Westport Public Library BOOK blog

On March 1st, Mike Harney of Harney & Sons Tea Company presented the final program for WestportREADS 2010. Mike and his assistant provided four different kinds of tea for tasting, while he gave us an overview of tea industry. The WestportREADS connection? Japanese tea. Of course.

(On April 7th at noon, Sarah Rose will be at the Library to talk about her book For All the Tea in China. It’s a fascinating history of the global business of tea.)

January seemed to be the perfect time for WestportREADS. The Housekeeper and the Professor exceeded all expectations of popularity. Library copies circulated 1325 times. That’s a lot of reading! Book discussions were lively and new connections were made between neighbors who met to talk about the book. Programs were very well-attended and people are still complimenting translator Stephen Snyder for his talk and the Brill family for sharing their experiences with memory loss. Math, baseball,learning Scratch and making memories drew many to the Family Day. Podcasts of all the WestportREADS events.

The partnership between the Library and the Westport schools brought the book and its connection-making effects to younger people in our community. Westport teachers and librarians supported and nurtured this connection. Staples panel discussion of the book.

To the thousands of people whose lives were touched by WestportREADS 2010, thanks for making the connection and for celebrating the power of a book.

WestportREADS was funded by Jerry A. Tishman.

Note: Have an idea for the next WestportREADS? Contact me.

Guest blogger Frank Corbo gives a mathematician's reaction to The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Mr. Corbo is the K-12 Mathematics Coordinator for the Westport Public Schools.
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As a mathematician, I think that three themes emerge from my reading of this extraordinary little book.

*There has always been tension among mathematicians concerning the nature of mathematics itself. Is mathematics a function of the human condition, or does it transcend the human condition? Is mathematics a human invention or do we humans merely discover that which was always there?
On page 23, the professor says: "There were numbers before human beings - before the world itself was formed."
On page 24, the housekeeper says: "Is that so? I always thought that human beings invented numbers."
On page 43, the professor says: "Yes, that's right. I uncovered propositions that existed out there long before we were born."
Then, surprisingly, on page 140 the professor reverses himself when he says: "So you think that zero was there waiting for us when humans came into being, like the flowers and the stars? You should have more respect for human progress. We made the zero through great pain and struggle."

So, we're left with the same question - invented or discovered.

*Another issue has to do with how mathematics is valued. Is mathematics important to the extent that it can be used as a tool to solve scientific and technological problems? Is its worth defined by its applicability? Or, can it stand alone, and be appreciated for the serenity and beauty of the patterns and truths it reveals to those who study it?
On page 52, the housekeeper says: "I'm not sure why I became so absorbed in a child's math problem with no practical value."
On page 114, the housekeeper says: "I remembered something the professor had said: 'The mathematical order is beautiful precisely because it has no effect on the real world.'"
At one point in the story, the professor abruptly and definitively ends the argument about the dismissal of the housekeeper by writing Euler's formula, E^(i*pi) +1=0, on a scrap of paper. His sister-in-law immediately capitulates and the housekeeper is allowed to stay. "No one spoke. The widow's fingernails had ceased their tapping. Her eyes, so full of suspicion and disdain a moment earlier, now looked at me with a calm, understanding gaze, and I could tell then that she knew the beauty of math."

So is Math merely a tool to be applied by the other disciplines? Or was the 19th century mathematician H.J.S. Smith correct when in his presidential address to the British Mathematical Society he proposed the toast, “Here’s to mathematics—may she never be of use to anybody.”

*Since I am a teacher of mathematics as well as a mathematician, I was interested in what the author believed about math education. The professor has some good advice for teachers.
On page 129, the housekeeper says: "He was always delighted when Root asked a question, no matter what the subject; and he seemed convinced that children's questions were much more important than those of an adult. He preferred smart questions to smart answers."

On page 49 the professor says: "A problem isn't finished just because you've found the right answer."
In fact, that's when the "What if... ?" questions should begin.

On Wednesday January 20th at 7:30 pm Harry Sakamaki will be at the Library to talk about Japanese baseball. In The Housekeeper and the Professor, baseball is the glue in the connection between the Professor and Root, the Housekeeper’s son. Math is the language they use to discuss the game.

Baseball in Japan is similar to …and different from… American baseball. Mr. Sakamaki, President of the Japan Society of Fairfield County, will explain.
Here’s a little quiz to get you thinking about Japanese baseball:

1. In what year was baseball first introduced in Japan?
2. Who played and who won the first recorded international baseball game in Asia?
3. What are some of the unusual (to Americans) rules of Japanese baseball?
4. Who was Enatsu and what was his number?

Answers:

1. It was introduced in 1872 by Horace Wilson who taught at the Kaisei School in Tokyo.
2. In 1896, Tokyo U. beat the American team from Yokohama Country and Athletic Club 29-4.
3. Tie games are allowed; the baseball, strike zone, & field are smaller; only four foreign players per team are allowed.
4. Yutaka Enatsu, one of the best pitchers of all time, had 401 strikeouts in one season (1968). His number is 28.

