English-As-A-Second-Language (ESL) Classes

Bernardsville Public Library’s next session of English-As-A-Second-Language (ESL) classes will begin on Monday, September 15. Classes will be offered on Mondays and Thursdays at both 3:00 pm and 7:15 pm and will run for ten sessions (through November 20). There is no charge to attend and students may sign up for more than one timeslot if they wish. Concurrent activities for children aged three and up are available during the evening sessions.

At the first session, students will be divided into small groups based on their native language and their facility with English. The classes will follow a variety of formats including lessons and practice, and conversation and role playing daily tasks that have to be executed in English. Trained community volunteers teach the classes.  Community members who would like to volunteer as teachers are encouraged to call the library at 908-766-0118.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance registration is requested. Registration is optional.  Go to www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 for more information or to sign up.

A Life of My Own: Meeting Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, with her passion for social justice and sensitivity to the underprivileged, was an inspiration to people all around the world. At Bernardsville Public  Library on Sunday, September 14 at 2:00 pm, in this one-woman play by Stephen LaRocque, actress Linda Kenyon assumes Mrs. Roosevelt’s voice, gestures, warmth and engaging personal touches and illuminates some of the steps along her life’s journey.

Ellie Seagraves, Eleanor Roosevelt's granddaughter, said of the show, "Linda has the ER voice, gestures, warmth and engaging personal touches of ER. What Linda does with this role is the best I've seen or heard any place." 

Ms. Kenyon is an experienced television, stage and film actress whose special skills include impersonations of Eleanor Roosevelt and Babe Didrikson as well as Julia Child. She received her training on the Arena Stage (Norman Gevanthor), the Folger Theatre (Franchelle Dorn), and the Poet & Peasant Professional Actors’ Workshop.

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

Yoga Basics Classes at Bernardsville Library

In a partnership of Bernardsville Library and Bernardsville Recreation, a six-session course on yoga basics will be offered in the library's Community Room on Tuesdays, September 9 to October 14 at 1:00 pm. Taught by Julie Shaw of Lotus Mind and Body, the total cost for the 6-week session is $30.00. Registration is required through Bernardsville Recreation’s Community Pass portal, https://register.communitypass.net/bernardsville. Students should bring a yoga mat or towel with them to class.
  
Suitable for all students, the classes will offer an integrated sequence of poses designed to warm up the body and then work toward a specific intention within the natural movements of the spine. Students are encouraged throughout the entire practice to link their awareness of breath to the movements of the body. This awareness is the single most important key to a Hatha yoga practice because it serves to keep the practitioner in the present movement, observing and accepting what is. Pranayama (breath work) and a final deep relaxation are integral to every class.

Some twenty-five years ago, Instructor Shaw's long commute in a car with a cranky clutch resulted in back pain. She looked up “yoga” in the yellow pages and stepped into so much more than an exercise class. Fourteen years later she completed her first level Yoga Alliance-approved teacher training, followed six years later by her second level training.  She began teaching more than 10 years ago and has studied several primary forms of yoga, including Iyengar, Kripalu and Viniyoga. Currently, she is studying to become a certified yoga therapist in the Viniyoga tradition, which is one of the remaining truly authentic yoga traditions. She teaches group classes and works privately with individuals, developing a yoga practice which can best serve their needs, whatever their condition may be. Ms. Shaw has had the privilege of experiencing the cumulative effects of decades of yoga, and she uses that awareness to encourage all students, beginners or veterans, to be open to what yoga can offer in this moment of their lives.  

For further information, call Bernardsville Library at 908-766-0118 or Bernardsville Recreation at 908-766-2546.

Saturday Samplers Book Group to Discuss "Motherless Brooklyn"

Bernardsville Library’s book group, Saturday Samplers, will meet Saturday, September 6 at 3:30 pm to discuss “Motherless Brooklyn” (1999) by Jonathan Lethem.  [The author will not be present.]

