National Poetry Month

Mass Poetry's reading event!

When did every sliver of our society start having an official month?  We used to move through the rhythm of the seasons, but we now we progress through AIDS Awareness Month, Black History Month, Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, Women’s History Month and now National Poetry Month.  I read that January was Bath Safety Month, although there were suggestions to adopt it as National Hibernation Month.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate history, health, diversity or bath safety, but are we so simple that we need someone to announce an official month long focus?  Perhaps.  
What if we want to read about Harriet Tubman while soaking in our not too hot bath in October?
So as not to complicate matters, I will stay in my official month designation and focus on poetry (only 2 more weeks until my time runs out).  I headed out to the web to see what libraries were doing to celebrate this great art form.
Massachusetts Poetry is a collaborative organization designed to bring poetry to a wider audience.  Their goal is to organize poets across the state in order to make poetry more accessible and mainstream.  In addition to the annual Poetry Festival, now in its 3rd year, the organization sponsors poetry readings in communities, works with schools, prisons and senior centers to encourage poetry and has developed a website to rally any and all poetry troops.
The event that has libraries around the state all fired up is “Common Threads” a program designed to get 10,000 readers across the state to read the same seven poems (the poems, discussion questions and poet biographies are included on the website).  Mass Poetry calls it “an easily digestible way to introduce people of all ages to an important part of our culture and to the beauty of poetry.”  Each poem was written by a poet with strong ties to Massachusetts.  The common thread between the poems (and maybe all of humanity) is that the events we encounter on our unpredictable  journey through life rest in our hearts, shape our understanding and effect our future.  Powerful stuff!
The esteemed selection committee had the epic job determining the seven poems to be included in the program.  Accessibility, diversity of voice, and excellence were their criteria.  Alice Kociemba is a poet who facilitates monthly poetry groups at the Falmouth Library and served as a member of the committee.  She was grateful for all the snow storm induced reading opportunities this winter that allowed her and her colleagues to read mountains of poems but compared the process of building consensus among poets to “herding cats”.  

Since it is Poetry Month, I did make the time to read the poems, but mostly it was because I couldn’t resist clicking on the links.  For some of the poems I heartily wished I could stop by one of the poetry discussion group, hosted at libraries around the state, for a guided discussion.  My degree in English Lit. only proves that I like to read, not that I’m particularly skilled at it.  However, thanks to my east coast past I did enjoy New England Ode by Kevin Young (kind of an inside joke for New Englanders).  Then I clicked on Love Song:  I and Thou by Alan Dugan and fell hard for his practical but thoughtful poem about a marriage.  Again my experience propping up an old house while working on a marriage that approaches the 20 year mark gave me the foundation to connect with Dugan’s message.  I like it so much that I used the links at the bottom of the page to read more about Dugan’s fascinating life (sadly, he died in 2003) and more of his poems (On A Seven Day Diary was tremendous).  

So, once again, I proved myself wrong.  The whole reason I learned more about poetry today was because it was National Poetry Month - so I guess I am simple enough to be led down a narrow path of learning each month - or maybe we are so overwhelmed by our daily lives that we need someone to remind us to stop, think and learn something new.  I’m really looking forward to May...it’s “Get Caught Reading Month” AND “Sweet Vidalia Onion Month”. 

A Sneaker Library?

I admit that when I first read the name of the next stop of the H.H. Richardson library tour, my daughter’s sneakers, strewn across the living room floor, came to mind.  But then I chided myself, got all librarianish and started to read the history.  And what do you know, my gut was right, the story of The Converse Memorial Library, a National Historic Landmark at 36 Salem Street in  Malden, Mass, is related to the smelly Chuck Taylors in my living room.  I am never disappointed by the intrigue of history.

Photo from Wikipedia

The Converse Library was built in 1885, the last of Richardson’s four libraries near Boston.  The breathtaking building combines many elements of Richardson’s signature style:  large arched doorways, rough cut longmeadow sandstone, a tower near the entry and intricately carved ornamentation.  Building on his strengths, Richardson designed the entryway with not one but four massive arches.  

