Women Who Write Will Read at Bernardsville Library

Enjoy poetry as well as prose, refreshments and conversation with local poets and authors—all members of Women Who Write—who will give a reading of their work at 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 16 at Bernardsville Public Library.

Formed to encourage both beginning and experienced women writers with every phase of the writing process, Women Who Write is a nonprofit writers’ collective with members throughout north-central New Jersey. The organization holds a variety of educational programs, readings and other literary events throughout the year. Writing groups meet twice a month, providing members with a supportive space in which to share, give and receive feedback on their writing.

Among the readers on April 16 will be Lisa Honecker, a novice poet, published last year in Goldfinch and The Bernardsville News. Ms. Honecker is currently the co-coordinator of the Madison Group for Women Who Write and is active in local and county politics. She is a lifetime resident of Bernardsville, where her husband is Mayor. Vivian Fransen of Scotch Plains, NJ, will read a few of her poems, including "A Bird's-Eye View" published in the 2010 issue of Goldfinch and a poem about her recent face-to-face encounter with actress and author Marlo Thomas. Lisa Tognola's weekly humor column in TheAlternativePress.com, "Main Street Musings," reflects on life in the suburbs—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ms. Tognola lives in Chatham, and she will read one of her columns, "I'm Keeping Victoria's Secret." Marcia Ivans of Chatham, NJ will be reading poems from her book Over Easy and a new poem or two. Ms. Ivans has facilitated Poetry and Pastries, an open poetry reading in Chatham, NJ, for seven years. Debby Forte of Budd Lake, who has been published in Goldfinch and the The River Poet's Journal, will read some of her rhyming poetry. Prachi Jain of Basking Ridge is a writer of short stories. Her work has appeared in Foliate Oak, Six Sentences and Goldfinch magazine. She plans to read her short story about human disposition as part of the event. Ronnie Hammer, facilitator of the Madison Group of Women Who Write, is the author of a blog, morristownmemos.wordpress.com. It consists of several shots of short stories with a twist of humor. Ms. Hammer has been published in The New York Times' Metropolitan Diary; Executive Female magazine, and North Jersey Orchid Society. Alice Mendelsohn of Denville will read excerpts from her latest book Let's Celebrate. This book is a compilation of verses from greeting cards created over the years for family, friends and co-workers. Dorothy Ryan of Basking Ridge, NJ has poems online, in journals, newspapers and anthologies. She will read a selection of her published work.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Craft Group to Meet @ Bernardsville Library

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, April 16 at 3:00 pm. Individuals are invited to bring their own handwork projects to the Library and work together in a comfortable, communal setting while enjoying the benefits of shared tips and conversation. Readers’ Services Assistant Evelyn Fischel will showcase different project ideas and books at each meeting. A long-time crafter, Ms. Fischel will encourage such interests as knitting, crocheting, paper arts, hand sewing, embroidery and other needlework, as well as any other craft the group wishes to cover. There is no charge to attend the meeting, and no sign-up is needed. For more information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Cactus Salad Latin Jazz Band to Perform at Bernardsville Library

Peter DiCarlo and the Cactus Salad Latin Jazz Band will perform in free concert at Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, April 10 at 3:00 pm. [Doors open at 2:45 pm.] The dynamic program will highlight a variety of jazz and Latin selections. Funded by the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library, the program is part of the Sundays at Three concert series. There is no charge to attend and no advance registration is necessary. Mr. DiCarlo is well-known in the Bernardsville community as the Middle School Band Director. His ensemble consists of professional musicians from New York and New Jersey who specialize in Latin-jazz music. They have been performing together in a weekly concert for over three years. Blending the best of Latin-Jazz with their own new interpretations, their sound delivers, as their ever-growing numbers of fans will agree.

Mr. DiCarlo is well-known in the Bernardsville community as the Middle School Band Director. His ensemble consists of professional musicians from New York and New Jersey who specialize in Latin-jazz music. They have been performing together in a weekly concert for over three years. Blending the best of Latin-Jazz with their own new interpretations, their sound delivers, as their ever-growing number of fans will agree!

