left us some crazy anti-trump wheatpaste artwork. Hammer & Pickle is a clever update on his 2015 series called Bullu Culprit/Can’t Even.

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Libraries Lead

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

April 8-14 is National Library Week in the United States, an annual celebration of the life-changing work of libraries, librarians and library workers. Libraries aren’t just places to borrow books, study ,or get out of the rain—they’re also creative and … Continue reading →

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