Free Verse Poetry Flickr Project and the Academy of American Poets

Free Verse Project – Poets.org – Poetry, Poems, Bios & More via kwout

Do you love poetry?  Do you love photography?  Or both?  The Academy of American Poets is sponsoring the Free Verse Project. Here is the scoop!

Inspired by the 2009 National Poetry Month Poster which features lines by T. S. Eliot written in a fogged window, the Academy of American Poets invites you to capture and share verse in ephemeral ways.

Recreate a favorite poem off the page and contribute it to the Free Verse project. Write lines on a sandy beach, assemble twigs on a hillside, or chalk the sidewalk. Take a photo before it disappears and post it in the Free Verse group page on Flickr, on the Academy’s Fan Page on Facebook, or email your photo to freeverse@poets.org. Include the source of your lines in the photo caption.  All photos posted by April 15 will be automatically entered to win the new Poem in Your Pocket anthology and a commemorative piece of jewelry by San Francisco designer Jeanine Payer, who specializes in hand-engraving lines of poetry on earrings, necklaces, and other items. Selected entries will also be featured on Poets.org.

For more information, please visit the Free Verse Project Page hosted by the Academy of American Poets at Poets.org.

Smithsonian Libraries Goes Web 2.0!

Smithsonian Libraries | Facebook via kwout

Are you fan of Smithsonian Libraries?  If so, check out their Web 2.0 and social networking presence!

• Smithsonian Libraries Fan Page on Facebook  (which is especially good)
  
• Smithsonian Libraries Flickr Photostream
• Smithsonian Libraries Blog
• Smithsonian Libraries on Twitter
• Smithsonian Library Thing (James Smithson Legacy Library)
• Smithsonian Library Thing (Heralds of Science Library)

Smithsonian Libraries via kwout

Flickr: Smithsonian Libraries’ Photostream via kwout

Grady Grizzly Loves The Unquiet Library!

National Poetry Month Celebrations

National Poetry Month Celebrations

Originally uploaded by theunquietlibrarian

Here is a cool mosaic I made using fd’s Flickr Toys at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ . I chose the mosaic option and pulled photos relating to National Poetry Month 2008.

I am proud to say one of our photos, The Unquiet Library, is a member of the “Poem In Your Pocket” photo pool!

Living History: Two Cool Finds

I came across two items this morning that you might enjoy if you are into history, stories, or archives.

First, I stumbled across this wonderful Flickr collection entitled “Mom’s World” by Joey Harrison.  This collection chronicles his mother’s recollections (she provides most of the narratives) and photos of life in Grand Rapids, Michigan between the late 1940s —2007.  If you want to hear first-hand accounts of life from this time period, you must check out the photos and narratives…his mother is sharp as a tack!  What a wonderful way to preserve history for your family and the general public!  Fascinating stories, amazing photography—definitely something you will enjoy.

Secondly, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran this story this morning about a historical collection of rare newspapers donated by Nell McGruder to the Atlanta History Center.  If you are interested in north Georgia history (particularly Cherokee County), this is a great story!  I only wish the Atlanta History Center had the money to digitize and upload the images of these rare newspapers to Flickr a la Library of Congress!  Perhaps they may eventually go to the Georgia Archives? 

While reading The English Patient in 2004 for a course with Dr. Mark Faust at UGA, Dr. Faust wisely observed that history is really a series of stories and accounts, not necessarily objective facts that are black and white.  I think primary sources such as these affirm that view.  It makes me a little sad to think that I never perceived “history” as story until I was a graduate student!  I think more people might take a interest in history and its study if they thought of it as story rather than a series of disconnected facts.

I hope you enjoy these resources!  Let me know what you think!