For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Eleventh Annual Juried Art Show at Bernardsville Library

Artists are invited to submit one painting to Bernardsville Public Library for the Library's eleventh annual juried art exhibition. Paintings will be accepted at the library between 10:00 am and noon on Thursday, March 31, and artists of works selected for exhibition will be notified by email that evening. The show will be on view from April 1 through April 28, and the opening reception for the public will be held on Sunday, April 3 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The judge of this year’s show will be Thomas Valenti, President of Allied Artists of America, and an Honorary Member of The Salmagundi Club and of The American Artists Professional League. Over a career spanning nearly four decades, he has garnered many awards and much recognition. Upon graduating as a Fine Art major from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in 1974, Valenti found himself disenchanted with what he had learned through the 3-year program and set out on a mission of self-teaching. Though his subject matter varies, Valenti's main concentration of work is focused on New York City street scenes. His close relation to an urban environment stems from having grown up in the area of the South Bronx known as Fort Apache, one of the most treacherous neighborhoods in all of New York at that time. Nevertheless, his scenes of New York express a sense of serenity and calm in an otherwise chaotic world. Brilliant lights and mysterious shadows pervade the work giving the viewer a feeling that beauty can be found in places you least expect. Mr. Valenti has served as a juror for local, state and national competitions from the start of his career and has developed a keen sense toward the decision-making process for judging a show and for the selection of awards. Two prizes will be awarded in the library’s show: "Best of Show" and "Community Favorite." "Best of Show" will be chosen by Mr. Valenti. Selection of the "Community Favorite" will be based on votes cast by visitors at the opening reception. Kathleen Palmer, the library’s Volunteer Exhibit Coordinator, will curate the show. There is $10 fee to enter. Only works not previously exhibited at the Library will be accepted. Detailed information and entry forms are available at the Library and online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/display.htm. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Bernardsville Kicks Off Community “GREEN CHALLENGE”

Community members are invited to Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, April 6 at 7:00 pm to hear members of the Bernardsville Green Team unveil details of a community-wide Green Challenge. The Challenge is designed to raise awareness that small individual steps can collectively lead to significant changes. It is comprised of a twelve attainable “green actions” which aim to motivate individuals, families and businesses to change their behavior in support of the community’s goals for sustainability. These twelve actions focus on issues such as home energy efficiency measures, water usage, recycling, waste reduction, transportation, local and sustainable food, composting and environmental activities. Participants pledge to complete five actions, but are encouraged to meet as many challenges as possible.

When residents accept the challenge, they will receive a pledge form to fill out as they complete the various action items. Once the pledge form is returned to the Team, each family will receive a lawn sign for display that acknowledges they are a GREEN CHALLENGE HOME. The hope is that this will create a buzz around town and generate more community involvement, thus moving Bernardsville closer to achieving the Silver Level Certification under the Sustainable Jersey program (www.sustainablejersey.com).

The program is modeled after Maplewood’s successful challenge in which over 200 households have participated. We are very fortunate to have Fred Profeta, the Deputy Mayor of Maplewood and a state leader for Sustainable Jersey, as the keynote speaker at the Library. In addition, Harry Strano, Sr. Environmental Scientist, for the firm of Amy S. Greene Environmental Consultants, Inc., in Flemington, NJ will present an overview of our “Environmental Resource Inventory” for the borough, and Wanda Knapik, Bernardsville Community Garden Director, will give an update on the opening of the community garden.

Door prizes, such as a private hike for eight at the Great Swamp, items from the Audubon Society, memberships for Upper Raritan Watershed Association and Schiff Wildlife Preserve, a VIP car wash and more, will be awarded that evening. To learn more or download The Challenge Form, visit: www.bernardsvillegoesgreen.org or www.bernardsvilleboro.org

There is no charge to attend the library program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Saturday Samplers Book Group to Meet

Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, April 2 at 3:30 pm to discuss Child 44 (2008) by Tom Rob Smith.

A relentless page-turner and a thriller unlike any other, the novel is set in Stalin’s Soviet Union and stars a war hero named Leo who is suddenly denounced and demoted by his enemies. Formerly a rising star in the MGB, the State Security force, Leo is assigned to look into the death of a child whose parents insist he has been murdered—a crime that is not supposed to exist in the Soviet state. Leo must scramble to identify what turns out to be a serial killer. Writer Scott Turow described the book as follows: “Child 44 is a remarkable debut novel—inventive edgy, and relentlessly gripping from the first page to the last.”

Led by Readers’ Services Assistant, Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and even teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked books. Readers can find information about the group and about the books and authors on the reading list at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com/. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.

There is no charge to attend the discussion, and no sign-up is needed. The group will meet in the Library’s Community Room.

Tea and Conversation with Author Joyce Hinnefeld

Join us for tea and conversation as Julie Maloney, Director of WOMEN READING ALOUD, conducts an up-close and personal interview with award-winning author Joyce Hinnefeld at Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, March 27 at 2:00 pm. Ms. Hinnefeld’s most recent book is Stranger Here Below (2010), a powerful novel about three generations of women. At the library, audience members will have a rare opportunity to ask the author questions about her books and writing process. A short reading and book signing will follow the interview.