The story of The Converse Library begins with a familiar history...Malden’s library, established  in 1879 got its start in a room in the town hall.  Malden’s original mayor, Elisha Converse decided the town could do better and he and his wife, Mary, donated the funds for a permanent structure for the library and art gallery.  But then the story takes a dramatic and unexpected turn.  The library is named in honor of the couple’s son, Frank Eugene Converse who was murdered in a bank robbery that Wikipedia claims was the first bank robbery/murder in North America!   Frank was working as a cashier at the Malden Bank in 1863 when he was killed, in the middle of the day, by E.W. Green, the Malden Postmaster, who was attempting a robbery.

In addition to the murder mystery I learned that the Malden Converses were actually the founders of what would become the famous Converse sneaker company.  Thanks to Chaim Rosenberg’s book, “Products and Adverstising in the Massachusetts Industrial Age” I learned the following history.  Elisha and his brother James, began a rubber shoe company in 1853 in the village of  Malden, outside of Boston.  The company used rubber, a new, exciting material, to make shoes and overshoes for the slushy New England winters.  By 1882, the Boston Rubber Shoe Company was the largest employer in town (with 3,500 workers) and Elisha became the Mayor.  He was the town’s great philanthropist, not only funding the library but also the hospital.   But four years after Elisha’s death a new operation moved into town under the direction of Marquis M. Mills - Elisha’s fourth cousin.  Marquis made the wise business decision to use his mother’s name, Converse, to open his own shoe factory, Converse Rubber Shoe Company, and by 1910 they were making 4,000 pairs of shoes a day. Marquis’s company found their niche in athletic shoes at the time sports was gaining popularity in America.  In the 1930s shoe making left Malden when both companies were bought out by larger firms (Converse is now owned by Nike).
The Converse Library is a perfect example of a beautiful, but unassuming, building that is hides a fascinating history.  We drive by buildings like this everyday without knowing their true stories, their joys, sorrows and mysteries.  If we do not preserve our past, if we raze old news in favor of pristine construction we will bury our own American history in the rubble and never get it back.  Protecting and preserving the buildings and homes in our communities preserves our culture so that future generations can experience it, feel the stone, hear the floorboards creak and soak in the beauty of building materials that we no longer can afford to use.  These buildings offer a living window into our past that is more powerful and meaningful  than any book, blog or photograph could ever provide.
Do we really want to sell our country’s history for the convenience of a big box store and efficient heating systems?  I sure don’t.

Lucky Crane

I’m not sure what I believe about the afterlife but I sure hope that Thomas Crane can look down from wherever he is and see what his son did.  In 1880, six years after Thomas’s death, his son, Albert Crane, sent a surprising letter to the Selectmen of Quincy, including Charles Francis Adams (John Adams grandson) stating that his family wanted to “erect a memorial” to their father.  

