Last Big Read Event at Library

The film Willa Cather: The Road is All will be shown on Monday, May 19 at the Fremont Public Library. It will start at 7:00 p.m. All ages are welcome; there is no need to register. The film is a 2005 PBS program, part of the American Masters series. It runs 90 minutes and it is not rated. It tells the life story of Willa Cather, hightlighting the influences of the Nebraska frontier on her work.

Mark Dvorak in Concert Monday, May 12, 7:00 pm

Mark has been called "one of a vanishing breed", a modern day troubadour who has never stopped performing, writing, and recording. His most recent CD, Every Step of the Way, features 10 well-crafted and poignant originals and was hailed as one of Waterbug's outstanding releases of 2006. Dvorak has been called a folk singer's folk singer who has an encyclopedic knowledge of traditional songs and is a superb guitarist and banjo picker. Dvorak continues to be a member of the faculty of Chicago's Old Town of Folk Music. Dvorak also is a member of WeaverMania! a musical tribute to the Weavers.
No one spins a yarn or sings an old timey song with more skill and respect than Mark Dvorak. He's a builder of the folk world, in Chicago, the region, and the continent.--Bill's Blues
One of a vanishing breed...Although all of us benefit from the tradition, Dvorak is one of the few who keep it alive.--Utah Phillips
A modern day troubadour and Chicago folk treasure...equal parts Big Bill Broonzy, Win Stracke and Art Thieme---Chicago Second Sunday.
From his website www.markdvorak.com

Come here him play here at the library on Monday, May 12, at 7:00 p.m. All ages are welcome. Hear his music at www.markdvorak.com

Lee Murdock Concert on Monday, May 5, 7:00p.m.

Here's some of the reviews given to Lee Murdock and his music:
"The premier interpreter of songs and tales about the Great Lakes … Murdock's regionalist approach does the area proud." Paul-Emile Comeau, Dirty Linen Magazine
“A fine job of recreating history and holding it up to a poet’s light.”
–Sing Out! Magazine
“History, mood, wonderful arranging. Murdock’s intelligence and detail are a joy to listen to.” –George Francis Maida, WCVE Radio, Richmond, VA

And a little about Lee Murdock:
"Noted as a fluent instrumentalist on the six and twelve string guitars, Murdock combines ragtime, Irish, blues and folk styles with his flair for storytelling in songs. His musical influences span fifteen generations. Murdock began his folk career in the Chicago area in the mid 1970’s, expanding his repertoire of blues and popular music as his interest in folk music and the maritime tradition grew.
Murdock's songs create an unforgettable image of commerce and recreation as they coexist on the Great Lakes today, with huge cargo ships traversing vital shipping lanes while pleasure craft of all types and sizes share the waters along America's fourth coast. Probably the most popular Great Lakes ballad was written by Gordon Lightfoot in 1975, following The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the big cargo freighters which are characteristic of the Great Lakes shipping industry. Murdock fans have discovered a treasury in his other songs about the Great Lakes, too, finding drama and inspiration in the lives of sailors and fishermen, lighthouse keepers, ghosts, shipwrecks, outlaws and everyday heroes. His focus on Great Lakes music began as a simple interest in finding the folk songs from his own local history. From the beginning, the songs he discovered have filled a void, as audiences quickly embraced these songs and asked for more. With a deeper understanding of the folk process, Lee's repertoire combines historical research and contemporary insights. Murdock's work is both documentary and also a contemporary anthem to the people who live, work and play along the Great Lakes today." from his website www.leemurdock.com

You may wish to go to Lee's website; you can listen his music. After you listen, you will want to attend Monday night's concert. His concert is for all ages to enjoy.

BookMarkers Discussion of My Antonia

The library's BookMarkers group met tonight to discuss My Antonia by Willa Cather. We spoke briefly about Willa Cather's life. Much of her work is based on her childhood experiences in Nebraska. Willa and her family, like Jim, left Virginia to travel to Nebraska by railroad. Willa was 9; Jim was 10. Willa's good friend Annie Pavelka inspired Antonia. Annie's father inspired Antonia's father. Both fathers were musicians; both could not adapt to the United States. About 2 years after Willa's family arrived at their Nebraska farm; they, like Jim and his grandparents, moved into town. Willa's Red Cloud echoed Jim's Black Hawk. We appreciated Willa's vivid description of the land, remembering how Jim described the country as "running....the whole prairie like bush burned with fire....She (Antonia) had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting....Sunflowers made a gold ribbon across the prairie." Several individuals recalled the immigrant experiences of their grandparents and great grandparents in Nebraska and other places in the Midwest. All agreed that Willa accurately described the hardships immigrants faced in adapting to their new country.
Please contact the library if you would like a staff member to facilitate your book discussion. The next facilitated discussion will be held on Wednesday, May 7 at the Mundelein Senior Center. It will start at 7:00 p.m.

Big Read Pictures

Today's Book Discussion Success

We had a lively book discussion this afternoon. We talked about several ideas and themes, including the novel's introduction, style, tone, setting, and characters. We thought that the novel gave a realistic view of the hardships faced by new immigrants and farmers on the prairie. We enjoyed Cather's vivid descriptions; we shared favorite parts of the book with one another. Everyone liked the book, and some said that reading Cather's My Antonia made them want to go back and read the American classics. The library has Cather's works and many more classics. If you don't find something on the shelf, ask a staff member to search other library catalogs.
Our next book discussion is on Tuesday, April 22, at 7:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Discussion Questions to Consider

Our first book discussion at the library is tomorrow afternoon, April 17,starting at 2:30 p.m. Please drop in.

Here are some questions to consider:
Whose story is this novel's: Jim's or Antonia's?

Jim tells his train companion:“I didn’t have time to arrange it (his story). I simply wrote down pretty much all that her name recalls to me. I suppose it hasn’t any form." Is Jim's description accurate? What effect does Cather produce by telling her story through dramatic episodes?

What relevance does the novel have today, and what does it reveal to us about our past?

Why is Mr. Shimerda unable to adapt to his new home? Does his background and education prevent him from adapting to the harshness and solitude of Nebraska's prairie?