December and January Book Club

Given the end of the year busyness, I thought it would be nice to have a change in pace for the Book Club.

As OSU Urban Arts Space will be closing on December 19th and reopening on January 5th, the next meeting will be Wednesday January 27th, 2010 from noon to 1pm. With that in mind, I am announcing the December and January selections.

December – Audio and Visual Poetry

When I was in elementary school, it was customary during the month of December for my principal to read inspirational and entertaining stories during the morning announcements. Something about the cold weather made being read to very inviting. The reading assignment for December then is to let someone else read to you, or to try a different reading experience.

Poets.org, from the Academy of American Poets, offers free audio clips of poetry read by the poets. Most of the audio clips are from contemporary poems such as Mark Halliday’s “Google Me Soon”, but a few classics such as Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” are available as well. There is also a section of poets reading other poets' works, so you can hear familiar pieces by Emily Dickinson, for example, read by Poet Laureate Consultant Kay Ryan.

I realize that audio poetry might not speak to everyone, so feel free to try visual poetry. In visual poetry, the placement, shape, and look of the words on paper reinforce or convey additional meaning. Did you know that The Ohio State University has an Avant Garde Writing Collection? Follow this link to download a free sample of the works available in the Avant Garde Poetry Collection.

January – Pontoon by Garrison Keillor

“In Lake Wobegon lives a good Lutheran lady who is quite prepared to die and wishes to be cremated and her ashes placed inside a bowling ball and dropped into the lake, no prayers, no hymns, thank you very much. Meanwhile, the Detmer girl returns from California where she has made a killing in veterinary aromatherapy to marry her boyfriend Brent aboard Wally's pontoon boat, presided over by her minister, Misty Naylor of the Sisterhood of the Sacred Spirit. Brent arrives on Thursday. On Saturday, a delegation of renegade Lutheran pastors from Denmark come to town on their tour of America, their punishment for having denied the divinity of Jesus. And Barbara Peterson, whose mother, Evelyn, left the startling note about cremation and the bowling ball, is in love with a lovely fat man who slips around town in the dim light and reconnoiters with her at the Romeo Motel…. It is Lake Wobegon as you've imagined it--good loving people who drive each other slightly crazy.” (Product Review from Amazon.com)

Garrison Keillor’s variety radio show called “A Prairie Home Companion” has been capturing listeners for 35 years. Included with each broadcast is Keillor’s news report about Lake Wobegon, his fictitious hometown where "All the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average". Pontoon is the fifth installation of a novel series about the town. But don't worry if you haven't read the previous books, you won't miss a beat.

Please, join me on this literary adventure during our winter season.

Thank you, and keep reading.


What: OSU Urban Arts Space Book Club
Where: Online during the month of December. Join us at 50 West Town Street, Downtown Columbus for our January meeting.
When: January 27th, 2010 from noon to 1:00pm

-Nicole Eggert, Operations Student Assistant