Wednesday, October 30, 2013

off the page poetry series on Wednesday. November 6. 7pm



You are invited to Friendswood Public Library's Off the Page Poetry Series. A poetry reading with award-winning poets Terry Jude Miller, Vanessa Zimmer-Powell, and UHCL professor Dr. John Gorman.  

Wednesday, November 6th at 7pm 
 
Growth 

Walking by the clustered ginger
I knew I should have it
if not for words alone
to celebrate how it rolled off my tongue
to say it softly
ginger  clustered  yellow green 

It grows wild
you have to cut it back
create a frame
tame it
so that it doesn't spread
but my eye likes it long, endless out of control
fields of clustered ginger 

I think of the wild blackberries
that I fought against in my back yard
the more I crushed them
the hardier they became
strangling what I chose to plant 

It wasn't until Hurricane Ike arrived
drowning everything in salt
that I missed them
and wished I would have enjoyed
more of their tart sweet black fruit
 

~Vanessa Zimmer-Powell
 
 
Vanessa Zimmer-Powell is a lover of language, literature, and poetry, who was born in New Orleans. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English from the University of Texas at Austin, a Bachelor of Sciences with a major in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master's Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin. She works as a speech and language pathologist in Houston. When she is not working, she enjoys writing poetry, doing yoga, swing dancing, playing as an aerialist in fabric, and enjoying art in Houston. Vanessa is a member of the Houston “Poets in the Loop”. Recent publications include the 2013 Austin International Poetry Festival Anthology, di-verse-city, the 2013 summer edition of Harbinger Asylum, the 2013 Round Top Poetry Festival Anthology, and the 2011 & 2013 Houston Poetry Fest Anthology. She was published in the 2013 fall edition of The Avocet, and was also a 2013 juried poet at the Houston Poetry Fest. She has been a featured reader at each reading of the Rice Gallery “Words and Art” reading series. Prior to moving to Houston in 2010 she hosted the poetry open mic at Mod Coffee Shop in Galveston, and was a member of the Galveston, “Poets Round Table.”
 
 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

FPL featured artist Paul Sanchez



The images below are the work of our featured artist Paul Sanchez. These artworks, along with eight others, can be viewed in the Friendswood Public Library’s Activity Room through the end of December.
Paul Sanchez was born in Phoenix, Arizona in September, 1964. At a very early age, Paul had an interest in art. He increased his talent every year by focusing on artwork 'realism'. Whether the images were copied from images in magazines or drawn from still images in front of him, he began to develop the talent of bringing his artwork to life. 
 

Some recent accomplishments include: 

·      An appearance in the July/August 2009 issue of Communication Arts Magazine.

·      An interview with Paul Sanchez at the Univision network studios in Houston, TX featuring up and coming successful Latino Artists. Part of the discussion concerned Paul's involvement with the Houston Bayou City Arts Festival.

·      Paul’s Fine Art Pencil Illustrations were showcased at the Rockport Art Festival in Rockport, TX and at the City Arts Dallas 2010 Art Festival.

·      Friendswood Fine Arts 2013 Art in the Park featured artist.

 


 



 
 



  
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

An Abundance of Pumpkins by John Gorman: Poetry Reading Nov 6



FPL's Off the Page Poetry Series presents a poetry reading with award-winning poets Terry Jude Miller, Vanessa Zimmer-Powell, and UHCL professor Dr. John Gorman.

Wednesday, November 6th at 7pm 

The poem below, An Abundance of Pumpkins, comes from John Gorman's book, Red Pontiac Convertible.

At the heart of the basket of snares lie a few hidden joys. And that is what John Gorman describes in this enthralling book: the joys that come from finding the answers to very human questions. Why do we believe it all over again, he asks? We believe because he tells us we can, because there is such delight to be found in experience. What an enriching read! ~ Alan Birkelbach, 2005 Texas State Poet Laureate
 
 

 An Abundance of Pumpkins 

All of them orange, webbed with white,
here and there touches of green.
Sprung from nature, yet too wonderful
not to be miracles—like elephants, first love, giraffes,
sheet lightening, friendship, the Grand Canyon
when, say, you’re an Indian or a Spaniard
out for a walk and – suddenly—
There’s The Grand Canyon! 

Pumpkins
so big, so many of them
heaps and heaps
and somewhere the perfect one
hollow, yet soon hollower still,
transformed—and what’s left
you can eat two ways.
Riches, ridiculous riches—
Aladdin, God, Uncle Scrooge!
And when you’re out after one
with your father, there’s also
cider, Indian corn, warty
inedible squashes.  The whole set-up
brilliant as grace
right as the year’s ending.  

How boring to think it’s all from Satan.
How perfect to dress up and move
among a thousand lighted pumpkins
getting handfuls of candy for free.
How unaccountably wonderful
everything suddenly is.  And sometimes
a truck pulls up right while you’re there
at the roadside stand or in the garden center
and dumps a whole load of them. 

Hollow bongo thunder, the thuddish
plunk of Somebody Else’s music—
somebody closer than you thought people got
to the way everything felt
when it tumbled out of nothingness. 

This has been a good night.
You’ve been able to compare it
to things you haven’t seen yet,
things you haven’t  felt.  You might
risk a smile in public.
If your father has a free hand,
on the way to the car with your pumpkin,
you might take your father’s hand.
 

~John Gorman
 
 
 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

check this out: fpl staff picks


 
Brenda Feaster, Children's Department
one thousand gifts by Ann Voskamp



Shanna Haby, Children's Department
The DNA of Relationships by Dr. Gary Smalley



Veronica Alam, Clerk/Page
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah



Matthew Riley, Assistant Director
The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy; including All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain

 
 
 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Mark Twain; Samuel Clemens at FPL: October 9


Mark Twain; Samuel Clemens: a discussion of Mark Twain's contribution to literature and the differences between Mark Twain the author and Samuel Clemens the man will be presented by UH philosophy professor, Dr. Robert Craig, and past president of the Pearland Adult Reading Center, Tom Woods.

Wednesday, October 9th at 7:00pm in the Friendswood Public Library Activity Room

Mark Twain in Nikola Tesla's laboratory