Books, Glorious Books

William "Bill" Ryczek, who by day is a banker but at night, his thoughts (often) turn to baseball. And, not just Yankees/Red Sox but the origins of the sport. Popular myth has it that Abner Doubleday created the game, an assumption that even the Civil War General denied and there has been a group of books in the past few years discussing the origins of the sport.

Mr. Ryczek, who is the President of the Middlesex County Historical Society Board of Directors, has just issued the final book in his trilogy about the early decades of the national pastime (surpassed in the past few years, in the minds of some people, by football and partisan politics.) "Baseball's First Inning" (McFarland & Company) covers the years of the 19th Century leading up to and through the Civil War and his extensive research will give lovers, fans and even disinterested bystanders an excellent feel for the origins of the game. (Click here to read an fine review of the book.)

This evening (12/03), the author will be signing copies of his latest book from 5 - 7 p.m. in Broad Street Books. Chances are good he'll read a excerpt or 2. The event is free and open to the public.

As for books of all shapes, sizes and subjects, the Friends of the Russell Library holds its Annual Holiday Book Sale Friday December 4 through Monday December 7 (except Sunday.) This is a great opportunity to find used books at an excellent price, items you can keep for yourself or pass on to friends at the Holidays. The event takes place in the Children's Activity Room and the hours coincide with the Library's hours of operation (Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Monday 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.)
The proceeds from this and all other Friends' activities go to fund special projects (such as the great Concert series) that the Russell Library produces. See, you can get lost in a book and do a good deed at the same time.

Vote First, Then Make Plans to Attend Area Events

The title of this post is about as political as I get but it's worth noting how many people ignore their right to vote. I'd like to believe most if not all of you care about this community and that there is someone running who you share views with (whether that person is running for the Board of Education, the Common Council, Board of Education or Mayor.)

Alright, remove my feet from the stirrups, off my high horse and on to the arts.

Tuesday November 3:
Reward yourself for doing your civic duty and head down to Broad Street Books tonight at 7 p.m. for a reading featuring poet Rennie McQuilken. McQuilken, founder of Antrim House Poetry books and longtime organizer of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, is a fine poet and excellent reader whose work has been published in numerous publications. He's also issued 5 books of poetry including his latest "The Weathering." If you want a taste of what the poet will read, he'll be on WESU-88.1FM at 6:15 p.m. Either way, Rennie McQuilken is worth taking your time to discover. For more information, call the Book Store at 685-7323 or go to www.antrimhousebooks.com.

Here's one of his poems, courtesy of Antrim House Books:

THE LIGHTERS

for my mother

In her eighty-ninth year she’s reducing
her inventory—china to the children, mementos
to the trash—but in her boudoir
keeps half a dozen square-shouldered Zippos,

on one her husband’s initials,
the best man’s on another, the rest anyone’s guess.
Dry-chambered, their rusted spark wheels stalled,
they are lined up gravely on a jewelry chest

full of antique gap-toothed keys with elaborate
scrollwork on their hilts, fit to open
high-backed steamer trunks, perhaps the door
to a sunken garden

where every night the dry-bones come
in mothballed flannels and hand-knit sweaters
to roll their own, light up
like fireflies and, sotto voce, remember her.

Wednesday November 4:
The Middle Eastern Studies Program at Wesleyan presents a new Film Series and its inaugural presentation is "The Band's Visit" ("Bikur Ha-Tizmoret"), a 2007 Israeli film that has won nummerous awards. Director and screenwriter Eran Kolirin tells the story of an Egyptian musical ensemble, the fictitious Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, who go to play a concert in an Arab Cultural Center in a small town in the Negev Desert and end up stranded without a place to spend the night. Without overtly discussing Arab-Israeli relations, the movie brilliantly shows how people interact and survive in the midst of conflict. The screening takes place in Wesleyan's Hansel Lecture Hall or PAC 001 - the event is free and open to the public. No contact information has been posted but the movie is well worth seeing.

The Distinguished Writers Program at Wesleyan presents poet and photographer Thomas Sayers Ellis for an 8 p.m. reading in The Russell House 350 High Street. Ellis, a native of Washington D.C. and author of "The Maverick Room" (published in 2005 by Graywolf Press), is an Assistant Professor of Writing at Sarah Lawrence College and is on the faculty of The Lesley University Low Residency M.F.A. program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Read an excerpt from "The Maverick Room" by clicking here.) The reading is free and open to the public. For more information, call 685-3448.


