April 10^th to 16^th is National Volunteer Week!

Volunteers: Passion, Action, Impact

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, the Calgary Public Library would like to thank the volunteers who donate their time to make Calgary a better place. Volunteers are one of the library’s largest assets and not only do they help make our programs successful, they contribute to the vibrancy of our communities and the city at large.

Every day our 1,800 volunteers help improve the lives of Calgarians through language, technology and literacy, and we are so grateful for their efforts.

A special thank you to those who attended the Volunteer Recognition Event on April 8^th at the Central Library.

Three new cookbooks arrived at our library, today.

eva’s kitchen, by Eva Longoria; if it makes you healthy, by Sheryl Crow and Chuck White, and my father’s daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Am I convinced for one hot minute that any of these beautiful multi-millionaires are schlepping grocery bags or peeling carrots? Nope. But I’m still suggesting that you check these books out!

eva’s kitchen contains lots of simple recipes, with accessible, familiar ingredients. I love cookbooks with lots of great pictures, and this one has plenty! Check it out if you like Mexican or southwestern foods.

my father’s daughter makes use of slightly more exotic ingredients and includes an icon for each recipe, representing that the recipe is vegetarian, vegan, quick, make-ahead, a one-pot meal, or a dress-up meal.

If it makes you healthy includes a bit of dialogue about each dish, and lots of tips about the ingredients and their alternate uses. Crow and her co-author frequently comment about their preferences, and how the recipes in the book were developed.

Calgary Public Library has an enormous collection of cookbooks. Check them out today, by browsing section 641, at your local branch.

Poems are strings of words that rhyme.

(I guess that’s not true all the time.)

Poems have shape and poems have form -

unless you want to flout the norm.

Poems are written; poems are read.

They live on paper and in your head.

What training does a poet need?

She need only love to write and read.

You’re a poet – yes it’s true!

So, let those poems come out of you!

But make yours sound free-flowing and loose.

Or you’ll end up like me:

a little too “Dr. Seuss”.

April is National Poetry Month! Come and celebrate with us! If you love poetry, then maybe you’ll be interested in the following:

• Our e-library contains a complete collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets (and plays, too!).
• The fourth floor of the Central Library contains a huge range of poems and corresponding critical analysis.
• Each branch contains a range of poetry for children.
• We have a Writer in Residence who can give you critical feedback about your work.
• We have an Aboriginal Writers' Circle and a Creative Writing Club that is open to all.
• On April 26th, we'll be hosting readings by three notorious poets, over the noon hour.

And now, for this post, the end has drawn near.

…and you’ll not hear me rhyme until April next year!