Month: March 2022

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National Poetry Month

National Poetry Month

by Rhonna Hargett, Associate Director of Learning and Information Services

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” Rita Dove aptly described her art as she accepted the position of our nation’s Poet Laureate in 1993. As I read poetry collections, I find it striking how many forms of literature are represented in each book. In just a few pages, one skips through history, memoir, and romance. This makes poetry an effective way to explore the world through other perspectives. Poetry also has the unique ability to capture the ordinary and celebrate it.

In “How to Hang the Moon,” Huascar Medina, the Kansas Poet Laureate, writes about love, family, and, of course, Kansas. His poems take us from the fields of rural Kansas in “Per Aspera Ad Astra” to the streets of Kansas City in “Surrogate City,” exploring what it means to be a Kansan, even when one isn’t born here. Medina’s true gift, though, is his ability to capture the small moments in life with poems of streetlights, jazz, cicadas, and cats. His occasional incorporation of Spanish only adds to the exquisite rhythm of his writing.

Rita Dove is one of the most well-known American poets of our time, and her reputation is well-deserved. Throughout her 2021 book “Playlist for the Apocalypse”, we get an insider’s view into the perspective of a Black woman on many aspects of history and current events, such as the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which killed four young Black girls. She also draws from her time living in Venice, Italy to create a series of poems about the origins of the word “ghetto” with the Jews that were relocated in 1516 in Venice. Another series explores illness and pain, somehow managing to find grace in the midst of both. Dove is a creative writing professor at the University of Virginia, and her expertise shines through in her ability to switch between formats to find the best fit for each subject.

Our current U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, visited K-State in the fall of 2020. Since she lives in nearby Tulsa, she regularly makes appearances in Kansas. As a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she interprets the Trail of Tears in her 2019 collection “An American Sunrise.” Harjo’s book is a brilliant mixture of historical detail and the lingering effect of history on the lives of the descendants.

Another Poet Laureate (2004-2006) that hails from close to home is Ted Kooser, from Garland, Nebraska. Kooser’s trademark is his ability to capture the smallest moments, like an estate sale or coming across a frog on his porch, and find the beauty and human condition that lives within them. His folksy style and rural topics will be very familiar to Kansans, but he has a gift for noticing details that others pass by.

If you’ve wandered away from poetry and are interested in but tentative about returning to the genre, it might help to return to what you may have experienced in your high school English classes. The poetry of Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and William Wordsworth are still alive and well (and available at your public library). We even have a series called “Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets” with collections from some recognizable poets and selections on love and other popular poetry topics. If you prefer to listen, we have poetry available in both audio CD and digitally, with my favorite being “Voices of Poetry” on Hoopla, featuring poets such as Tolkein, cummings, and Hughes reading their own works.

April is National Poetry Month, and we are celebrating at Manhattan Public Library with our ReadMHK program. Join us by attending our book discussion on April 14th, listening to our ReadMHK podcast, or finding a new poet in our book lists, all available at www.mhklibrary.org.

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History Through the Graphic Novel’s Lens

History Through the Graphic Novel’s Lens

by Rachel Cunningham, Circulation Supervisor

After several years of working at Manhattan Public Library, I have come to terms with the dilemma of too many books and not enough time. Recommendations come from patrons, co-workers, and publications, snowballing into an avalanche of unobtainable “to read” lists. However, in January of this year, I decided to work towards two neglected genres – history/memoirs and graphic novels.

To begin, I checked out the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel, “Maus.” I had no idea that a few days later the McMinn County Schools in Tennessee would vote to remove the graphic novel from its eighth-grade curriculum. This decision sparked immediate controversy, shooting the book to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list. Readers were eager to find a copy of the contested book, and I had the library’s coveted copy in my possession. Within days, I devoured the two volumes where the artist, Art Spiegelman, interviews his father about his experience during World War II, surviving Auschwitz and Dachau with Art’s mother. Spiegelman also depicts the strained relationship between himself and his father, as well as his own struggles with the publicity and success of the first volume: “My Father Bleeds History”. The series provides an intimate view into a life ravaged by war and otherness.