Thursday November 5:
"Common Ground: The Middletown International Film Festival" presents its 6th and final film at 7 p.m. in the Powell Family Cinema (Room 190) in the Center for Film Studies at Wesleyan, 301 Washington Terrace. "Everything is Illuminated", the 2005 screen adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's 2002 book, tells the fictional story of Jonathan Foer's trip to the Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust. His guides are a ambitious young man who loves everything American (especially "pop culture"), his crazy border collie and his anti-Semitic grandfather. The movie, directed by Liev Schreiber (who also wrote the screenplay), stars Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz. The event, hosted by David Laub of the Center for Film Studies, is free and open to the public.

In the same building but in the Goldsmith Family Cinema, the Elia Kazan Centennial Celebration continues with an 8 p.m. screening of the 1955 classic, "East of Eden." Loosely based on John Steinbeck's 1952 novel, the movie features James Dean in his first major role along with Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Burl Ives, and Jo Van Fleet. Set in the Salinas Valley of Central California during World War I, the story revolves around the dysfunctional Trask family and their efforts to make their farm profitable. There is all sorts of intrigue and Dean's performance is often mesmerizing. The movie won several awards including an Oscar for Van Fleet. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 685-2220.

The Dance Department at Wesleyan presents 3 nights of its Fall Senior Thesis Dance Concert Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Patricelli '92 Theater. Choreographer and dancers from the University work closely to create an often compelling program. If you like modern dance, you'll appreciate the work these young people and their teachers put into these presentations. For ticket information, call the Box Office at 685-3355.

FLUX Quartet, Wesleyan's String Quartet-in-residence, presents its annual concert of new works by Wesleyan graduate student composers. This is a great opportunity for the composers to have their works played by a world-class ensemble. The program, free and open to the public, takes place at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall.

I hope to post Friday through Sunday's event later tomorrow, including looks at the CT Gilbert & Sullivan Society's 3-day presentation of "The Pirates of Penzance" (Friday - Sunday) at the MHS Performing Arts Center (call 1-800-866-1606), Friday's performance of the Grass Routes Blue Grass Band at The Buttonwood Tree, Eilen Jewell & The Sacred Shakers Friday 8 p.m. at Crowell Concert Hall, Amy Crawford Saturday 8 p.m. at Crowell, the Floating Theatre Company's "Craig's List Missed Connections" 7 p.m. Saturday and the Readers Theater/Book Sale 7 p.m. Saturday at Congregation Adath Israel. And more...stay tuned.

Books, Blues and More (10/06 - 10/09)

Tuesday October 6:
Jorge Arevalo Mateus hosts the Latin Jazz Workshop tonight at 7 p.m. in MAC 650 Gallery, 650 Main Street. Mateus, GRAMMY winner and graduate student at Wesleyan, is a font of knowledge and can truly provide you with musical insights. To find out more, call 343-1516.

Broad Street Books' "First Tuesday Poetry Series" welcomes Kathryn Kelly for a 7 p.m. reading followed by an Open Mic. Kelly, an English teacher in Portland, has also taught poetry workshops around the state. The event is free and open to the public. Directly before the reading, WESU-FM's J. Cherry will host Ms. Kelly on his 6:30 show. Tune in to 88.1 FM or listen online at www.wesufm.org.

Wednesday October 7:
"Lunch & Learn", another fine program at The Russell Library, takes place in the Hubbard Room at 12noon. Kathleen and Bob Hubbard, authors and editors of "Images of America: Middletown", will discuss the research and writing of the book, a handsome volume that spans the development of the city over several centuries. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to benefit the Middlesex County Historical Society. Bring your lunch and the Library staff provides the beverages. The event is free and open to the public.

Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the New York Times, will speak at 8 p.m. in Wesleyan's Memorial Chapel as part of the University's "Distinguished Writers' Series." Bronner, a Wesleyan graduate has been reporting from the Middle East for over 25 years and has been on the Times staff since 1997. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his investigative work on al Qaeda. His talk is free and open to the public.


Thursday October 8:
"Soul of a People: Writing America's Story:", a joint project of Middlesex Community College Library and the Russell Library, presents the "Scholar Panel on the Connecticut Federal Writers' Project" at 7 p.m. in the Hubbard Room of the Russell Library. Panelists will include Tad Lincoln, Wesleyan Professor of English Sean McCann, and local historian Dr. Cecilia Bucki. For more information about this free event, call 343-4830 or go to www.mxcc.commnet.edu/library/.