On Saturday January 30th from 1-4, “Math, Memories and Making Connections” at the Library will include Andy Iversen and his collection of baseball cards. Bring your cards and connect with other collectors. More on WestportREADS.

If you are of a certain age (like me) you may remember when math was not a subject for girls. Rather it was a specialty of only some boys and girls were exempt from even trying to understand it. It was when I was in college and required to take Statistics that I realized that math is basically another language…and there is nothing exclusively male about it.
Math had been taught to me as problem- solving that had to be done in exact steps and in exact order. If I reached the correct answer in a different way, it was incorrect!

This is NOT the math that threads its way through The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Ogawa’s math unfolds in simple and profound ways. The reader comes to accept the belief that mathematics holds the secrets of the universe “copied from God’s notebook.” Math is the beautiful pattern infusing all of life…a universal force of nature.
Once aware, you begin to see math everywhere-not only in science and technology, but in music, art, rhythms of speech- even in the swirls and lines of objects from pieces of wood to heads of cauliflower.

Of course, the Professor’s devotion to math is deeper and more complicated. One chapter begins, “The Professor loved prime numbers more than anything in the world. “ Ogawa goes on …” At first, it was hard to see their appeal. They seemed so stubborn, resisting division by any number but one and themselves. Still, as we were swept up by the Professor’s enthusiasm, we gradually came to understand his devotion…”

I am still math-challenged, but I too gradually came to understand the Professor’s devotion as I read and re-read the book. And I look forward to learning more about math as our WestportREADS month continues.

On Thursday January 14 at 7:30 pm, Dr Bruce Bukiet will be at the Library to talk about math and its application to sports, especially baseball, which was, of course, the Professor’s second great love. Bukiet is Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a man whose website attests to his belief that “A day without math is like a day without sunshine.”

Fidelity.
Transparency.
Equivalence.
Interpreting.
Sounds like a lab experiment. Or possibly a session of marriage counseling.
Actually, it’s all about translation.

Translation is defined as “the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text… that communicates the same message in another language.” There is a “source Language” and a “target Language” and there is an ocean full of idioms, usages and nuance to navigate in the journey from source to target.

“Fidelity” is the accurate meaning of the source language. “Transparency” is the ease of understanding by the target language reader. “Equivalence” can refer to the thought (“metaphrase”) or to the language to express that thought (“paraphrase”.)

On Monday January 11 at 7:30 pm Dr. Stephen Snyder will be at the Library to talk about translation and The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Snyder is Associate Professor of Japanese at Middlebury College and a respected translator of Japanese literature. The expertise of translation is easy to overlook and I suspect that the better the translator, the less the reader considers the work necessary for a smooth and engaging book.

The Housekeeper and the Professor is “gentle yet penetrating” in the words of Kenzaburo Oe, another famous Japanese writer. Snyder’s translation preserves the tone of the story, as well as the details. Have you thought about how a translator preserves the unique elements of a story while maintaining a universally appealing narrative? Someone told me that this is a story that could take place anywhere. Another friend said it could happen only in Japan.

What do you think?

“Wherever you go there you are.” The title of a book, this is the basic concept of mindfulness meditation as developed by the author, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. The book has sold over 750,000 copies since 1974 and Kabat-Zinn has founded the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. My guess is that mindfulness meditation is needed more than ever in this age of multi-tasking. One definition of mindfulness is the calm awareness of the present experience. Have you experienced mindfulness lately?

Another way of thinking of this is to imagine the de-cluttering of your mind. What if your concerns were swept away and your attention shifted to the pink sunset or the sparkly, ice-laden tree branches? What if you simply did not remember the troubling conversation with your teenager and you focused instead on the cardinal flying through your backyard? Without recent memory, commonplace people and events would no longer be common…each one a fresh adventure.

With no recent memory, the Professor in The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa starts fresh each day as he greets the Housekeeper and her son. The excitement of explaining his beloved math equations or discussing his beloved baseball never fades for him. He is in the present moment.

On Wednesday January 6 at 7:30, Westport residents Doug & Patti Brill will talk about their experience with memory loss. Doug’s condition is similar to that of the Professor…and he says his lack of recent memory has led him to a keen appreciation of the present moment. The Brills will explain the ups and downs of living with memory loss; Doug’s optimism will impress you and make you think about your own mindfulness.

For more on WestportREADS

January 1 is the traditional starting-over time for many of us. Have you made any resolutions for 2010? What if you were forced to start over every day? Your thoughts and feelings about yesterday have disappeared and everything and everyone is new again. Do you think your reactions would be the same every day?

In The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, the Professor is required to start each day anew because he has no memory of the recent past. An automobile accident in 1975 has left him with his pre-1975 memories and the current eighty minutes of memories… and that’s all! As he meets the Housekeeper’s 10-year-old boy each day, he is unfailingly welcoming, joyful and nurturing. His sweet nature shines, in the spite of his profound losses and diminished way of life.