I had gained so much insight through “Maus,” that I decided to continue to explore graphic novel memoirs that spoke to historical events. I came across the series “March” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. The novel opens with a scene from the 1965 march on Edmund Pettus Bridge. The novel then jumps to Lewis in his office in Washington D.C., preparing for the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. Before departing, a mother stops by his office with her boys, and they ask about Lewis’s history. Beginning in Pike County, Alabama, Lewis details his rural upbringing in the segregated South. Spending his free time proselytizing to chickens, Lewis knew he was different from his brothers and sisters. After a summer trip to New York with his uncle, Lewis realizes that life can be different than what he’s learned to accept. As a young adult, Lewis joins Fellowship of Reconciliation (F.O.R.), which focuses on social change through non-violence and passive resistance. Lewis and others took part in the sit-ins at Woolworth lunch counter, where only whites were served. Although the group was arrested for disturbing the peace, the downtown stores served black customers for the first time on May 10, 1960. “March” provides an honest rendering of the difficulty of passive resistance paired with the victories that followed.

Another ugly period of American history is delicately discussed in “They Called Us Enemy.” My American History class quickly glossed over the reality of “internment” camps during World War II. Hoping to gain a better understanding through his experience, I began reading George Takei’s graphic novel memoir. Written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Soctt with art by Harmony Becker, “They Called Us Enemy” begins with the removal of Takei’s family from their home under Executive Order 9066. The novel pairs the disturbing reality the adults faced with the enchantment and imagination of Takei and his younger siblings. “Memory is a wiley keeper of the past…usually dependable, but at times, deceptive. Childhood memories are especially slippery. Sweet and so full of joy, they can often be a misrendering of the truth…I know that I will always be haunted by the larger, vaguely remembered reality of circumstances surrounding my childhood.” Takei details the life of his family and their determination to acclimate to their new existence in Arkansas at Camp Rohwer. Sometimes heartbreaking, other times whimsical, the novel details life inside the camp, their relocation to radicalized Camp Tule Lake in California, and life after the camp’s closure. Takei ends the graphic novel by pointing out the ongoing issues with immigration in America, closing with a quote from former President Barack Obama, “Justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other. That my liberty depends on you being free, too. That history can’t be a sword to justify injustice, or a shield against progress, but must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.”

Interested in getting started? There are many other graphic novels within the library’s collection to explore historical events like “Kent State” by Derf Backderf and “The Great American Dust Bowl” and “Drowned City” by Don Brown. You can check out other graphic novels on Hoopla Digital with your library card, too!

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New Children’s Books in Bloom

New Children’s Books in Bloom

by Laura Ransom, Children’s Program Coordinator

I am looking forward to seeing spring flowers pop up around our city. Some beautiful, new children’s books at the library have inspired me to keep on waiting for spring to bloom.

Have You Ever Seen a Flower?” by Shawn Harris was chosen as a 2022 Caldecott Honor Book. This distinguished award honors some of the best illustrated picture books from the previous year. Harris asks the reader if they have seen a flower, but also if they have ever been a flower. The girl in the story grows along with the flowers around her, and the book offers a unique way to think about our relationship to the natural world. I am also drawn to the bright orange and pink hues Harris features in his illustrations.

No Bunnies Here!” by Tammi Sauer is a hilarious story set in Bunnyville, the Land of a Thousand Bunnies. One day a very big wolf comes to town, and a fearful bunny quickly tries to convince him to leave. All of the bunnies somehow transform into unicorns, comfy pillows, lamps, and puppies. The wolf finally gets a chance to explain why he’s searching for bunnies, and it turns out he is in desperate need of a friend! This funny twist makes the story even more fun to read together.

Kids can learn facts about flowers, seeds, and animals in “Outside, You Notice” by Erin Alladin. This picture book shows kids and families walking near a stream in a forest, picking strawberries from their own backyard garden, and discovering colorful produce at the farmer’s market. Facts about nature are included on each page. I learned that broccoli is actually a flower!

If you like the nonfiction series “You Wouldn’t Want to Be…”, you will probably enjoy “How Would You Survive as a Bee?” by David Stewart. Other books in the series feature polar bears, lions, and killer whales. The text challenges the reader to imagine their life as a bee, buzzing from flower to flower, living in a colony, and watching out for predators along the way. Real-life photographs of beekeepers and a “bee quiz” about the book’s content are fun features near the end of the book.

Small but Mighty: Why Earth’s Tiny Creatures Matter” by Kendra Brown highlights small animals that make a big difference in the environment. Leafcutter ants are titled “Fungus Farmers” because they use leaves to make fungus gardens in tropical rain forests. Termites are “Nature’s Engineers” that build giant mounds filled with soil-enriching nutrients. The mounds can reach a height of 17 feet. Brown also talks about cookie cutter sharks, millipedes, krill, and more tiny creatures.