Mr. Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and went to Bennington College. His first novel, "Gun, with Occasional Music," a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. "Motherless Brooklyn," published in 1999, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, The Macallan Gold Dagger for crime fiction, and the Salon Book Award; it was named book of the year by Esquire whose reviewer described it as "The best novel of the year… Utterly original and deeply moving." In 2003, Lethem published "The Fortress of Solitude," which became a New York Times Best Seller. In 2005, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.

"Motherless Brooklyn" is a return for the author to the detective theme. The book's protagonist, Lionel Essrog, is an orphan whose Tourette's syndrome drives him to bark, count, and rip apart the English language in startling and original ways. Together with three veterans of the St. Vincent's Home for Boys, he works for small-time mobster Frank Minna's limo service cum detective agency. When Frank is fatally stabbed, Lionel's world is suddenly topsy-turvy, and this outcast who has trouble even conversing attempts to untangle the threads of the case while trying to keep the words straight in his head.
  
Led by Program/PR 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.

Splendid Life Meditation Group To Meet at Bernardsville Library

Basking Ridge resident Fauzia Burke will lead the next monthly guided meditation session at Bernardsville Public Library on Friday, September 5 at 10:00 am.  Ms. Burke’s style of meditation incorporates many cultural traditions and uses the power of word and imagery to facilitate a meditative experience; there is no right or wrong way, no particular way to sit, or words to say.  Each experience is honored as unique and can help reduce stress, generate creativity, and create positive energy.  

“Our intention for these gatherings is to find peace and serenity through a practice of regular meditations, and to develop a community for support and friendship,” says Ms. Burke.  She has been meditating for over 15 years and leading meditation groups for twelve years. By day, she is the President and Founder of FSB Associates, an Internet marketing firm that promotes books and authors on the Web.  She lives in Basking Ridge with her husband and two daughters, and volunteers to lead the Splendid Life meditations in an effort to help others achieve the peace of mind and inspiration that she has found through meditation. 

There is no charge to attend the program, and no sign-up is required.  No experience in meditation is necessary.  Bring a journal and pen, and wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing.  For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Photographs by Arthur Krasinsky on Exhibit at Bernardsville Public Library in September

Stonehenge

Somethings In My Eye: Photographs From Around The World is an exhibition of photographs by Arthur Krasinsky on view during the month of September at Bernardsville Public Library.  The photographs are a selection of those he has taken in places he has traveled for his work and since being semi-retired.  They range in subject from New Zealand to Iceland.

Mr. Krasinsky, a resident of Marlboro, is a freelance photographer with over 35 years' experience in editorial, industrial and event photography for major media outlets, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profit groups.  He has had the experience of photographing three U.S. Presidents, various foreign heads of state and chief executives of major corporations, and has received awards from both the New York and New Jersey Art Directors Clubs.  His assignments took him to Latin America and Europe to photograph various industrial and corporate locations for use in annual reports and other company publications.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Krasinsky was invited to The White House as part of the lift-off team for the National Reading Council.  Inspired by an idea to produce low-cost reading games, he invented and produced “Label & Learn” which received nationwide attention and helped over 18,000 children to start to read. “Alphabet Scholar,” based on the card game Concentration, was another product he created.
This exhibition will be on view in the library’s Community Room from August 30 to September 29 during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress.  For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.

The "Can-Do" Connection

The next meeting of The “Can-Do” Connection will convene at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, August 27 at 7:00 pm.  In this workshop led by Professional Inspirer Andrea Mastrobattista, you will learn how to love the work tasks you hate. 

Ms. Mastrobattista has been leading her inspirational workshops on Wednesday evenings at the library since 2006.  She heads a company called Operation INSPIRATION and also facilitates workshops in the Somerset Hills such as "Facing Your Fears" and "Transforming Negatives Into Positives" in which she helps people to fully form their goals and develop a strong can-do attitude for achieving them.  Her core belief is that, no matter what circumstances people face, they have the strength and ability to create and live fulfilling and inspiring lives.  She also owns Golden Slipper Productions, a company which creates websites and promotional materials for small and mid-sized businesses.

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