Vol 9 # 4 January 15, 2025

Our Children's Librarian, Nathan, consistently brings joy and excitement to his class visits with students from the Piedmont Avenue Elementary School.

__________________________________________

From Sabah Abdulla, Branch Manager &

Nathan Page, Children's Librarian

Events at the library

Toddler Storytime, every Tuesday, 10:15 - 10:30 am

Songs, active rhymes, and stories especially for ages 18 months to 3 years. Stay and Play after Storytime with fun age-appropriate toys through 11:15 am. If conditions allow, Storytime will be held outside the library building.

Knitting & Crochet Circle with Susan Segal!, every second and fourth Monday,

11 am - 1 pm. Join us for a delightful early afternoon of yarn, needles, and good company at our Adult Knitting & Crochet Circle! Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting, everyone is welcome!

Planning your Vegetable Garden, Saturday, January 25, 2 - 3 pm

Are you new to gardening or excited to grow your vegetables? UC Master Gardeners will guide you through the essentials, from soil preparation to pest management. Learn how to select the right crops, create a personalized garden plan, nurture your seedlings, perfect watering techniques, and manage common garden pests. Start your vegetable gardening journey with confidence and expertise. 

Plant Drawing Party, Wednesday, February 12, 6 - 7:30 pm

Take a break from winter by making some fresh botanical art with Jeni Paltiel! We’ll learn how plants are constructed so we can break them down into simple shapes using ink. Learn how to sketch from life or your imagination, practice some contour drawing, and have fun! Suitable for all skill levels (beginners welcome!), ages 13-adult. All materials provided.

California Native Plants, Saturday, February 22, 2 - 3 pm

Explore the beauty and benefits of California Native Plants in this informative session. Learn about their drought-tolerant qualities and how they support local wildlife and discover practical tips on selecting, planting, and maintaining these ecological gems in your garden. This session is perfect for gardeners looking to create a sustainable, low-maintenance landscape tailored to California’s unique climate.

Outreach to our community – from Sabah Abdulla

In the new year, I’m excited to spend more time getting to know our local businesses and organizations along the avenue. I look forward to connecting and building stronger relationships within the community. Whenever I get the chance, I like to stop in and introduce myself, our library, and the services we offer. Today, I had the pleasure of doing just that at J. Miller Flowers and Gifts. They gifted the staff this lovely bouquet.

Mark Making & Meditation Art Workshop with Jeni Paltiel! 

Children's author Storytime and crafts with Sara T. Behrman.

Kokedama Workshop, an incredible success, thanks to Crimson Plant Shop

Sidewalk Treasure

by Ruby Long, member of PAL and longtime neighborhood activist



If you've done any walking recently, you may have noticed the big crop of mushrooms that has popped up in almost any open ground in our area. On almost any sidewalk or trail, keep your eyes alert and within a few minutes you'll begin seeing semi-flat, low to the ground bursts of orangey red. They are all over spaces that haven't been cemented or paved over. Unless you are a mycologist, they are for viewing only, NOT for eating. They, and some small white cousin mushrooms that may be nearby, may be poisonous.

Six months ago, you would not have seen them as they hid underground until the site became exactly the environment they wanted. They want damp soil, and they hide until they get it. Their season lasts only a short time, so enjoy them, with your eyes, pencils, and cameras, while you can, then leave them to retreat into the earth until the next time that the earth becomes exactly the way they want it.

Want to know more about the mushrooms in our neighborhood? Oakland Public Library has a great collection of mushroom books. Two of the best are:

Mushrooms Demystified, A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi by David Arora is one of the best and most complete mushroom field guides and reference books. 

Mushrooming, An Illustrated Guide to the Fantastic, Delicious, Deadly, and Strange World of Fungi by Diane Borsato is a vibrant, illustrated guide to over 100 common and charismatic mushrooms, with storytelling that explores the connection between humans, fungi, and art.

Friends of PAL

We've had some wonderful programs at our library -- both OPL and Friends sponsored -- which have been enjoyed by a cross-section of our neighborhood.

What programs you would like to see in 2025 will be the focus of our January general meeting. Here are a few suggestions to start the conversation: book reviews and author speakers, family game evenings, trivia contests, the library and Oakland's budget woes, how we can enhance the connection between the branch and the PAES PTA, and "Play Reading" performances. Now it's your turn. Bring your suggestions to our January 28 (6:30 - 7:30 pm) meeting at the branch.