photo from waymarking.com

Even though Albert, one of Thomas’s eight children, had never lived in Quincy he wrote that his father had held onto “a strong feeling for the town of Quincy” where his family had lived for over a century.  Albert suggested that they build a memorial in the center of town called “Crane Memorial Hall” that would include a library.  It is possible that the soaring costs of the building eventually led to the elimination of sections of the building and the decision was made to make the memorial a library.
Thomas Crane left Quincy for New York City when he was 26 and made his fortune in building and real estate.  He eventually became the owner of his own stone yard and, after a NYC fire in 1835, watched his Quincy Granite become a hot commodity.  The granite trade grew and so did Crane’s wealth and prominence.  He helped build NY Custom House and the old Grand Central Station.  When Crane died in 1875 he had amassed a fortune.  Which is probably why Albert had $20,000 to spend on a library and an endowment AND he also had an architect in mind:  H.H. Richardson.  Richardson set to work to create one of his most successful buildings of his career (see yesterday’s post ‘Best Loved Buildings’).  The library opened to the residents of Quincy in 1882.
As Quincy grew the Crane family’s support matched it.  The family funded the first renovation in 1908, designed by William M. Aiken.   They pitched in again in the 1930s to fund a major addition by architects Paul and Carroll Coletti and the money even held out to provide the initial funding for the 2001 CBT addition!  I certainly hope the fortune made it through the recent financial disaster unscathed (and not just for the library’s sake).  
Thomas Crane never saw the library built in his name and I wonder what he would make of its greatness.  I think that he would be enormously proud of his legacy in Quincy.  It is an exquisite building, designed by a gifted architect and could never be recreated.  But the real beauty of a ‘library as memorial’ is the joy, learning and enlightenment that has been given to all the people that have walked through its great doors in the last 130 years and continue to do so everyday.  We should all be so lucky.
*I was so grateful to find the “The Crane Library” by L. Draper Hill, Jr. (published in 1962) as a PDF online.  It is so exciting to find authentic historical accounts from primary document that reveal the personal stories behind the creation of great institutions.

Best Loved

Photo from Crane Library Website

In 2007 the American Institute of Architects and Harris Interactive embarked on a public poll to determine the 150 best loved building in America as a way to celebrate their 150th Anniversary.  It is absolutely no surprise the The Thomas Crane Memorial Library in Quincy, MA was number 43.  Trinity Church ranks 25 which gives H.H. Richardson two building in the top 50.  It’s particularly interesting to look at the other winners, they are mostly grandiose structures, built on a monumental scale (Sears Tower, Washington Monument, St. Patrick’s Cathedral), the Crane Library is tucked away between them like a little brother tagging along with the big kids.  The only other library higher on the list is The Library of Congress!  I can’t believe it took me so long to discover this gem.  The more I learn, the less I know.
When the poll was conducted, the AIA asked people to choose buildings that symbolized  innovation and the spirit of their community (or country).  But they also were looking for structures that held a special place in people’s hearts and minds.  That is what strikes me with all of Richardson’s libraries - they are warm and inviting yet also convey security and stability with their beauty.  They are crafted from gorgeous organic materials in a simple but decorative way - Richardson’s talent is overwhelming.  In Quincy he had a little help from Frederick Law Olmsted (Central Park) who designed the grounds and the artist John Lafarge who contributed three stained glass windows.
Richardson’s genius is the problem for those who come in his wake, especially for those who are charged with expanding his masterpiece.  CBT  (Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc.) designed a $16 million addition to the library that doubled the existing space, created a soaring atrium and added essential circulation and reference areas.  But even CBT architect Richard Bertman admits that “ you can’t buy the kind of ornamentation and sculpture that grace both the original H.H. Richardson library building or the 1939 addition known as the Coletti building.”  The library has actually expanded not once but four times in the last 120 years - and with good reason;  it has the second largest collection in Massachusetts after the Boston Public Library.  CBT also took care of renovating and restoring the existing buildings - get a towel because you will drool over the pictures of the interior.  The old and new Crane Library compliment each other (like the ultimate Reese’s PB Cup) to offer the residents of Quincy a spacious, remarkable haven for learning, sharing and thinking.  They are prepared to move into the future without forgetting the past.