My favorite new picture book is “She Heard the Birds: The Story of Florence Merriam Bailey” by Andrea D’Aquino. Florence explored the outdoor world with her family throughout her childhood in the 1860s. She loved listening to bird songs and learning each of their names. While she was in college, a fashion trend swept through the United States and Europe: wearing hats decorated with exotic bird feathers. This was so disturbing to Florence that she and her classmates decided to do something about it. They encouraged people to boycott bird-decorated hats and fought for the preservation of birds in the wild. Florence went on to become the first woman fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union in 1929 and author ten books. I appreciate her pioneering spirit in a field that wasn’t very welcoming to women. Florence’s concern for the life of birds is very inspiring because I enjoy bird-watching as well!

For more great children’s book recommendations, stop by the library, give us a call at 785-776-4741 ext. 400, or email kidstaff@mhklibrary.org.

by Alyssa Yenzer Alyssa Yenzer No Comments

Read MHK Young Adult Books by Female Authors

Read MHK Young Adult Books by Female Authors

by Alissa Rehmert, Library Assistant

A wise woman once sang, “Who run the world? Girls! Who run the world? Girls! Who run the world? Girls!” Beyoncé’s words ring truer and truer as time goes on. Since the time Beyoncé released “Run the World (Girls),” the percentage of female authors went from 46% to 50% in a span of just eight years (Zippia “Author Statistics and Facts in the U.S.”). The more that women share their stories with the world, whether fiction or non-fiction, the more society benefits. Now more than ever before, women authors have the opportunity to give new and fresh perspectives, while also highlighting uniquely feminine struggles and urging readers to make changes.

The representation of women authors is particularly important when it comes to young adult literature. Being a teenage girl can be difficult, but having access to the stories of women who have endured similar hardships may help guide young adults through their own struggles. When I was a teen, I, like many young women, found sanctuary in the written word. Women authors like Suzanne Collins, J.K Rowling, and Stephanie Meyer greatly influenced my teen, and even young adult, life. Since I graduated high school, several more women authors have pushed out thousands of novels with just as much power!

One such author is Mindy McGinnis, an award-winning novelist who writes dark, gritty YA fiction perfect for teens eager for introspection and deep contemplation. Her 2016 novel, “The Female of the Species”, is, simply put, the story of Alex, a teenage girl who must find a way to survive high school after mourning the untimely death of her older sister. Of course, that’s how the story seems on the surface, but, like most things in life, there is more to the story than the veneer. Throughout the story, McGinnis highlights the struggles that come from simply being an adolescent girl facing the challenges that come with the modern world. Whether it be cheating boyfriends, mean girls, drug and alcohol use, or striving for vengeance against the man who murdered your sister: McGinnis addresses it all.

Through Alex’s story, McGinnis invites her audience to consider the bigger societal expectations placed upon adolescents, particularly women, as they make the inevitable move from childhood to adulthood. What does it mean to be a woman? How does the human woman fit within the animal kingdom as a whole? How far might a woman go to protect those she loves? These are just a few of the topics McGinnis ponders through her novel. There are many graphic scenes depicted throughout this fast-paced novel, but McGinnis doesn’t exploit these violent situations for mere shock value, rather utilizing them in an effort to highlight societal issues that often mirror real-life stories. Alex is the type of woman who isn’t afraid to stand up for the people she loves, even if it might entail social alienation. I personally wish I would have read a book like this when I was younger and naiver to the dangers of the world around me!

McGinnis’ genius didn’t stop there, though! Just last year, she released a new YA novel titled “The Initial Insult,” which acts as a sort of homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story, “The Cask of Amontillado.” In it, Tress Montor loses her entire family under mysterious circumstances. Montor’s best friend, Felicity Turnado, holds the key to finding out where Montor’s family is, only she can’t remember anything from that night. This suspenseful mystery is sure to pull you in quickly and keep you guessing what might happen next. What’s even more exciting is that this novel has an upcoming sequel called “The Last Laugh” which releases this month, March 15, 2022.

Whether you kick back and listen to Beyoncé or crack open a new YA novel by an up-and-coming female author, make sure to find time this month to celebrate the hard-working, world-running women around you!

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