No poetry experience required in this virtual four-week mini-class, Build a Poem with poet laureate Spencer Thurlow, running Wednesdays at 10:30 am from Sept. 2 to 23. Everyone will begin with new material generated from structured free writing, and work toward a poem over the course of the month. An optional reading for free writers and members of the class will be held by the Chilmark library later in the fall.
By the end, participants should be well on their way to having a new poem ready for submission, readings, and more. Admission is free. Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invitation.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, at 3 pm, the library hosts author Katie Holten as she discusses her books, “About Trees” and the “New York City Tree Alphabet,” which she created while an artist in residence with the NYC Parks Department. She will also share the Irish Tree Alphabet that she is currently creating for Ireland.
Holten is an artist and environmental activist. She was born in Dublin in 1975. After representing Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 2003, she moved to New York City on a Fulbright scholarship to research the relationship with nature in the city. She is currently quarantined in Montecito, Calif.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invite. This is a free event sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library.
On Saturday, Sept. 5, at 5 pm, the library hosts World War II’s Glorious Amateurs: The Office of Strategic Services with Charles Pinck. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the World War II predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Special Operations Command, and the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Its members were drawn from every branch of the armed services and the civilian population. They included Sterling Hayden, John Ford, Julia Child, Marlene Dietrich, Ralph Bunche, Arthur Goldberg, Eero Saarinen, Garson Kanin, and historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. General Donovan called OSS personnel his “glorious amateurs,” and said they performed “some of the bravest acts” of the war.
The library will show three short documentaries about OSS presented by their executive producer and the president of the OSS Society, Charles Pinck, a lifelong seasonal resident of Chilmark.
Email tthorpe@clamsnet.org to sign up and get the Zoom invitation. Admission is free, and the event is sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Library.