The Elia Kazan Centennial Celebration at Wesleyan continues this week with a screening of "Viva Zapata" at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema in the Center for Film Studies. The 1952 movie, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman, and Mildred Dunnock, is a fictional account of the Mexican revolutionary who is portrayed (by Brando) as incorruptible and messianic. Introducing the movie, which is free and open to the public, will be Marc Longenecker. For more information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/filmstudies/specialevents.html.

Friday October 9:
The new exhibition opens on this day at the Cecile & Ezra Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan. "Mike Disfarmer: Photographs" features the work of a man who abandoned his family and set up shop in a rural Arkansa town, staying there for the rest of his life. Born Mike Meyers, the sixth of seven children in a German immigrant family, Disfarmer rejected the Arkansas farming world and the family in which he was raised. He taught himself how to shoot and develop photographs and soon set up a studio in Heber Springs, Arkansas, where he worked in relative isolation from 1939 - 45. The resulting work is a fascinating look at a community in transition during a time of poverty and war.
The Opening Reception takes place from 5 - 7 p.m. and the works will be on display until October 25. For more information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa. To learn more about the solitary photographer, go to www.disfarmer.com.

The Wesleyan Music Department, Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies and Center for the Arts are the co-sponsors of "Music from Japan", a concert featuring Yoko Hiraoka (shamisen, koto, voice, pictured) and Ralph Samuelson (shakuhachi) taking place at 7 p.m. in the World Music Hall. While the duo will play a number of pieces from the classical and traditional Japanese repertoire, they will also premiere a new work by contemporary American composer Ned Rothenberg, who blends jazz influences into his study of and writing for the shakuhachi (Japanese flute.) The event is free and open to the public.



Joe Flood, the singer/songwriter born in Portland and now living in Guilford, has had his songs recorded by Blues Traveler, Joan Osborne and The Band. His delivery and lyrical style hearkens back to country blues singers and he supports his songs with his fine guitar, mandolin and banjo work. He returns to The Buttonwood Tree for a 7:30 p.m. show - joining him will be bassist Andres Villamil. For more information, call 347-4957 or go to www.joeflood.net.

Boney's Music Lounge welcomes the Liviu Pop Band for an 8:30 p.m. gig. Joining the verstaile drummer will be guitarist Slam Allen. For more information, call 346-6000.

A Day & Night Filled With Words (and More)

The 2nd Annual Riverwood Poetry Festival runs from June 24 - 28 (see here for full schedule.) 3 of the events take place in Middletown this Saturday (June 27.)

From 1 - 4 p.m., Broad Street Books hosts Artemis Rising, a group of women writers and poets formed in 1997. Among those scheduled to read are Eileen Albrizio (pictured above), Priscilla Herrington, Suzy Lamson, Mary Elizabeth Lang, Suzanne Niedzielska, Paula Panzarella, Victoria Rivas, and Linda Yuhas. Many, if not all, of these writers have read in this town and all are impressive. To find out more about the group, go to www.yeolde.org/artemis/. For more information about the event, call 685-7323.

The scene shifts to The Buttonwood Tree for a 6:30 p.m. reading of Antrim House Press Poets. Hosted by Press owner and editor Rennie McQuillken, poets include Steve Foley, Jen Gates, Jim Kelleher, Norah Pollard and Ginny Lowe Connors (pictured.) In existence since 1990, the Press (in its own words) "is devoted to the cause of bringing poetry into the mainstream of American life and to promoting the work of poets who are unfashionably clear and interested in edifying rather than mystifying their readers and audiences." Susan Allison's new collection, "Down by the Riverside Ways", was issued earlier this year by Antrim House. To find out more about the Press and its catalog, go to www.antrimhousebooks.com.

The final event of the day takes place from 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. at Gatekeepers Tavern, 73 Ferry Street, and is titled "Outlaw Poetry Night." Hosted by Yvon Cormier, readers come from all around the country and include Puma Perl (pictured, New York City), David Smith and S.A. Griffin (California), Dan Kellett (Virginia), Rob Plath (Long Island), Karl Koweski (Alabama), James Darman (Pennsylvania), Scott Wannberg (Oregon), Zach King-Smith and James Crafford (Connecticut.) There will also be music at the event provided by guitarist/vocalist Freddy Moses and guitarist Mick Bolduc. And, there's more - there will be time allotted for an "Open Mic." For more information about this event and the entire festival, go to www.riverwoodpoetry.org and follow the links.

