Library News

Jacob Edwards Library

April 2024

Library Hours

Monday & Thursday 9 am - 8 pm

Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 9 am - 5 pm

Saturday 9 am - 1 pm

Curbside pickup is available during library hours!

Please note: the Library will be CLOSED on Monday, April 15th

in observance of Patriot's Day.

Southbridge Poet Laureate

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to announce Southbridge's inaugural Poet Laureate, Bill Tremblay! The position is a recognition by the community of the poet’s creative work and contribution to the canon.

The inaugural position of Poet Laureate was established at the Town Council meeting, item 13, March 25, 2024. “Vote to create the position of an honorary poet laureate for the Town of Southbridge” Approved unanimously.

Born and raised in The Flats, Mr. Tremblay distinguished himself as the captain of the football team (1957) and in combination with his academic success, led him to Clark University where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Master of Arts in American Literature. He subsequently received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, MFA Program for Poets and Writers.

He is an award-winning poet as well as a novelist, teacher, editor and reviewer. In 1973, Bill took a professorship at Colorado State University. During his tenure, he has received many honors including a Fulbright-Hays Lectureship in Lisbon, Portugal, a National Endowment for the Humanities at New York University, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the Colorado Arts Award (for Shooting Script) as well as grants from the Corporation at Yaddo and the Mountain Writers Center. He was editor of Colorado Review for fifteen years as well as Director of the MFA Program. He is the recipient of the John F. Stern Distinguished Professor Award from Colorado State University for his teaching and advising.

Among Bill Tremblay’s titles are his books of poetry: Crying in the Cheap Seats, The Anarchist Heart, Duhamel: Ideas of Order in Little Canada, Shooting Script: Door of Fire, Walks Along the Ditch. Bill has also penned the libretto for an operatic musical entitled SALEM, 1692, a love story set in the turbulent era of the witch trials.

Bill and his wife Cynthia have moved back East and are residents of Quincy but they have a strong affinity to Southbridge and the area.

Chess Park

This is a conceptual rendering of the future Chess Park that will be located on the Southeast corner of the Library accessible from Main Street. Joseph Coan, Landscape Architect created the rendering. The plan was approved at the Board of Trustees meeting on September 26, 2023. The Trustees, Staff, and Friends are very excited to share this future development for the community!

At the Town Council meeting March 25, 2024, management of the funds raised through the fundraising efforts was approved by the Council:

"Vote the creation of a Chess Park at the Jacob Edwards Library and to allow the Town Manager to work with the Finance Department to establish and create an account to receive donations." 

Fundraising announcement coming soon!

April Art Exhibit

Louise Pigott

Meet & Greet

Thursday, April 4th

6:30 - 7:30 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host an exhibit of Louise Pigott's artwork in the month of April.

From the artist:

"Louise Pigott's artistic journey began in 2010 after realizing she had the gift of artistry passed on to her through her grandfather. Her Grandfather was an inspirational artist whose talents were adorned in Fresco paintings. Fresco artwork can be found in the most cherished and sacred religious buildings and churches from Europe to America.

Louise's first experience with learning the arts were through Wild Vine Studios, where she mastered her creative skills. Louise is a mostly self-taught artist, whose natural ability is to creatively apply color and texture to canvas. Through the connected world of the internet, Louise has been inspired and supported through a global network of artists. Thankfully, todays technological advances make it possible to bring the world of art into our living rooms.

Louise draws inspiration from personal experiences:

My Mother was one of my biggest supporters who encouraged me to follow my dreams and walk in the footsteps of my grandfather, her dad. After the passing of my mother, life has taught me to live life to the fullest and follow your heart and passions. On the day of her passing, the very last words my mother spoke were, 'my angels are here.' That was a very emotional yet comforting time to know that her angels came for her. In memory of my mother and the Angels who came for her I hide an Angel in every one of my paintings. Don't ask me where the angel is, I won't tell you. You’ll have to find it yourself!"

For more information or to view more artwork please go to www.louisepigottart.com

Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.

In April, we will discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

From the publisher:



"The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s."

Acoustic Nomads

Thursday, April 18th

6:30 - 7:30 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host Acoustic Nomads on their return visit to Southbridge.

At the crossroads of South American folk music and Northern Americana, you will find Acoustic Nomads. Based in New England, Acoustic Nomads is a rising band on a musical journey that transcends genres, blending jazz, newgrass, and folk traditions from the Americas. Their music reflects the Pan-American experience, showcasing a unique sound shaped by diverse musical interests. Combining the spirit of folkloric music with modern jazz improvisation and chamber music arrangements, Acoustic Nomads serve as artistic ambassadors, promoting the beauty and unity of American musical traditions worldwide.

Their discography includes three albums: "Quartet", and "The Abominable String Band Vol. 1 & 2", all available on Bandcamp and major streaming platforms.

Sponsored by the Southbridge Cultural Council. The Southbridge Cultural Council is a local agency funded by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Afternoon Author Talk

Robert T. McMaster

Wednesday, April 24th

2:00 - 3:00 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to cohost this author talk with Joshua Hyde Library. Robert T. McMaster has released his second book in the County Wicklow Mystery Series: Fugitive from Injustice. The author will be at 236 Main Street in Southbridge to read from his latest book, followed by a discussion and book signing. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the event.

