Staff Recommendation: A Poetry Handbook

If you're new to reading poetry and want to learn more about the structure, sound and imagery of the genre, Christine, a bookseller at Boulder Book Store, recommends Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook: "My professor had us purchase this book for a poetry class I took in college. Mary Oliver is not only a wonderful poet, but she is also good about explaining the method behind the language. What I liked especially about this particular book are the many examples pulled from familiar poetry to give each chapter more substance." This book teaches all aspects of the craft of poetry for readers and writers alike.

Staff Recommendation: Start Where You Are

Start Where You Are, by Pema Chodron

With so much emphasis on progress, it can be difficult to stop and take a break. Pema, in this excellent guide, explains how anyone can learn to create calm in their lives through meditation and awareness. This book is great for those who are new to meditation, long-time practitioners, and everyone in between.

Reviewed by: Mari

Bridge to Terabithia Book Discussion

Join us for our One Book One Boulder Bridge to Terabithia Bookclub on Wednesday, April 15th at 7pm. Our discussion will be held in the Upper North Room and is open to all ages.

One Book, One Boulder County is a community-wide reading program presented by Boulder County's Libraries, planned to bring the community together through the reading of a single book. One Book, One Boulder was initiated by the Boulder Public Library and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Staff Recommendation: Columbine

Columbine, by Dave Cullen

Denver author Dave Cullen offers what will certainly become essential in understanding the who/when/where (and most importantly, the "why") of the tragedy in Columbine. Cullen also assesses the media's reaction, tracing the origin of several myths and debunking them where appropriate. Columbine is riveting, engaging, sympathetic, well reasoned and thought provoking.

Reviewed by: Scott

The Architecture of Poetry

In Breaking the Alabaster Jar, a collection of interviews with poet Li-Young Lee, Lee elaborates on the craft of poetry with a stunning metaphor comparing poetry to architecture. Just like in architecture, he said, poetry is not so much about the materials you use (bricks/mortar, or words), but about space. You can use the same physical materials to create a number of different structures, but it's the use of space and silence that make the creations unique. In many ways, space and silence are what distinguish poetry from prose. Poetry is an excellent and meditative way to experience the lovely silences in life, to slow down and explore the spaces in language.

Staff Recommendation: The White Tiger

The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

This 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel is a delicious, irreverent tale of modern India told by Balram Halwai, a country peasant with no discernible morals or scruples. It is a scathing, savagely funny critique of both India's rural and urban cultures--at times sardonic, touching or philosophical but always illuminating. A great read.

Reviewed by: Harry

CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

T.S. Eliot said that "April is the cruelest month," so thank goodness that it's also National Poetry Month! Though some fear that its audience may be dwindling, the avid support at local poetry readings and bookclubs is evidence of the power of poetry.

Throughout April, a number of events in the community (and in the country!) will be taking place to celebrate National Poetry Month. The Boulder Book Store will be promoting it with displays, recommendations, readings, bookclubs, and more! Here's a list of great ways to celebrate:

• Buy a poetry book! Stop by and browse our wide selection of poetry books and anthologies. We recommend Donkey Gospels by Tony Hoagland, Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey, Fire to Fire by Mark Doty, Love Poems by Pablo Neruda, and Red Bird by Mary Oliver. Our in-store displays also offer a variety of other recommended poetry reading.

• Attend a reading: Amy Catanzano will read from her new poetry collection entitled Multiversal on Tuesday, April 14th at 7:30pm. Multiversal proposes a theory of quantum poetics, and invites readers to explore the intersections between language, nature, science, and consciousness. Multiversal takes its name from the multiverse, a science fiction concept that has become an accepted theory in physics. It suggests that reality comprises multiple dimensions in space and time. In form and content, this collection takes novel approaches to the materiality of language itself, to the spacetime of poems.

• Join the Living Poets Society Poetry Bookclub at Boulder Book Store. This bookclub meets in the Upper North Room of Boulder Book Store on the second Tuesday of every month (7pm) to discuss a book of poetry by a living author.

• Participate in Open Mic Poetry Readings (bring your own or someone else's) on Friday, April 17th at 7pm in the Upstairs Ballroom. Or just come to listen! This is a great chance to network with the local poetry community (meet your peers, start a bookclub or workshop group).

• Celebrate National Poem-In-Your-Pocket Day (April 30th) by taking a pocket-sized poem (available in the store), sharing it with your friends, passing it along, or memorizing it. You can also pick up a copy of the book Poem In Your Pocket by the Academy of American Poets (Abrams, $14.95), and share the poems with everyone you know!