Woburn's Woes

Photo from the SciWoburn Website

It was a happy afternoon when I discovered that H.H. Richardson had designed not one but FOUR fantastic libraries around Boston in the 1880s.  After checking out the Ames Free Library in Easton I headed to Woburn, about 10 miles north of Boston on Route 93.  The library does not disappoint.  Seated on a spacious hill, the rugged red and cream limestone blocks create a imposing structure that is at once serious and welcoming.  The Woburn Library  is  grander in scale than it’s cousin in Easton but they are irrefutably related.  Woburn was actually Richardson’s first library of the series and he pulled out all the stops - rows of arched windows, a 78 ft. tower and an octagonal exhibition room with his signature arched entryway.  All elements these elements came to be know at Richardsonian Romanesque.
The town’s library legacy began way back in 1853 when Jonathon Bowers Winn, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention,  challenged the town of  Woburn to start a library after hearing about Boston’s plan for a public facility.  A free circulating library, housed in the town hall, did open to the public in 1856 but it wasn’t until the 1870s that Charles Winn (Jonathan’s son) left $140,000 for a dedicated building.  According to the library’s history, Charles wanted his generous gift to create a building that would be a “architectural ornament” for the town.  He certainly got his money’s worth when H.H. Richardson was declared the winner of the library design competition in 1877 (the same year that Richardson was hired to build the Ames Library).
Kenneth Breisch wrote a  whole book about Richardson’s libraries entitled Henry Hobson Richardson and the Small Public Library in America that offers a detailed account and analysis of each of the projects and their role in American society.  
The cool part about the Woburn story is that there was another library design competition held 129 years after Richardson won his contest.  The second competition was held in 2008 to generate ideas for an expansion project.  As massive as the Woburn Library appears, the space was not designed for 21st century technology nor does it offer the space for the library’s expanded collection and children’s room, it was time to grow .  The contest was for the best expansion idea (but not necessary the commission) that would work with Richardson’s design.   The winning design,  choosen from 100 entries, came from Lacina Heitler Architects, New York, NY (Design Team: Josh Heitler, Brian Cuff, Doug Houstoun, Marina Yu, Ed Rojas, Kevin Denlinger and Aaron Whitney).  
But here’s the kicker, Charles Winn isn’t around to finance the project and no one else seems to be jumping in to take his place.  According to Linda Kush, and the Gatehouse News Service, the Library Board and the City Council met last month and agreed to disagree on how much the city should (and can) contribute.  The Library Board is asking for $16.6 million and the Mayor is offerring $5.5 - that is quite a gap.  The actual cost of the addition is $24.4 million but $7.7 million will be covered by a grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and private donors.
Until they reach a compromise, Woburn Library patrons will have to live with overflowing shelves, a children’s room in the basement and the great beauty of H.H. Richardson’s design.

Amazing Ames

Photo from Wikipedia

Two things jump right off the page when you load the Ames Free Library website.  The first is the photograph of the library and the second is the extensive list of upcoming events. The Ames Free library, located in Easton, MA, was a runner up in the Best Small Library contest co-sponsored by The Library Journal and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.  The contest honors libraries in small towns that “demonstrates outstanding service” (see my post about the winner in Naturita, CO).  I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a visit.  The library has written a very thorough history that filled me in on the last 100 years:  A Centennial History of Ames Free Library of Easton, Inc. 1883-1983  
The building quicken my pulse for a reason, it was designed by the great Henry Hobson Richardson.  When he was hired to design the building, in 1877, he had recently completed the exquisite Trinity Church in Boston and was a brilliant architect rapidly gathering fame and fortune.  The library in Easton was funded by Oliver Ames (another railroad man and banker), who left $50,000 in his will to create a library for the town.  His children, Frederick and Helen were the inspired project managers .  We now consider H.H. Richardson the grandfather of American architecture and this building is a testament to his talent.  He went on to design three other beautiful  libraries in Massachusetts that I will be off to visit next (wouldn’t that be a great vacation odyssey?)  

From now on, when I envision the perfect small town library this building will come to mind.  Not only is beautiful but it is solid, stately and inspiring, everything a library should be in a community.  It’s not surprising that it has been there for more than a hundred years and I wouldn’t be surprised to find there in another hundred years.  It is constructed out of Milford granite, trimmed with sandstone and epitomizes Richardson’s romantic medieval style.  According to Wikipedia, Richardson was “immortalized by having the honor of having a style named after him. "Richardsonian Romanesque, was a highly personal synthesis of the Beaux-Arts predilection for clear and legible plans, with the heavy massing that was favored by the pro-medievalists.”
The interior is equally stunning.  The original book stack room rises into a barrel ceiling trimmed with apple wood and is surrounded on all four sides by balconies of books.  The reading room is panelled with dark walnut and feature a fireplace designed by Stanford White, who worked as a student draftsmen for Richardson and went on to begin his own world-famous architecture firm that would later design the Boston Public Library - aha!

