April 2015
Words+Jazz at Berkeley Public Library in April!

April is National Poetry Month and we are celebrating with a whole mess of exciting events and programs designed to get you tapping your feet and stringing words together. Explore a new genre, express yourself, and join the fun at the library this April!

Jazz Playlist
New to jazz? Teen Librarian Jack Baur has scoured our streaming music collection Music Online (FREE to you with your library card!) and put together a collection of tracks from some of his favorite musicians. If you've never spent much time with jazz, dip your toe in here and poke around Music Online to see what else strikes your fancy!

Listen to incredible poems on our Granger's Poetry eresource

Hip-Hop for Change!

 
@South  Thursday, April 9th
4:00pm-6:00pm

@Central Tuesday, April 14th
 4:00pm-6:00pm

@North  Wednesday, April 29th
3:00pm-5:00pm
 
We'd be remiss to talk about poetry without spending time with the most potent influence on American poetry in the last 20 years - hip-hop!  Explore the positive side of Hip-Hop! 

Local nonprofit Hip-Hop for Change will be rollin' through the library with a presentation on the power of hip-hop as a tool for self-expression and social change!  Begins with a history of hip-hop culture and concludes with a lesson and demo on the art of rapping.  Had it with gats & bling? Come check out the positive side of the art form that changed American culture.

Live Jazz @ Your Library 

 

We'll be bringing plenty of live jazz music into the library in April. Come dig one of these free concerts!

 

Eric Van James Trio @North  

Saturday, April 11th  

11:30am-1:00pm

 

Poetry & Jazz @Central 

Saturday, April 18th

2:00pm-4:00pm

 

Willard Middle School Jazz Band @Claremont

Friday, April 24th  

4:30pm-5:30pm

 

Eric Van James Trio @North  

Saturday, April 25th  

11:30am-1:00pm

 

 

See Library Calendar for more events 

Teen Synth Jams! Makes Some Music!



@Claremont Branch
Friday, April 17th
4:00pm-5:30pm

@North Branch
Wednesday, April 22nd
3:00pm-4:30pm

Celebrate the spirit of jazz with an improvisational synth jam. We'll use a variety of electronic instruments, from iPads to banana pianos built with MaKey MaKey™ synthesizers created using Littlebits™ circuitry kits! Our  musical creations will be uploaded to Soundcloud to share with friends & family. Bring an instrument from home, too!

Makey Makey banana piano
Makey Makey™ banana piano

Magnetic Poetry & More. . .
Poems will be popping up all over Berkeley Public Library this April. Poetry is not just for reading - you can take a turn writing poems in a teen room near you!

 If you find yourself at a loss for words there will be poetry magnets in most of our branches, or use book titles as material and write a book spine poem, like the one below. Here are a few examples on Pinterest.
In This Issue
Teen Room Workshop @South
Wednesday, April 22  
5:30pm
@South Branch Meeting Room

Come to the Special Workshop of the   Board of Library Trustees for updates on the Central Library's Teen Room Project.

The design team of Noll & Tam will present an update on schematic design and layouts affecting the first two floors of the Central Library. All community members are invited.

The Board of Library Trustees' regular  meeting starts at 6:30pm. Read more
Poetry Booklist
Like jazz, the world of poetry is exciting to explore. Fortunately, your teen librarians have you covered here, too! We've picked some of our poetry favorites:

Becoming Billie Holiday
Beautifully illustrated collection of poems that follow Billie Holiday from girlhood to her early 20s.


Falling Hard
Love poems written by teens.

Good Poems
He's been hosting The Writer's Almanac on NPR for like 20 years, so Garrison Keillor probably knows a thing or two about what makes a poem good...  A wide variety of classic writing!


Indivisible
Famous and not-so-famous poets writing about social justice.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
Poems for all ages by T.S. Eliot about, well, cats!

Please Excuse This Poem
Teens and young poets writing about right now. Be the first to read these poems as soon as they arrive!

Poisoned Apples
New poems with familiar fairy tale characters and a feminist edge.


The Rose that Grew From Concrete
Poetry by Tupac Shakur that inspired the 2000 album.