Polina Shepherd, a choir director and performer from England, will lead a choral workshop and give a concert of Yiddish and Russian folk songs on Sunday, June 30, at Temple Israel in Greenfield. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/SHENDL COPITMAN
GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. will host a poetry reading by Mary Clare Powell on Friday, June 7, at 6 p.m. a set of pens
Powell will read from her latest book, “Weeding,” a collection of poems about weeds illustrated by photographs and drawings that also includes voices of other poets and writers about the value of paying attention to weeds.
“Weeds have taught me to take root where I land,” Powell said in a statement, “and to proliferate there, to welcome whatever comes, to receive what is given, to be exactly the weed I am. Weeds are scattershot, random and determined not to be organized. I spent several years compiling this volume, collecting quotes, drawing sketches, writing poems and simply receiving the pieces I hoped might become part of some delicious whole. This book is the result of paying attention to those plants that we often forget to notice.”
A reception and book signing will follow the reading.
GREENFIELD — In partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium, the Greenfield Public Library invites residents to a virtual talk with author Matt Shindell on Monday, June 3, at 2 p.m.
Shindell, curator of the National Air and Space Museum, will discuss his book, “For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet,” which surveys the red planet’s place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.
For more information and to register, go to libraryc.org/greenfieldpubliclibrary.
GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library invites residents of all ages to the library Makerspace on Tuesday, June 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. to make bracelets, flags and buttons for Pride Month. Supplies will be provided for free.
GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library invites knitters to celebrate “World Knit in Public Day” at the library on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Participants can bring knitting needles and a knitting project, as well as a chair if they wish to knit outside. There will be a yarn swap in the Makerspace.
“World Knit in Public Day” is celebrated annually on the second Saturday in June to encourage knitters to come together and knit in public spaces. The day highlights knitting as a social activity for participants to enjoy one another’s company.
GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. hosts a monthly series, Writers Read, on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Reading on June 12 will be Diana Whitney, Dina Stander and Christopher Ethan Burton.
Whitney writes across genres with a focus on feminism, motherhood and sexuality. She is the editor of a previous collection of poems, “Wanting It” (Harbor Mountain Press, 2014) and the anthology “You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves” (2021), winner of the Claudia Lewis Award.
Stander’s writing explores connection, relation, wayfinding and the predicaments of being human. She propagates radical kinship through her work as an end-of-life navigator, grief educator and burial shroud maker.
Burton has published 12 books of poetry. He uses his art to bring light to the injustices plaguing the nation and world. A lifelong resident of New York’s Hudson Valley, his first 36 years were spent battling drug addiction and incarceration. Having overcome his past, he shares his experiences through spoken word.
There is a $5 suggested donation. For more details, visit thelavacenter.org/events/writers-read-2-2024-06-12.
GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. will present a talk by award-winning journalist Ben H. Gagnon of Turners Falls on Friday, June 21, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Gagnon will take the audience on a tour of archaeological discoveries, recent scientific studies and ancient myth to discuss the key role migratory birds played in human history.
A team of scientists working in the Canary Islands recently confirmed that migratory birds are seed-bearing indicators of floral diversity, confirming the suspicions of Charles Darwin. Over millions of years, birds introduced exotic seeds to their seasonal grounds, which often developed into hotspots of biodiversity.
New evidence suggests all human ancestors had the ecological awareness and intelligence to associate migratory birds with bountiful ecosystems. The fossil record suggests two primates (Australopithecus and Paranthropus) developed the ability to walk upright while following migratory birds out of equatorial Africa and all the way to the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa. Over 6 to 7 million years, at least eight more bipedal primates followed the busiest bird migration routes to the largest seasonal grounds on the continent, from Tanzania to Ethiopia and Chad.
Gagnon is the author of “Church of Birds: An Eco-History of Myth and Religion” (Collective Ink, 2023).
GREENFIELD — Polina Shepherd, a choir director and performer from England, will lead a 2 p.m. choral workshop and give a 7 p.m. concert of Yiddish and Russian folk songs on Sunday, June 30, at Temple Israel, 27 Pierce St.
In the workshop, Shepherd invites attendees on a journey featuring old East European Russian and Yiddish songs with beautiful harmonies. Music lovers of all backgrounds and singing levels are invited. Teaching is both by ear and with sheet music.
In the concert, Shepherd will present a mixture of original, classical and folk songs mainly in Yiddish, with a few visits to cultural neighbors. Workshop participants are invited to perform in this concert. The concert will also inaugurate the baby grand piano donated to Temple Israel by Susan Hollins.
A contribution on a sliding scale of $10 to $30 is requested for each event. The building is fully accessible.
For more information about Shepherd, visit polinashepherd.co.uk.
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