Broad Street Books Open

Though the website says otherwise, as I was leaving my radio show at WESU this evening I noticed that the gates were open, as was the door of Broad Street Books. I didn't have time to duck in to ask about hours, but the bookstore seemed to be open for business.

Murder Suspect Focused on Wesleyan, Jewish Communities

In a statement to the press just before 10 AM, Middletown Police Chief Lynn Baldoni indicated that murder suspect Stephen Morgan has connections in New York, Massachusetts and Colorado.

"Additionally, evidence uncovered overnight suggest," Baldoni said reading from a written statement. "That Mr. Morgan may be focused on the Wesleyan University campus as well as the Jewish community. Investigators have been in contact with Wesleyan University and leaders from the Jewish community, urging both to remain extra vigilant."

Wesleyan President Michael Roth and Mayor Sebastian Giuliano also made statements.

Roth said: "A beloved member of our community has been brutally murdered. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends of Johanna Justin-Jinch. This is a tragic time for them, and for all of us in the Wesleyan Community. We are deeply saddened and shocked by the event."

An update from Wesleyan Public Safety reads:

We have been informed by Middletown Police of new evidence about the suspect in yesterday’s shooting. Although he apparently had a direct link to the victim but no other connection to the Wesleyan community, we have now been made aware that he expressed threats in his personal journal toward Wesleyan and/or its Jewish students. All students are urged to remain vigilant and to stay indoors. Additional security has been deployed accordingly.

We will continue to work with authorities to ensure the safety of students on campus, and there will be increased patrols by Wesleyan Public Safety Officers and Middletown Police. At this time we continue to believe that the safest place for students is in their residences and we will provide additional information as it becomes available.

.

Police Talk To Press About Wesleyan Killing

After this press briefing I rode up to the Wesleyan campus. The stages for the scheduled Spring Fling were being dismantled, and Foss Hill was empty. A few students, who declined to be identified said they were told that the victim was a Wesleyan junior. They admitted being spooked and told me that their parents were glad to hear that they were okay, but warned them to be careful. Behind one of the High Street fraternities, the tragic news didn't seem to put a damper on a large outdoor beer party and cookout.

High School's Musical, Poetry, and Tuesday Jazz

"Middletown High Goes to the Symphony", the fine concert adventure started in 1998 that links our local school with the professional musicians at the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, returns on Tuesday April 7 at 7 p.m. in Bushnell Auditorium. If you have never made the short trip to Hartford, you are missing an impressive evening. The MHS Band, Choir and soloists are very well prepared by Marco Gaylord and Mike Gosselin and deserve all kudos. If you want to go, tickets are available at the High School, in the Town Clerk's Office inside Town Hall, and at any Liberty Bank branch in Middletown.

Susan Allison joins fellow poet Colin Haskins for a reading at 7 p.m. in Broad Street Books, 45 Broad Street. It's the second of three reading this month in support of Susan's new collection "Down By The Riverside Ways" (Antrim House Books) with the next one scheduled for April 26 at Millrace Books in Farmington.

Over the past decade, Colin Haskins has been quite active in the area hosting readings (he's the executive director of the Riverwood Poetry Series) and performing. He's possesses a sly sense of humor, sometimes caustic, but always entertaining. For more information about the reading, call 685-7323.

Tuesday Jazz at Public presents Kitty Kathryn with the Norman Gage Quartet from 6 - 9:30 p.m. Ms. Kathryn is certainly one of this area's fine assets, a jazz singer with a big repertoire and a style that's all her own. Joining her alongside baritone saxophonist Gage will be guitarist Rich Goldstein, bassist Paul Brown and drummer Ben Belillo.

Poetry & Music on Sunday

Susan Allison's long-awaited collection of poems has just been issued by Antrim House Books. "Down by the Riverside Ways" has been, at least, a decade in the making and is well worth your perusal. Separated into 4 distinct sections, from the one-poem "Prelude" to the hard-edged "War No More" section that closes the book, these poems are a clear-eyed look at the world in general and the poet's reflections upon life in Middletown. Allison, the co-founder of Ibis Books, the storefront on Rapallo Avenue that morphed into The Buttonwood Tree, loves this city but is no innocent (see the poem at the bottom of the column.) It's her home, flaws and all, the poet seduced by the river and the sunlight on the old brick buildings and the people who survive as well as the ones who thrive.

