Annual Southern Oregon Reading Another Success

The Rogue Valley’s 2016 William Stafford Birthday Celebration was held at Southern Oregon University January 21, in the same room it has been for the last eighteen years.
An unplanned theme of opposition to the take-over of the Malheur Refuge was set for the program with the opening reading of Stafford’s “Malheur Before Dawn” and sung by Daniel Sperry, Jeffri Lynn Carrington of the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers, and Anna Christensen of Montana Soul. Poets carried the theme further with poems of reconciliation and reason.
Claudia Alick, producer of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show for eight years and organizer of regular open mic rap and hip-hop readings, gave a dramatic, gospel-voice reading of “A Ritual to Read to Each Other.” She accomplished what makes us eager for each of these events: the opportunity to hear even favorite poems in new voices giving us renewed insight into William Stafford’s work.
Other featured poets were Kathleen Pyle, Steve Dieffenbacher, Kim Hamilton, Dan Kaufman, and James Anderson. Thirteen from the audience also read Stafford poems, seven attending their first William Stafford Birthday Celebration.
This event was again co-sponsored by Friends of William Stafford and Friends of Hannon Library with this year’s attendance at 107.
By Patty Wixon

Save the Date!

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Get your calendars out and mark the date! The 2016 Book Fest is set for Saturday, October 8. This will be our 5th annual festival, and we’re looking forward to rolling out a great event for the wonderful literary community of Southern Oregon. We’ll have some blasts from the past as well as exciting changes, so stay tuned for more information.

Save the Date postcard

If you would like to be on our mailing list for announcements, including early notification when applications open, send an email to libraryevents@sou.edu.

William Stafford Birthday Reading

Join the Friends of Hannon Library as they honor and celebrate former Oregon Poet Laureate, William Stafford, and his 102nd birthday with an outpouring of creativity.

January 21, 2016
7:00-9:00 PM
Meese Room

Cellist and composer Daniel Sperry will begin the program, putting two of Stafford’s poems to music, followed by readings from local poets. This year’s featured poets are Claudia Alick, James Anderson, Kim Hamilton, Dan Kauffman, Kathleen Pyle, and Steve Dieffenbacher.

Audience members are invited to join in and read a favorite Stafford poem. The program will conclude with a film excerpt of William Stafford reading and talking about his writing.

This event is free and open to the public. Limited seating is available. For more information, contact Hannon Library at 541-552-6816 or libraryevents@sou.edu.

Cosponsored by the Friends of William Stafford

Julie Has Lived an Incredible Life

JulieHelmandollar

Julie Helmandollar with her favorite book, Hamlet

Julie Helmandollar has lived an incredible life. She graduated high school with an associate’s degree at age 16. She is now 22 and already has worked as an English professor, taught beginning professors how to teach, and is now the coordinator for SOU’s Tutoring Center, an integral part of the Learning Commons at Hannon Library.

Helmandollar is ready for the new job. “This is kind of my dream job and my dream location,” she explains. “I have a lot of family history and interest in Ashland and the area.” With roots in Ashland extending back to the pioneer era, the Ashland area is close to her heart. Her great-great grandmother’s family traveled the Oregon Trail and settled in Ashland. “So we have family tombstones in the graveyard, and I had a great-great uncle that taught at the university.”

As someone that is finishing up her master thesis in English literature, it’s exciting for her to be in the middle of the culture of Ashland. Helmandollar says, “I’m a big book fanatic, so my perfect day is sitting down with a big book.” She continued, “I specialized in Renaissance literature and drama, which is partially why I’m tied to Ashland.”

Her inner bookworm is thrilled to be at Hannon Library. As her mother put it, “after hours you can play with all the books in the library.”

Julie is truly a motivated, fun, and inspirational worker, and we’re just as thrilled to have her with us.

By Alex Mesadieu

The Legacy of John Trudell

LinesfromaMinedMind

Fulcrum Press, 2008

John Trudell (b. Feb. 15, 1946 – d. Dec. 8, 2015) was a Native activist and poet that made history in 1969 when he and a group of Native American activists occupied Alcatraz Island for over a year. This action led to the American Indian Movement (AIM) and other prominent Native American rights initiatives.

Trudell was also an extensive writer, recording artist, actor, and the creator of the Hempstead Project Heart.  He has written three poetry chapbooks and has recorded numerous albums of his poetry set to traditional Native music.

“Our responsibility is to use our intelligence as clearly and coherently as we possibly can.” ~John Trudell

You can find a number of works by or about Trudell here at Hannon Library, including his most recent book Lines From a Mined Mind: The Words of John Trudell. Visit the library today and learn more about this intrepid man.

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