But here’s the other thing...even after visiting so many library websites, I was amazed at the scope of events offered at Ames. The library probably could happily rest on its laurels and bask in this architectural treasure but instead they offer a myriad of programs and events for the community.  At the top of the list this month is a trip to The Harvard Museum of Natural History to see their exhibit of glass flowers (bus ride, box lunch and admission included).  Then there’s a knitting club, book clubs (for every age group), visit from authors, personal chefs, musicians and even an organic farmer. Or you could join the Foodie Group that meets and eat every month.  This certainly is an old library but the new librarians have used their passion as a fuel to fill it with adventure, curiosity and enthusiasm.

Victorian Valentine

image from vintage holiday crafts.com

I’m pretty old, but I’m not exactly Victorian.  I’m just old enough to remember, back in the day, when we made Valentine Cards.  There was a great flurry of white doilies, much tissue paper crinkling and tiny construction paper scraps everywhere.  Each card was layered with love and glued to the core of its being, creating sticky but priceless masterpieces.  In my house buying valentine cards was considered just as sinful as purchasing a Halloween costume (instead of making it) or putting up an artificial tree at Christmas.  They had to be made by hand.  
When I reveal the process of crafting elaborate homemade cards to my students they look at me blankly, I get a lot of that, then they ask if they can use Microsoft Publisher and print to the color printer. sigh.
The Victorians were a group that appreciated an ornate Valentine card, the fussier the better.  They used silk, flowers, satin, lace, feather and even gold leaf to decorate their cards (I hate to even call them cards, they are tiny canvases) and, before paper lace was invented, they used pins to prick paper and create the look of lace.  Apparently they had a little more time on their hands.
We were hot on their trail in America, although we quickly added innovations that would make the whole process easier, faster and cheaper.  The penny post replaced previously expensive postage and the Esther A. Howland came along and opened the doors on a mass-produced greeting card business in Worcester, MA. (I previously hadn’t considered Worcester one of the more romantic cities but now ...).  
Esther was inspired by a Valentine she received  from England in 1847 and had an entrepreneurial “aha” moment.  She quickly went about ordering the materials to make cards in her home, enlisting her friends to work on her living room assembly line.  Over the years her business grew and flourished.  By 1881 she was grossing $100,000 a year and she sold it to the George Whitney Company when she retired.  The online Greeting Card and Postcard Museum has some of Esther’s work on display, including one of her first paper lace cards from 1875.

While the history of the Valentine is interesting, they undoubtedly are even more fun to look at then talk about which brings us to The Cincinnati and Hamilton County Library ’s “Victorian Valentines Collection Wiki”.  The library has categorized more than 300 elaborate Valentines into eight different categories - the cherubs are my favorite, they are so utterly and completely over the top.  Ten of the cards have even been animated,  bringing them to life for our enjoyment.  The Valentine collection is a wiki and visitors are encouraged to edit the site and add their own Valentines or expertise on the subject.  This world wide Valentine conversation is a delight and reminds us of a slower time when we enjoyed sweating the small stuff.  There was plenty of time to sew costumes from scratch, bake bread, tramp through the snow to find the perfect tree and snip tiny doily hearts.  Now we rush through our holidays trying to get everything ‘done’ without taking the time to enjoy what we are doing or appreciate why .  So why not get a cup of tea and head to Cincinnati to enjoy some Valentines - give your kids some scissors and construction paper to keep them busy while they wait.
The Cincinnati Library website now has five wonderful wikis to check out and learn from:  Teen Photo Contest, Inland Riverboats, Lincoln’s Letters and Frame Cincinnati.