About the book: "Newly graduated from a Dublin university, Cary McGurk has revived the Glenkerry Gazette, a small weekly newspaper founded by his father nearly thirty years ago. But Patrick McGurk is gone; he died suddenly just days before Cary’s graduation. Reeling from the loss, Cary decides that re-opening the newspaper would be a fitting tribute to his father as well as an exciting opportunity for an aspiring young journalist like himself. But a month later the young publisher struggles to attract readers and advertisers and pay the bills. 'If only there was one big story, one riveting piece of news that everyone in Glenkerry will want to read' he tells himself, even as a small voice within issues a warning: 'Be careful what you wish for!'"

Robert T. McMaster grew up in Southbridge, Massachusetts, a New England mill town. He holds a B.A. from Clark University and graduate degrees from Boston College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. He taught biology at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts from 1994 to 2014. His parents' reminiscences of growing up in early 20th century America were the inspiration for his four novels, Trolley Days, The Dyeing Room, Noah's Raven, and Darkest Before Dawn. In 2021 he published a biography, All the Light Here Comes from Above: The Life and Legacy of Edward Hitchcock.



Sponsored by Jacob Edwards Library and Joshua Hyde Library.

Poetry Reading: Geoff Wilkinson

Thursday, April 25th

6:30 - 7:30 pm

The Jacob Edwards Library is pleased to host Geoff Wilkinson, who will read from his book of poetry, Confluence.

Wilkinson explains, “My life in social work—as a community organizer, non-profit leader, government official, and professor—is embedded throughout these poems. Confluence is about connection, and that’s the heart of what social workers do. As I tell my students, love and justice are inseparable.”

Award-winning author of “Testimony,” Shanee Stepakoff, MFA, Ph.D., says, “In these finely crafted, potent poems, Geoff Wilkinson gives us new ways to look at ourselves and each other. The settings range from rural Vermont to the American southwest, from Haiti to Hiroshima, from the cityscapes of Central Massachusetts to Chile under the brutal dictatorship of the 1970s. His main theme is connection: to self, to the beloved, to friends, to nature, to the wider community, to ancestors, and to future generations. His work is informed by a stubborn hope borne of long experience and painful lessons. Wilkinson invites us to look more closely, more intently, and more bravely at ordinary life, and to see the moments of beauty, wonder, and grace that are present there if we pause and pay attention. Yet he also engages with harsher truths. This collection asks us to look squarely at the many forms of violence that surround us, but it does so not through dogmatism but by a quiet, attentive bearing-of-witness to the world in which we live.”

Geoffrey Wilkinson is a clinical associate professor at BUSSW where he teaches community organizing and advocacy and serves as director of the leadership core at the School’s Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health. A lifelong activist, he worked as a tenant organizer in Boston public housing, directed the Massachusetts Senior Action Council and the Massachusetts Public Health Association, and served as director of planning and policy for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. He is a founding board member of the National Association of Community Health Workers and co-founder of two social justice organizations—Milton for Peace and Affordable Inclusive Milton—where he lives.

Sponsored by Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.

Drop-In WCSO Webster Regional Resource Center

Monday, April 29th

1:00 - 2:00 pm

Need assistance and looking for a place to start?

Case workers from the WCSO Webster Regional Resource Center will be at the Jacob Edwards Library to answer questions regarding the services they provide. Mental health referrals, exam preparation HiSet/GED, assist with researching personal documentation and more.

No appointment needed!

Sponsored by WCSO Webster Regional Resource Center and

Friends of Jacob Edwards Library.

The Secret Game

by Scott Ellsworth

Winner of the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing.

"In the fall of 1943, at the little-known North Carolina College for Negroes, Coach John McLendon was on the verge of changing basketball forever. A protégé of James Naismith, the game's inventor, McLendon taught his team to play the full-court press and run a fast break that no one could catch. His Eagles would become the highest-scoring college team in America -- a basketball juggernaut that shattered its opponents by as many as sixty points per game. Yet his players faced danger whenever they traveled backcountry roads. Across town, at Duke University, the best basketball squad on campus wasn't the Blue Devils, but an all-white military team from the Duke medical school. Composed of former college stars from across the country, the team dismantled everyone they faced, including the Duke varsity. They were prepared to take on anyone -- until an audacious invitation arrived, one that was years ahead of anything the South had ever seen before. What happened next wasn't on anyone's schedule. Based on years of research, The Secret Game is a story of courage and determination, and of an incredible, long-buried moment in the nation's sporting past. The riveting, true account of a remarkable season, it is the story of how a group of forgotten college basketball players, aided by a pair of refugees from Nazi Germany and a group of daring student activists, not only blazed a trail for a new kind of America, but helped create one of the most meaningful moments in basketball history." - Provided by publisher

Database Spotlight

hoopla

The Jacob Edwards Library provides FREE access to hoopla with your library card! Hoopla is a streaming service that lets you instantly borrow eBooks, audiobooks, comics, music, movies & TV - 24/7 - and items are always available, so there's no waiting!

Get started at https://www.hoopladigital.com/

April 7-13 National Library Week

Join us on April 6,2024

at 10:30 am

for Storytime and Craft

****Free book to all who attend****

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day)

April 30, 2024

Drop in anytime and read a good book from our many Spanish/Bilingual selections!

Lego Club

Tuesdays

3:30pm - 4:30pm

Saturdays

10:30am-11:30am

Crafty Wednesday

All Day

Every Week



This month we are celebrating National Library Week! If you know someone who does not have a library card, please encourage them to get one and take advantage of the materials that are available to borrow!

See you at the library!

Jacob Edwards Library

508.764.5426

jelibrary@cwmars.org