Does each of us have a basic nature that prevails regardless of what life brings our way? How would you form a relationship with someone who had to be re-introduced to you every day? As their affection for the Professor grows, the Housekeeper and Root, her son, understand that math provides comfort and escape for the Professor. Their curiosity and the Professor’s patient teaching lead them to appreciate the power of mathematics.

You are invited to start the new year with WestportREADS 2010. For the month of January,enjoy the conversations and connections focused on the themes of this special book.

Please resolve to read The Housekeeper and the Professor and to attend the programs in January planned around the topics in the book. For more.

We just can’t help ourselves: librarians like to keep count.
Over 1500 people have participated in WestportREADS 2008!

Thanks to all who planned, read, volunteered, sang, dressed up, discussed, partied and listened as we indulged in the fun & fantasy and the learning & discussion of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. (If you did not get a chance to read it, we still have copies to borrow or buy at the Library. If you missed some of the events, check the podcasts on the Library website.)

After six years of WestportREADS, some questions:

• Do you have an idea for the next WestportREADS selection?


• Which was your favorite selection?


• Do you think a non-fiction book would be a good choice?


I would love to hear from you!
Please send me your comments, as we begin to consider WestportREADS 2009.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces was written in 1949 by Joseph Campbell. In it he explained the “monomyth” (a term he borrowed from James Joyce) or what has come to be called the “heroic journey.” Dorothy’s adventure in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an example of this universal pattern. Whether enjoyed as a simple adventure story for young people or a symbolic morality lesson for everyone, the book by L. Frank Baum has been the subject of analysis and enjoyment for over 100 years.

Hear Dr. Mark Schenker, Associate Dean at Yale College, examine the tradition of the heroic journey as it informs The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Monday March 31 at 7:30 in the McManus Room.

This is the concluding event in WestportREADS 2008

Well, editor Ranjit Dighe in his book, The Historian's Wizard of Oz, tells us that “Democrats tend to stress an economic populism, in which they claim to be the defenders of working-class Americans against the excesses of big business, while Republicans tend to stress a cultural populism, in which they claim to be the defenders of traditional values against intellectual elites, and an economic populism of their own, aimed at big government and “tax-and-spend liberals.”

Sound familiar? The current media frenzy of political coverage spews forth these very ideas every day. Populism in the late 19th century has been detected in the symbolism of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Populism was the big story of the tumultuous 1890s and must have influenced Baum’s thinking, even if he claimed to write a simple story for children. A newspaperman, he was no stranger to the politics of the time.

Want to learn more about the politics & economics of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Maybe like me, you are feeling as if you should have paid more attention to those American history courses! Dr. Ranjit Dighe, Associate Professor of Economic History at SUNY Oswego will provide a unique view of the classic book and teach us a little economic history.
Come hear Dr Dighe on Thursday March 27 at 7:30 pm in the McManus Room.

Beginning reference librarians are often startled by some of the questions they receive. Like: “why is the sky blue?” or “does water swirl clockwise or counterclockwise as it goes down the drain?” Actually, one of the best aspects of my career is the daily chance to learn something new and (hopefully) to keep my brain functioning! I was reminded of the swirling water question, when I decided to investigate cyclones, like the one that lifted Dorothy out of Kansas and into her dream of Oz. Just like the draining water, the direction of cyclone swirling is determined by the hemisphere of the earth in which it occurs. Find out more about cyclones and other weather facts and beliefs on Tuesday March 25 at 7:30 pm when WABC meteorologist Bill Evans will speak about strange weather (in Dorothy’s Kansas and elsewhere.)

Evans has written a thriller, Category 7 in which a monster storm is created and escapes control as it heads for New York City. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.

Baum asserted that he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz “solely to please the children….” The simple story of a child’s adventure with its triumph of good over evil, its underlying optimism and its happy homecoming ending has pleased children for over 100 years. And yet…even a perfunctory look into the various interpretations of the book affords many different interpretations.

There are the strong connections to Romanticism, poetry, pastoral philosophy and theosophy. There’s the intriguing question of just who does have the power in this saga and why. A symbolic & ironic lesson about self-discovery drives the tale, as each character looks for the characteristics already possessed. What is illusion? Reality? How are they distinguished?

Then there is the whole economic and political allegory explicated by critics and professors for years. Dorothy = the American people: plucky, good-natured, naive.
Oz= the almighty ounce of gold
Yellow Brick Road = a path paved with gold bricks that leads nowhere
Dorothy’s Silver Slippers walking on the yellow brick road = the bimetallic standard
All the good guys = populists
Bad guys = Eastern banking & industrialists
Wizard = President McKinley
Et cetera.

Think that’s far-fetched? How about the theory that the story parallels the Book of Exodus? Dorothy & companions are enslaved, water is essential in their deliverance, they are “prisoners in a strange land” and the day of deliverance will be a holiday then and forever after.

