Beverly Public Library

Following a project created by “Listen to the Wind” illustrator and co-author Susan Roth, on Saturday, February 27, from 1-3 PM each child will create a small self-portrait using collage that will “hold hands” with another child’s self-portrait – in Susan Roth’s words, “small ambassadors of friendship” creating a chain of goodwill, peace, and respect among diverse cultures.
Library staff and students from Montserrat College of Art will assist. If desired, a child’s self-portrait can then be sent to Susan Roth, who may exhibit the doll on her website or in an art exhibit, or even send it to a child in another country! All materials, including a doll form, will be supplied by the library. For more information visit www.susanlroth.com/letsholdhands/index.htm. Advance registration is required for this program. For age 5 and up.

Beverly writer Dawn Paul will read from her new novel, The Country of Loneliness, and discuss writing about family on February 24, 2010 from 7 -9 PM. Dawn’s reading will take place in the Sohier Room at the Beverly Public Library where she will also sell and sign copies of her book, proceeds to benefit the library. Refreshments will be served.

The Country of Loneliness tells two entwined stories, the suburban working-class girlhood of the narrator and the imagined boyhood of her father, who died when she was twenty-one. Self-described as an uneducated man, he believed he had nothing to teach his daughter, could only watch with hope and resentment as she moved beyond his world of factory work and local bars. The book pays tribute to the compassionate imagination and its power to create understanding and love between a father and daughter after long years of separation, fear and silence.

The date of this program has been changed due to inclement weather on February 10.

Check out more photos on our Flickr page.
Beverly Reads portraits courtesy of Alyse Gause Photography.

Paint your own ceramic tea cup Wednesday, February 17 from 2 – 3 PM! The library will provide all the materials you need to paint your very own design. After you are finished, we will take your cup to the Clay Dreaming Pottery Studio in Beverly for firing. When your teacup is ready, you may pick it up at the library.
This program is for children in grades 1 through 5.
This program is full, but names are being accepted for the wait list.

On Thursday, February 18 from 7:30 – 9 PM, North Shore native and Rotarian Rachel Williams, who travels annually to Pakistan, will give an illustrated talk about conditions there, and reflect on the ways in which Americans may have erroneous perceptions of Pakistan’s society and culture. For more information of Rachel’s work, please visit her blog.