Who’s Your Literary Hero?

There are times when each of us feels overwhelmed or discouraged in our lives. In times of worry and uncertainty, I take refuge in the words of writers I admire. 

One of my literary heroes is James Baldwin, whose work can be explored through the library’s catalog, or through several hundred videos uploaded to YouTube, or many other resources available online. 

I’ve included here a Pacifica Radio Archives audio stream from “The Artist's Struggle for Integrity,” which was originally broadcast by WBAI Radio in New York City on November 29, 1962. It’s well worth a listen in its entirety. 

Banned Books Week

Today marks the start of Banned Books Week, a celebration of intellectual freedom and the ability of libraries to provide books of all types to their users.

Every year the Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association receives almost 500 challenges to books. Since ALA's recognition of banned books in 1982, more than 11,000 have been challenged in academic, public and school libraries across the country. These books are often literary classics, such as Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird. Check out the list of frequently challenged books or listen to an NPR story on banned books with former ALA president Lorienne Roy.

So support the freedom to read and celebrate Banned Books Week with us.

Langsdale Staffers Get Best of Baltimore Props

The good news kept rolling in on Wednesday, when the City Paper’s 2013 “Best of Baltimore” (BoB) issue hit the streets. Langsdale boasts a connection with not just one, but two BoB winners: sometime Circulation assistant Abdu Eaton (UB class of ’14)—known as Abdu Ali to followers of his local fashion blog, Eat On This, and to scenesters all over Baltimore —was named Best Renaissance Man by City Paper. We were pleased that Abdu’s flawless style and cultural savvy are getting well-deserved recognition, as well as his musical and party-promotion endeavors. Good work Abdu!

We’re also excited that Langsdale Administrative Assistant, Adam Shutz (UB class of ’11), was honored when the literary magazine he co-founded, Artichoke Haircut, won a BoB for Best Little Magazine. In addition to hosting monthly open-mic readings sponsored by Artichoke Haircut called “You’re Allowed” and publishing his own work, Adam pitches in as the journal’s poetry editor.

We asked Adam to put aside the blinding joy of receiving this honor and asked if he actually liked what City Paper had to say. Adam confirms, “I thought it was pretty accurate. They covered pretty much everything that we do—the reading series, the magazine and the blog—and they covered it in a way that captured the spirit of what we are going for. It was surprising. Out of all the articles and interviews and things that have been written about the magazine (and there haven’t been many) that was the closest to being true.” So, good going, City Paper.

After basking in post-award bliss, Shutz has a lot to look forward to: City Paper’s huge Best Of soiree is on Thursday night, the next "You’re Allowed" is scheduled for October 3rd, and it’s almost Adam’s birthday. Happy birthday and congratulations, Adam!

Dusty Books and Podcasts

Poetry Center, Chicago

It isn't the easiest thing to talk about books on the radio or on a podcast or, for that matter, in the classroom, and make them interesting. I'm sure you've seen, at one point or another, some version of this tried and true cliche from Hollywood: a protagonist in a deep and rarely visited part of an old library who finds a book that has long been neglected, high up on some mahogany shelf. For one reason or another the character is drawn to it. He pulls it from the shelf, blows off its thick layer of sienna dust and opens it to find an adventure of some sort, something magical or a riddle to be solved, which will probably drive the rest of the movie. Well, making a podcast about books has to feel at times something like that. The host has to figure a way, improbable as it may be, to get the dust off that book, old or new, and bring the thing to life.

Most fail at this (there are a lot of really bad podcasts about books), but some actually do succeed, and are really quite good: Here's a list of a few of my favorites:

• In more ways than one, The Poetry Foundation has revitalized the ancient art of poetry. Because of a substantial grant of $200 million dollars given them in 2003 by Ruth Lilly, the Foundation was not only able to redesign their magazine (Poetry), to build the Poetry Center in downtown Chicago, to award substantial prizes to both up and coming poets and those of considerable reputation, but was also able to redesign their website. As part of the redesign they created an award-winning poetry app, a blog that stresses the vitality and importance of  poetry as a form, and a podcast that discusses new work by poets published in their journal. On that same page, you can also find recordings of classic lectures, poets reading their work, poets discussing the works that have inspired them over the years ... I could go on, but I think you get the point. Highly suggested.
• KCRW is Southern California's NPR affiliate. On it's airways for many years now is the stalwart of literary discussion, Bookworm. Now, you can get their entire catalog of past broadcast online and for free. The show focuses on interviews with writers, primarily of fiction, discussing their newly released books. Browsing the shows archives is a veritable who's who of literary fiction.
• Indy Lit is a broad and ill-defined category for which I have deep reservations. But as I am not trying to debate the merits or lack thereof of a category, instead wishing only to suggest interesting things to listen to, I'll refrain for now. Bookfight, a podcast done from the basement of its host's home, does skew toward the category of Indy Lit, so despite my reservations, I'll slap that label on. It is produced by two editors of the literary magazine Barrelhouse, Tom McAllister and Mike Ingram, and if you care to know what the kids these days are doing with words, here is a great place to start. [Full disclosure: I know both the hosts, so my opinion may be a tad biased.]