Then there is the theory of colors. The colors of Oz are not arbitrary, but change from region to region in accordance with the principles of color theory. The three major areas are each a primary color. The travelers must journey through a secondary color to get to another primary one. For example, the green country of the Emerald City is the link between the blue land of the Munchkins and yellow Winkie country.
(Baum also wrote The Art of Decorating Dry Goods Windows and Interiors in 1900.)

There’s more, but you probably get the idea. So, if you have been hesitating to read a simple child’s story, give it another read. See what interesting implications you can unearth.

Did you know that Baum's mother-in-law was a suffragette?

How old is Dorothy? Only six or seven and hence, without the rites of passage and sexual overtones of those “older” heroines like Alice in Alice in Wonderland and Mary in the Secret Garden. So, a simpler story about basic belief in human goodness and the innate power we all have, but may not recognize. When the Wizard asks why he should help her, Dorothy answers, “Because you are strong and I am weak….” There is a moral order in Baum’s world and it rests on the natural world without reference to traditional religion. It is truly a story seen through Dorothy’s eyes; no introspection here. And no irony.

(Thanks to Professor JT Barbarese for his talk last evening on The World Through Dorothy's Eyes.)

And all those political and economic allegories? It seems unlikely that Baum wrote with those in mind. And yet, they layer onto Dorothy’s story with such a good fit, that you can’t help wondering…

(Find out on Thursday March 27 at 7:30 pm what Professor Ranjit Dighe thinks about the political implications of the book.)

What do you think? Simple story or political allegory?

Come to the WestportREADS events to learn more.

Published in 1900, the book is a little different from the 1939 famous movie. But, even if you have not finished reading, bring your whole family to an afternoon of fun at the Library on Saturday (March 1) from noon to 4 pm. Drop in to hear The Flying Monkeys Woodwind Quintet (aka the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet) play wizard music in the Great Hall from 12:30 to 1:30. Have your picture taken with characters from the story. Enjoy puzzles, games and coloring. Enter the March raffle. Mingle with other travelers to the Land of Oz.

During WestportREADS month, there will be thoughtful discussions, entertaining performances, festive sing-a-longs, book discussions for all ages, and even a talk about strange weather.

One hundred years ago at the founding of the Westport Library, people were reading and discussing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. We’re still reading and discussing it and celebrating our community and our Library.

I hope to meet you on the Yellow Brick Road!

Born in 1856 into a wealthy family, Baum’s life before the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz contained many hints of the adventures that Dorothy experiences in the book.

• Baum’s total formal education consisted of less than two years at the Peekskill Military Academy.
• As a 15-year-old, Baum published a newspaper with his brother Harry. The Rose Lawn Home Journal was in publication for three years.
• When he was 19, Baum worked as a salesman for his father’s dry goods company, Neal, Baum & Company.
• Baum became an actor and traveled with the Shakespeare Company.
• In 1875, Baum started raising & breeding chickens. He became the first secretary of the Empire State poultry Assn. and organized Annual Poultry Fairs.
• Baum managed a string of theaters owned by his father.
• In 1882, Baum was known for his playwriting – especially the popular Maid of Arran-acting and songwriting.
• Baum also worked as a salesman for his father’s Castorine Company.
• In 1888, Baum moved from Syracuse NY to Aberdeen SD and opened a general store. Baum’s Bazaar. The store took in $60 on opening day.
• After two years, the store closed. Baum spent most of his time ignoring the store and sitting outside telling stories to children.
• Baum took over as editor & publisher of the Dakota Pioneer where he wrote about women’s suffrage, theosophy, and politics and economics of the time. His column, “Our Landlady” discussed issues and personalities important in Aberdeen. The least tolerant tone of all his writings appeared when he wrote about native Americans, after Wounded Knee.
• Baum joined the Episcopalian church – his only church membership- to perform in a production of The Sorcerer.
• Baum lost the Pioneer, moved his family to Chicago and worked briefly for the Chicago Evening Post, before becoming a traveling salesman for the Pitkin & Brooks Chinaware company.
• In 1895, Baum’s poetry, stories and essays begin to appear in the Chicago Times Herald.
• Baum applied for a copyright on two books in 1896. One was Tales from Mother Goose.
• Short stories by Baum were published in a variety of journals.
• In 1898, Baum wrote, printed and bound by hand 99 copies of a book of verse, By the Candelabra’s Glare, for his friends.
• Baum completed a new fairy tale and wrote it in pencil on scraps of paper in 1899. He called it The Emerald City. This was re-titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, when it was published in 1900.

For more on Baum.

Have you heard about the book in which writers were invited to distill their bios into just six words? It’s called Not Quite What I Was Planning edited by Larry Smith. ("Found true love, married someone else" is an example.)

Can you imagine the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz writing their bios in just six words?

How about “Stuffed with straw. Afraid of matches.” Or “Magic power revealed. Wizard is humbug.”
Or “Bad witch melts. Glinda tells secret.” Or “Good masters. Evil masters. Three commands.”
Or “Timid beast loses fear. Becomes king.”

It's addictive, once you start. Let's see how many six word bios of Wizard characters we can compile.