Where better to launch the book than at The Buttonwood Tree this Sunday (April 5) at 2 p.m. Susan Allison will read from the book, be happy to sign copies and talk about the pieces or whatever crosses your mind. For more information about the poems and Ms. Allison, go to www.AntrimHouseBooks.com.

At the same time (sigh), The Middletown Symphonic Band, Marco Gaylord, music director, presents is Annual Spring Concert in South Congregational Church, 9 Pleasant Street. The MSB, now in its 30th season, will play music by Beethoven, Saint-Saens and others. Joining them will be Professor, composer, and, on this occasion, pianist-organist, Neely Bruce. For more information about this free concert, email middletownsb@yahoo.com.

Later Sunday afternoon (6 p.m.), The Buttonwood hosts the JJ Diamond Band "Farewell Performance." Vocalist and co-founder Judi Neal has taken a new job outside of Connecticut - the band will continue on and will soon post details on its website (www.judineal.com/pages/jjdiamond/band.htm.) In the meantime, the Sunday show will feature the band's fine mix of "...folk, country, 60’s rock, 40’s jazz, reggae, and originals." For more information, call 347-4957 or click on the website above.

As promised, here's a selection from "Down by the Riverside Ways", courtesy of the poet and Antrim House Books.

Out this Window: Patient Record

The same beauty and pain as anywhere.
The golden Maxfield Parrish light
on the building across the street
and the way the pigeons reflect
the sun and send their shadows
in brief array as they circle and return.
There is always beauty. There is always pain.
There is an emaciated prostitute
who sits on the geraniums
in the window box. She is not here now.
I can see the broken stems.
She is dying, will not speak to us.
From this window I see people
who have no money in the richest state
in the richest country in the world,
no homes, no futures, no jobs:
addicted to crack, alcohol,
abuse. Some are dying
and they either know it or don’t.
There is the girl with the colostomy bag
selling herself for a hit. There are the old men
waiting for the next high.
These are not the hollow men—
they say hello every day, they are kind,
they have howled in the wasteland.
They are not evil, just incurably lost. Meanwhile,
the scavengers of the new wasteland are many—
the creeps and the politicians and the buyers
and the sellers and owners and even some of
the social workers in their brand new jobs.
And all the suits walk by so quickly, can’t say hello
because they are card-carrying members of
the time-is-money cult or the efficiency cult
or the just plain nasty folks cult.
Two men on the corner, both dying, ragged, slow,
smile at each other and join in warm embrace.

Nostalgic Book Release And Signing

If you've ever wondered why Middletown has never been featured in one of those sepia-tint collections of old photographs issued in the thousands by Arcadia Publishing, wonder no longer, Images of America: Middletown will be released today, Friday March 20, in a book signing by authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard (in conjunction with the Middlesex County Historical Society) at Broad Street books.

Middletown's history, with plentiful photographic illustration, has been handled readily previously in Liz Warner's fabulous, Pictorial History of Middletown.

The new book, like all Arcadia volumes, is a photo album with captions. But as with all Arcadia volumes, Middletown features photos rarely scene of everyday 19th and 20th century tableaux.

Book Signing
Broad Street Books
Friday March 20
5:00 pm

Thin Air at Broad Street Books

Broad Street Books in downtown Middletown is hosting the band; Thin Air on Friday December 12th 2008 at 7pm.

Thin Air is a six-member group with J-Cherry lyricist and vocals, Phil Bullaro on drums, Tetsufumi Ito bass, Joan Roche on piano, Patrick Roche on lead guitar, and Jason Abbot on
guitar.

Their sound is eclectic combing blues, jazz, and a little rock and roll. The
lead vocalist J-Cherry is a cross between Jim Morrison and Mazy Star.
Sometimes she¹s singing and sometimes she¹s reciting, but it always comes across with a lot of soul. As a group they possess a natural rapport, and
together produce a smooth harmonic feel, Its jazz rap, according to the
band, and it's a new genre of music. They use improvisation to combine
poetry with music.

They feel their way into a song and when they like the feeling they refine
it. The name Thin Air comes from a concept used by Miles Davis about jazz
improvisation, "I'll play with it first and tell you what it is later,"
Miles Davis said, famously. They work together like a fine oiled machine. Throwing out
riffs and words, ideas, concepts, raw emotion, in to a cauldron of
possibilities, sometimes J-Cherry has a written poem and they play with the
music and combine the poetry. Their musical combinations are savory
capturing the audience, making them want to linger and relax.