THE BOOKWORM
The Patrick Heath Public Library celebrated Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March. Patrons enjoyed a variety of events and programs, from the Youth Department to the Adult Services, featuring book displays, programs for all ages, exhibits, and documentary screenings. In the next few months, the library will be showcasing a display of haikus for National Poetry Month in April, and a Chinese calligraphy program with Yaping Zhang for Asian American and Pacific Islander Month in May.
We are privileged to celebrate these genres and histories throughout the year, so be on the lookout for more fun programing this summer. For National Poetry Month we will be interviewing local poets for their oral histories to add to our PHPL Oral History Project.
Haiku history
A haiku, a poem consisting of three lines pieced out by syllable in 5-7-5 form, started about 800 A.D. in Japan as part of a larger oral poetry style. It wasn’t until the 1600s that the Japanese poet Basho singled out the three starting lines of a Haikai (the longer poem) and is credited as restarting the movement of light and sensible poetry.
The hokku, later known as the haiku, should be viewed as an observation of the natural in the simplest form without any “verbal trickery.” Readers should see a haiku as a momentary snapshot in time. Patrons can make their own haikus to add to the PHPL Poetry Cherry Blossom Tree.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April is National Poetry Month. Enjoy lovely poetry from local Texas authors and participate in our beautiful haiku Cherry Blossom Tree display all month long.
May 7: Preservation program at 6 p.m. in the library Community Room. Learn about preserving your own family treasures, physically and digitally, with Library Memory Lab Coordinator Sarah Habeeb.
May 19: Chinese calligraphy program with Yaping Zhang, at 11 a.m. in the library Community Room. Learn how to write Chinese calligraphy with Yaping Zhang a scholar of Chinese culture; supplies will be provided.
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