I hear that some parents and caregivers have chosen The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to read aloud together. In 1900, L. Frank Baum wrote the story “to please a child” and the classic story continues to fulfill his intention.
Pick up a copy of the original edition reprint and enjoy it with your family. The young people will anticipate each new adventure as Dorothy makes her journey and the young- at- heart will refresh their appreciation for a story that has endured for over 100 years.

In March, we will celebrate WestportREADS 2008 with a wide range of events and activities for all ages. Watch for people wearing the WestportREADS 2008 button and start a conversation about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The music of The Wizard of Oz turns up in the most unlikely places! Did you see President Bush being serenaded while in Israel?

“Over the Rainbow” was written by lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. Known as “Broadway’s social conscience, Harburg collaborated with composer Harold Arlen to create the enduring songs for the 1939 film.

In Manhattan,Singer Karen Oberlin is presenting a tribute show, “The Wizard of Words: Yip Harburg’s Songs of Wit and Wisdom” at the Metropolitan Room on Sunday January 27 at 9:30 pm.

Want to enjoy Harburg & Arlen’s songs right here in Westport? On Saturday March 1, follow the yellow brick road to the WestportREADS 2008 kickoff at the Library and listen to the Flying Monkeys Quintet play your favorites in the Great Hall from 12:30 -1:30. (a/k/a Norwalk Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet.)

Come to the Emerald City Bash on Friday March 14 from 7-9 pm and sing along as Ted Simons accompanies our favorite Wizard tunes.

As Yip Harburg said: “Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.”

This is hardly the moral of the story, but it does indicate how L. Frank Baum chose to portray the triumph of good over evil in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum stated that his book “aspires to being a modern fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.” You may be apprehensive about the flying monkeys, but you know that good, and not evil, will prevail.

Making the fantasy believable, the images indelible (the 1939 movie helped a lot here,) and the characters icons, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has become a template for any three characters lacking intelligence, compassion and courage wherever we encounter them in life or fiction. And the wizard? Powerless fraud, trickster, manipulator behind the scenes… this is another familiar cultural concept.

For WestportREADS 2008, we are planning a month of entertaining and informative events for the whole family in March. To get ready, read the original 1900 edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. You may purchase a copy at the Library store or borrow it. You will notice the bright yellow cover in the Library paperback racks or on the top of the New book shelves.
This is a story to be relished by the imaginative young and by the nostalgic not-so-young, as well as by those who enjoy digging for metaphor and symbolism.

Stay tuned. This one should be a lot of fun!

In 1690, Stradivari changed the length of his violins by about one quarter of an inch.In the world of violin makers, this was an historic event! After eight years, he returned to the previous size. To the world at large, this seems insignificant. Not so!

The Violin Maker: Finding a Centuries-old Tradition in a Brooklyn Workshop by John Marchese interweaves the craftmanship of making a new violin (the magic box) with the history of violins through the centuries. Last evening, we heard from Marchese and Sam Zygmuntowicz who made the violin that emerges in the book for Eugene Drucker of the Emerson String Quartet.
There's a quote in the book from You Can Make a Stradivarius Violin by Joseph Reid. "Violin making is one of the most noble crafts of man...If (the maker) is a true artist he will build his very soul into the instrument." It's that elusive element of violin making and of music that sets this book apart from our modern tendency to define every detail of our lives.
Marchese has a musician's sensibility; there is no attempt to emphasize technology at the expense of art. Zygmuntowicz emphasizes that an instrument is not complete until it is played; it's creation includes the sound it makes. Part of Drucker's desire for a new instrument arose from "the sound under his ear"; i.e., his playing was not good enough for his own ear, reminding me of Renne's discontent in The Soloist.

Incidentally, Violinist Eugene Drucker, a Music & Arts School and Julliard graduate, also has a degree in Literature from Columbia. We will be ordering his first novel, due out in July. The Savior is set in World War II Germany. The lead character is a violinist who is ordered to play for the Jewish prisoners.

Marchese's previous book was Renovations: a Father and Son Rebuild a House and Discover Each Other. Booklist calls it "an honest, uncluttered account.." Two strong-minded men find their emotional connection as they work together.

Music travels through time across the centuries, out-living its creators! What a wonder!
Have you considered the simple elements that make up the instruments ? How does that sound come out of that wood and metal? What a confluence of craftsmanship, intent, creativity and skill!

If you share my enthusiasm, come to hear author John Marchese talk about his new book The Violin Maker:Finding a Centuries-Old Tradition in Brooklyn Workshop on Wednesday March 28 at 7:30 pm in the McManus Room at the Library. Joining Marchese will be Sam Zygmuntowicz, the violin maker featured in the book. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

This is the concluding event of WestportREADS 2007 with its focus on The Soloist by Mark Salzman.

As anyone who has attended a classical music concert or seen pictures of a full symphony orchestra, the violin is the smallest of the family of stringed instruments and creates the highest pitches. Its innate acoustics give it enormous versatility in producing beautiful, sustained tones and pathos similar to the human voice while simultaneously giving the player enormous potential for flashy and scintillating sound effects and dramatic techniques. Its range of more than four octaves and the ability to play chords has made it ubiquitous in all kinds of music and cultures.