Joyce Hinnefeld is Cohen Chair in English and Literature at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. In 2009-2010, she received an Isherwood Foundation Fellowship for Writers. Her first novel, In Hovering Flight (2008), was a #1 Indie Next Pick. Her short story collection, Tell Me Everything and Other Stories (1998) won the 1997 Breadloaf Writers Conference Bakeless Prize in fiction, and her novel manuscript, Pilgrim’s Song, was a finalist for the 2006 Bellwether Prize. Her stories, poems, and essays have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies, and she has also published scholarly articles on the work of American women writers and on the teaching of writing. She serves as director of the Moravian College Writing Center.

Interviewer Julie Maloney has worked in the arts as a performer and educator her entire life. She is a poet and writer, photographer and teacher who has taught writing on both the high school and college levels. She is founder and director of Women Reading Aloud (WRA), a not-for-profit organization that promotes women writers in New Jersey and beyond. WRA holds special events, weekend writing retreats, conferences and on-going writing workshops in spring and fall during which women writers of all genres hone their work in a salon type setting.

There is no charge to attend the program at the library, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Understanding Social Security

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to announce the inaugural event for CARES: Community Assistance Resource and Educational Services. “Introduction to Social Security” will be presented by Richard Desir of the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Thursday, March 24 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room. During the talk, Mr. Desir, Public Relations Liaison for the Social Security Administration, will log onto the SSA website and guide the audience through a variety of topics from projecting Social Security benefits to how to retire online. He’ll give a “snapshot” of Social Security, also covering disability, survivors, Medicare and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for people who are 65 and older, blind or disabled. [This program was rescheduled from January due to inclement weather.]

CARES is a locally administered umbrella program that delivers informational sessions pertaining to local, county, state and federal programs. Its objective is to inform and educate local residents and support the goal of healthy, fulfilling and happy lifestyles. All CARES events will be presented by subject matter experts who will be able to answer all questions pertaining to their topics. Other sessions in development are: Understanding The Affordable Care Act, Important Recordkeeping, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and Medicare Open Enrollment (in the fall).

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Canoe Enthusiast to Speak at Bernardsville Library

Ted Behne, a bark canoe enthusiast who lives in Berkeley Heights, will speak about his new book, The Travel Journals of Tappan Adney: 1887-1890, at Bernardsville Public Library on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 pm. With this book, Mr. Behne has edited the first published version of Tappan Adney’s first two journals which provide an insightful and well-written chronicle of a young American's first wilderness adventures, dating from more than 120 years ago. This talk will appeal to people who love history, the natural world, and the opportunity to vicariously share the author's experiences.

Tappan Adney is best known to canoeists who revere his monumental book, The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, and to Klondike gold rush history buffs, who acclaim his other book, The Klondike Stampede—the only well-known book on the gold rush written by someone who was actually there. Mr. Behne will discuss Adney’s long and colorful life, and listeners will meet Adney as a young man just setting out on the path he would follow for the rest of his life. The book also offers a trip back in time to experience the wilderness of New Brunswick, Canada as Adney saw it.

Adney was an American teenager in 1887, whose summer vacation turned into a lifelong love affair with Canada. He was a writer, artist and early photojournalist, who covered the Klondike gold rush for Harper's Weekly in 1897-98, as well as the Nome, Alaska gold rush in 1900. His book, The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, published by the Smithsonian in 1964, is credited with saving the birch bark canoe from oblivion and with sparking a renaissance in Native canoe building that continues to this day. Ted Behne’s interest in Adney began when he attended a birch bark canoe-building class in 1992, where Adney’s canoe book was mandatory reading.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Memoirs & Coffee Book Group to Meet

The next meeting of Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, March 22 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room. Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Coordinator for the library, will lead the discussion of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (2010) by Wes Moore. [The author will not be present.]

The book recounts the story of two boys with the same name, born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a year of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison for robbery and murder. The first Wes Moore wrote a letter to the imprisoned Wes Moore, and so began a lengthy correspondence. Their stories are told in the book in alternating dramatic narratives.

There is no charge to attend the book discussion, and no sign-up is needed. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Moms Mentoring Moms Meeting

Bring a bag lunch and your thoughts as Bernardsville Public Library hosts the third meeting of “Moms Mentoring Moms” on Wednesday, March 16 at 12 noon. Designed for parents of high school students, this program seeks to provide a forum in which parents can come together for an opportunity to interact with other parents to provide support and insight as they wade through the high school years with their children. Both Moms and Dads are welcome. The group will meet monthly with the next meeting scheduled for April 20 at 12:00 pm.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.