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Mahjong Every First Sunday



New year, new fun! Join us for Mahjong at the Bookmark Bookstore from 12 - 5 pm every first Sunday of the month. Card tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis, space permitting. You can bring your own Mahjong set or use one of those provided. This FREE recurring event includes instruction for those who wish to learn on the spot!

 The Library's Bookmark Bookstore is on the corner of 10th Street and Broadway.

The Colony by Audrey Magee [2022] 

Even the occasional reader of Avid Reader will know I have a weakness for stories, words, good dialog, and word play. This dovetails perfectly with my love of Ireland and Irish literature. Some fellow flaneurs I met at Café Chiave commended me to read Audrey Magee’s The Colony. Wow! What a find! Thank you, Elizabeth and Justin! Magee, a young Irish writer, has written a perfect novella. Her prose is stellar, her dialog is lunar, her wit is sly and sparkling and, most important, she has a great oceanic and insular tale to tell. 

The novel begins with an English landscape Artist, once renowned but now in decided decline. Fueled by ambition he seeks something authentic to reignite his career. To that end, he makes his way to a small Irish island, west of Ireland, facing the roiling Atlantic. Is it Achil? Or is it Arran? This is where the story unfolds. The English Artist meets a Kid who has a preternatural understanding of color and composition that astounds the Artist. The Artist is jealous of this dyed in the wool artist. Seeking more ‘authenticity’ he finds a muse who happens to be the kid’s Mother and he obsessively paints her in a shack overlooking the ocean. It happens that the Kid’s father, his uncle and his grandfather, all fishermen, were drowned in the Atlantic’s tumultuous waters. Another stranger, a French Linguist is also on the island. He is completing his dissertation on dying languages, to wit Irish Gaelic, and for five years has studied Irish Gaelic on this small island. He badgers the islanders to only speak in Irish, and to never abandon their native tongue. The Linguist doesn’t realize that the islander not only speak Irish, but they speak and understand English as well. The Linguist not only is served by the Mother but he is sleeping with her. 

Interlarded in this quiet tale are unadorned descriptions of the deaths by murder, assassinations bombings, as, in 1979, the internecine struggles on the mainland break out between the Official and Provisional I.R.A., the Royal Ulster Constabulary, British troops, Orangemen, Protestants and Catholics. This backdrop, sounds of distant thunder of the Troubles on the mainland, Increasingly bleeds into the island. Point Counterpoint. A crazy quilt of the murderous, of painting, of a dying language, of lovemaking, and of reprisal 

And so, the tale unfolds. The islanders know much more about the goings on than either the Artist or the Linguist know. The women, old and young, know much. The men, fishermen, are scornful of the Mother’s posing and lovemaking. The small island is fraught with tension. The Colony is a profound allegory about colonialism, art, language, and sexual desire. But Magee has no cumbersome theory of cultural expropriation or the jargon of “post-colonial” studies. The book is a beautifully crafted novella, the story, like the tensions, flow quietly through the book. At the climax of the tale, I wished immediately to read a sequel. What happens to the Mother, the Kid, the Artist, and the Linguist? To say more would be to spoil Magee’s fine tale. 

By Louis Segal. Louis was born in Oakland, raised his family in Oakland, dropped out of school in 1968, worked many jobs over the decades, dropped back into school in the 80s, got a Ph.D. in history, taught as an adjunct professor from 1993 to 2015. Retired but not withdrawn. 

PANIL was one of the early supporters of The Friends of the Piedmont Ave Library

PANIL -- The Neighborhood Organization

The Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League (PANIL) is the association of residents in Oakland founded in 1974 to provide a voice for the neighborhood in matters related to city planning and the character of the area.

PANIL holds monthly meetings via Zoom with speakers on topics related to life in the neighborhood and sends a monthly newsletter with information of interest to those living and working in the area. See all past issues here ». To get on the PANIL mailing list to receive the newsletter and announcements of the monthly meetings, enter your name and email address HERE..

Friends of the Piedmont Avenue Library Board of Directors 2024

President: Ronile Lahti; Secretary: Arleen Feng; Treasurer: Joanna Smith

The Friends of the Piedmont Avenue Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our tax ID is 84-4203055.

All contributions are tax deductible.

Donate to Friends of PAL