The evolution of violin making reached its apex in Brescia and Cremona Italy in the seventeenth century by Antonio, Girolamo, and Nicolò Amati, Antonio Stradivari, and Andrea and Giuseppe Guarneri. The instruments by these distinguished craftsmen have been prized and sought after by generations of artists, collectors, and musicians.

In celebration of WestportREADS, the Library will be featuring John Marchese, author of The Violin Maker: Finding a Centuries-Old Tradition in a Brooklyn Workshop. He will speak about his new book and introduce Sam Zygmuntowicz, the violin maker portrayed in the book. This program will take place on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the McManus Room.

To learn more about the history of the violin and its creators, be sure to look at Toby Faber's Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection, Edward Heron-Allen's Violin Making, As It Was and Is: Being a Historical, Theoretical, and Practical and Karel Jalovec's Beautiful Italian Violins. Some of the violinists in our compact disc collection include Jascha Heifetz, Itzhak Perlman, and Isaac Stern.

What is perfection? When is life "good enough?" Does the drive for perfection lead to achievement? or paralysis? If we expect to attain perfection, are our disappointments especially harsh? The narrator of The Soloist by Mark Salzman seems unable to be present in the moment, except when he is lost in music. Soon that escape eludes him, when his search for perfection interferes with his cello playing.

On Sunday March 25 at 2 pm in the McManus Room, Dr. Mark Schenker will explore the dilemma of the search for perfection and how it is portrayed in The Soloist. Associate Dean at Yale College, Schenker is a frequent Library speaker known for his incisive analyses of literature.

WestportREADS discussion question:
Is perfection possible? Do unfulfilled dreams have a harsher impact on those with special gifts?

Today's WestportREADS discussion question has a multitude of possible answers.
Here it is: To what degree are parents responsible for their children's successes or failures?

Do you know how your offspring would respond to this question ?

Some people have told me how much they dislike Renne in The Soloist; others have commented that he was the way he was because of his mother. Do you think her control of his young life led to his successes or his failures?
How about Kyung -hee? How did his parents' attitudes affect his probable success or failure?
And what about the defendant, Philip Weber?
No definitive answers, but an intergenerational conversation might reveal some interesting opinions!

I assume you are all "talking amongst yourselves" about WestportREADS and The Soloist by Mark Salzman. We would love to get an online conversation started, so just click "Comments" to share your opinions.
The discussion question today: Renne was mentor or pupil depending on the relationship. Which times did he switch from mentor to pupil?
When in the story did Renne learn something new about life or himself? Who were his teachers?

Do you agree that in life, one must show both strength and gentleness?
How did these traits show up in the story?

You are invited to comment.Your reaction to The Soloist by Mark Salzman or to the events you have attended is most welcome. If your group had a book discussion on The Soloist, please share the ideas that were expressed.

Which WestportREADS book is your favorite so far? Why did you like it? Here's the list:
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Snow in August by Pete Hamill
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
The Soloist by Mark Salzman
WestportREADS continues through the month of March.

"Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself."

This Zen saying reminds us to "pause" and "refresh" and although these words have been snatched up by the technologies of our lives, in Buddhism we are talking about people, not PCs.
Did you wonder about Buddhism, when you read about the murder trial in The Soloist ? Come to the Library on Monday March 12th at 7:30 pm in the McManus Room to meet Tibetan monk Geshe Lobsang Dhargey. Find out what it means to practice Buddhism and participate in meditation and a chant for world peace.

Someone mentioned A.O. Scott's review of the film, "Into Great Silence" as reminding them of Buddhism. Scott says, " I hesitate, given the early date and project's modesty, to call "Into Great Silence," one of the best films of the year. I prefer to think of it as the antidote to all of the others."

In the conflicts and stresses of our world, Buddhism may be the antidote that all of us need to sample.

Much of The Soloist by Mark Salzman revolves around the murder trial for which the narrator Renne is a member of the jury. During the trial, Renne reports: "Mr. Graham created a pause in the testimony by going over to his desk and picking up a thick sheaf of papers. It was a short delay, but the break in the rhythm got everyone's attention. It reminded me of how, just before playing a cadenza, I would freeze for a beat...and people in the audience would be on the edge of their seats, anticipating..."

Have you served on a jury? I wonder about the role of non-verbal communication in the courtroom. How much does the appearance of the lawyers and witnesses affect the jury's decision? On Thursday March 8th at 7:30 pm in McManus Room, The Honorable Alan H. Nevas, District Judge will speak on the jury system and how it is portrayed in The Soloist.

WestportREADS discussion question:
Should the mentally ill pay for their crimes? Did justice prevail in the trial?

Does a waltz played on an organ evoke memories of a roller rink? I guess you have to be a certain age to know what I'm talking about. When I was in 6th grade (many years ago), the teacher took the entire class to the roller rink one Saturday. What carefree fun!

Music is an essential part of memory for many people and the associations that have developed affect what you see or taste or feel or smell when you hear new music. In The Soloist by Mark Salzman, Renne (the teacher) gives Kyung Hee (the pupil) many pictures to look at while they listen to music. Kyung Hee makes the connection with enthusiastic excitement and Renne knows that Kyung Hee experiences music with all his senses.

You are invited to hear some special music- Haydn, Klughardt, Arnold, Joplin & Debussy- and look at some artwork that may or may not "match" what you hear. On Tuesday March 6th at 7:30 pm in the McManus Room at the Library, the Norwalk Symphony Woodwind Quintet will provide the music. Come and see what you hear! Fun for the whole family!!

Have you ever listened to a piece of music and instantly visualized a familiar scene? Have you ever looked at a painting in a museum and found yourself humming a popular tune? You may be experiencing synesthesia, "a subjective sensation (as of color) or image of a sense other than the one (as of sound) which is being stimulated." In the WestportREADS book selection The Soloist, two of the characters have the ability to see the sounds of the music they create.

As part of the celebration of WestportREADS, the Norwalk Symphony Woodwind Quintet will be performing at the library on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. and will be exploring this unusual concept.

Throughout history, composers have been inspired by family members, surroundings, or writings. Charles Ives paid tribute to his father's job as a band leader in the "Country Band March". Franz Joseph Haydn who was known for his longevity and huge musical output, composed his Symphonies #93-98 and #99-104 on trips to London in 1791-1792 and 1794-1795. Ludwig van Beethoven's emotions were heightened by his nature walks throughout the countryside; these feelings came through in his Symphony #6, also known as the "Pastoral Symphony". Giuseppi Verdi's operas were derived from the plays of Shakespeare including Falstaff and Macbeth.

While you ponder the numerous possibilities and potential influences on the creative mind, you are invited to come to the library to listen to and see the music at this concert.

There are at least 150 of you reading The Soloist by Mark Salzman- that's how many copies are checked out of the Library- as we start WestportREADS 2007! Tomorrow our young cellists will provide the overture with performances around town between 1 and 1:30; drop in at Barnes& Noble, Balducci's, Trader Joe's, either Starbucks, Doc's Cafe or the Library. Pick up a brochure or check the Library website, so you do not miss any of the great programs we have planned for the month of March.

Each week, I will post a question or two about The Soloist to encourage thoughts and conversation about the book. It would be great to get an online conversation going about the book. If you decide to hold a book discussion at home, give me a call and we will schedule a facilitator to lead the discussion.

So, here's the question for today:
Was Renne in control of his own actions and reactions?

As many of you know, the month of March brings in WestportREADS, an annual event whereby everyone in the community reads the same book. This year's choice is Mark Salzman's The Soloist, a novel about a former cello prodigy.

On Saturday, March 3rd, as you are dropping off your clothes at the dry cleaners, getting your nails done at the salon, or going to the gym, be sure to schedule a stop at either Barnes & Noble, Starbucks/Post Road, Starbucks/Parker Harding Plaza, Docs Café, Balducci’s, Trader Joe’s, or the Westport Library from 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. You will be treated with live cello music which will officially usher in WestportREADS. Volunteers will be giving out books, buttons, and brochures listing all the events and book discussions.

Music for the cello often elicits deep, emotional, passionate feelings both for the performer and audience. While you are reading the book, listen to some of the pieces mentioned in it. They include Johann Sebastian Bach's Unaccompanied Suites for Cello, Joseph Haydn's D Major Cello Concerto, and Camille Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto. To learn more about the history, the development, and the masters of this venerable instrument, feel free to read Elizabeth Cowling's The Cello, William Pleeth's Cello, or Carlos Prieto's Adventures of a Cello.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a prodigy is "a person endowed with some quality which excites wonder; especially a child of precocious genius." This meaning was first cited in Eveleyn's Diary entry of January 27, 1658.

The history of music is filled with child prodigies including Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Midori, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Itzhak Perlman, Franz Schubert, etc.

One of the themes of the WestportREADS 2007 selected book, The Soloist by Mark Salzman, explores the feelings and passions of a child prodigy whose extraordinary gift is playing the cello. Coincidentally, the February 24, 2007 concert of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra features three child prodigies, Staples High School cellist Carlyn Kessler, Amity Middle School violinist Jenny Liu, and Chariho Middle School pianist/violinist Ann-Frances Rokosa. These gifted musicians, who were selected by audition during a six-month search, will be heard in the first movement of Pergolesi's Trio Sonata in G Major. Additionally, they will speak about their musical experiences at the pre-concert talk with Norwalk Symphony conductor, Diane Wittry.

The Westport Public Library invites you to read The Soloist and to sample the works that will be performed by the Norwalk Symphony. The program includes Ernest Bloch's Concerto Grosso No. 1, George Frideric Handel's Concerto Grosso Op. 3, No. 2, and Igor Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite.

note: Thanks to Margie for this musical posting.

Have you tried to download a book yet? WestportREADS 2007 selection The Soloist by Mark Salzman may be downloaded from the Library catalog to your computer or MP3 player. To learn more about downloading digital audiobooks, come to a demonstration on Wednesday February 7 at 10 am. The Soloist is just one of almost 2000 titles available.

If you prefer the paperback in your hands, copies of The Soloist may be purchased at the Library store or borrowed from the Library collection. Are books on CD your preference? You can listen to The Soloist, also.

You may want to discuss the book after you read it. Come to the Page Turners on Tuesday March 20 at 10:30 am or 7:30 pm - or- get your friends together to talk about the topics in the book and check out the events planned for March.

For a discussion guide or to schedule a discussion facilitator or for other WestportREADS questions or comments: contact me.

What color is the number 700? How does the word "poignant" taste? If these questions make sense to you, you may be somewhere on the spectrum of people with synesthesia. It's a scrambling of the senses often found to be part of the creative process. In The Soloist by Mark Salzman, both cellists, teacher and student, see the sounds of the music they make. What do you see when you listen to music? Scenic vistas? Geometric shapes? Come to the WestportREADS program at the Library on Tuesday March 6 at 7:30 pm to explore this concept with the Norwalk Symphony Woodwind Quintet.

Recent publicity has brought autistic savant Daniel Tammet to attention. He solves complicated mathematical problems with astonishing facility and says he sees the computations as colored shapes. His story is Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.

To learn more about synesthesia, read The Man Who Tasted Shapes by Richard E Cytowic or Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens by Patricia Lynne Duffy. For younger readers, there is the novel Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass, in which a 13-year-old synesthete's confusing and beautiful view of the world is presented along with all the complications it causes in her life.

P.S. Want to learn more about the senses? I suggest you spend some quality time with Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman, one of my favorite writers, for fascinating facts wrapped in beautiful language.

If your book club is still trying to decide what to read next, consider the Westport READS selection for 2007, The Soloist by Mark Salzman. This story about a former child prodigy combines classical music, a jury trial and Zen Buddhism into a moving and thought provoking novel. Cellist Renne Sundheimer’s life changes when he becomes a jurist on a murder trial at the same time he takes on a new pupil, a young boy whose talent reminds him of his own. After your group has discussed the book why not join us at the library for one of the many events planned? Explore Buddhism, get some insight on the jury system or just enjoy a classical cello concert with your club. If your group needs a discussion guide or multiple copies of The Soloist, let me know. Contact me for more information.

The Soloist by Mark Salzman is the selected title for WestportREADS 2007.
A committee of volunteers and staff has planned a month of events & discussions for March. Read all about the plans, the book and the author on the Library website. We have many copies of the book for you to borrow or buy here at the Library.
Special thanks to Jerry A. Tishman for sponsoring WestportREADS!

Does one of the themes of The Soloist intrigue you? Jury trials? Buddhism? The world of musicians? The progression of our dreams into our realities? Invite your friends and neighbors to get together and discuss The Soloist during WestportREADS month in March. The Library will provide discussion guides. Skilled facilitators are also available.Contact me for more information.

Salzman was a Pulitzer finalist for his first book, Iron & Silk (about the two years he spent in China.) Iron & Silk is also a DVD; the film was written by and starred in by Salzman. His other books include: Laughing Sutra ( a novel about China), Lost in Place: growing up absurd in suburbia (his childhood in Ridgefield, CT), Lying Awake(a nun's dazzling visions: spiritual inspiration or brain tumor?) and True Notebooks: a writer's year at juvenile hall (teaching at a lock-up for violent teens.)

My family included many musicians. My cousin, the cellist, expressed disdain for pianists who could not play a string instrument because they did not have a "good ear." In The Soloist by Mark Salzman, cellist Renne worries about his "ear" until his anxiety interferes with his ability to perform. This anxiety about being perfect is one of the themes of this story about dreams and reality and how we learn to accept our gifts and our limitations. Haven't read it, yet?
You may borrow a copy of The Soloist or purchase one from the Library store.
March is WestportREADS month and there are very interesting programs for which you might want to mark you calendar. Would you like to get together with your friends and neighbors to discuss The Soloist? The Library will provide a discussion guide and, also, a facilitator for your discussion.Contact me for details.

Welcome! You are one of the first to find out that The Soloist by Mark Salzman is the 2007 WestportREADS selection. Known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Iron & Silk, Ridgefield native and Yale graduate Salzman takes us into the world of a child prodigy cellist, the murder trial of a Zen Buddhist, and a life where dreams are adjusted to fit reality.

The Soloist is recommended for high school readers and older.Some companion books to keep the entire family reading include:Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt by Patricia MacLachlan for middle school students and older. For upper elementary students, we suggest:Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka; and for children of all ages who enjoy picture books: The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler and The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow.

Activities will begin in March - we're planning to hear cellos playing all over town- but it's never too soon to start reading. Pick up a book at the Library store or in the stacks. Would you like to host a book discussion for your friends & neighbors? Or join the committee? email Marta Campbell