Monday, October 24, 2016

The National Book Foundation announces Cave Canem as the recipient of its 2016 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.  Cave Canem, known as a home for African-American poets, will receive the award at the 67th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner on November 16, 2016.  This is the twelfth year that the Foundation has presented the Literarian Award, which traditionally is given to an individual for a lifetime of achievement in expanding the audience for books and reading.  This year’s ceremony will mark the very first time that the award is given to an organization.  The Foundation will award Robert A. Caro its 2016 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.  Caro, the acclaimed biographer of The Power Broker and the multivolume biography The Years of Lyndon Johnson, is being honored for his exceptional work and significant impact on American literature.  Caro is the 29th recipient of the Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (DCAL), which was created in 1988 to recognize a lifetime of literary achievement.   http://www.nationalbook.org/

Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.  Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)  http://infomotions.com/etexts/literature/american/1700-1799/franklin-paris-247.txt

Quotes of Henry James, American-born, British novelist, playwright, and literary critic 
1.  "Deep experience is never peaceful."  (Madame de Mauves, 1874)
2.  "True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self; but the point is not only to get out—you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand." (Roderick Hudson, 1875)
3.  "Three things in human life are important.  The first is to be kind.  The second is to be kind.  And the third is to be kind." (Qtd Leon Edel, Henry James:  A Life, 1972)  Read more quotes at

Airport terminals are getting longer for bigger planes.  Philadelphia International Airport passengers who hoof it from one end to the other from Gate F39 to Gate A26 walk 1.5 miles and cross a county line.  The walk between Atlanta's international and domestic terminals is 1.67 miles.  Orlando, Chicago and Newark airports have removed moving walkways to put in more seating or create space for bars and restaurants.  The Wall Street Journal  September 29, 2016   

The Divine Comedy is an epic poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed 1320, a year before his death in 1321.  It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.  The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century.  It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language.  It is divided into three parts:  InfernoPurgatorio, and Paradiso.  The work was originally simply titled Comedìa and the word Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio.  The first printed edition to add the word divina to the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy

All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.  Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910).  Anna Karenin, Part I, Chapter XI  http://www.bartleby.com/316/111.html

Kiplinger report – “We ranked all 50 states on cost of living, taxes, health care and other factors important to retirees.  Here are the three states that fared the worst.  Finishing dead last is New York. Living expenses in the Empire State are 29% above the national average.  More worrisome:  The percentage of residents 65 and up living in poverty is above average, too.  The runner-up is New Jersey.  The Garden State’s tax policies can be tough on retirees.  There’s a 7% state sales tax and steep local property taxes.  The combined state and local tax burden is the second highest in the nation.  Rounding out the three worst states for retirement is California.  Housing is expensive, and taxes can take a big chunk out of your nest egg.  Most retirement income is subject to tax, and California imposes the highest income tax rates in the nation.”  http://www.bespacific.com/kiplinger-3-states-to-avoid-in-retirement/

A guide to information on the upcoming elections from the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library at the University of Montana  Link to Fact Check org, PolitiFact.com, League of Women Voters Presidential Guide, and U.S. Election Commission at http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/2016_Elections  

Toledo Museum of Art, Gallery 18  Oct. 28, 2016–Feb. 12, 2017   The Libbey Dolls, formerly known as the Doucet Dolls, were the product of the World War I aid effort. The porcelain factories at Limoges and Sèvres aided in the recovery by putting wounded soldiers, outof-work artisans and young men back to work making French novelties.  Out of their production came this collection of 78 fashion figures, depicting French style from A.D. 493 to 1915.  The dolls were purchased in 1917 by Toledo Museum of Art founder Edward Drummond Libbey at the Permanent Blind Relief Fund’s Allied Bazaar in New York, in what was hailed as the “greatest single purchase made at the Allied Bazaar.”  (The dolls sold for $30,000, the equivalent of about $680,000 today.)  The Libbey Dolls are connected with prominent French couturier of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jacques Doucet, who created the dolls’ clothing, using inspiration from works of art by great French artists like Nicolas Lancret and Louis-Léopold Boilly, as well as drawings and engravings from late 19th-century fashion publications.  The Libbey Dolls:  Fashioning the Story will explore the extraordinary story of this collection while showcasing French fashion design and the strong connection between fashion and the art world.  http://www.toledomuseum.org/exhibitions/libbey-dolls/  The dolls were put on display at the Museum from 1917 until 1972, when the figures were pulled from permanent view. http://www.toledomuseum.org/2016/09/13/libbey-dolls-fashioning-the-story-opens-oct-28-at-the-toledo-museum-of-art/

October 22, 2016  Guests at President Obama's final concert at the White House had to go through three security checkpoints before placing their cellphones in brown paper bags that would be returned to them at the end of the night.  No one questioned the low-tech security precaution that removed their ability to post on Twitter, Facebook or SnapChat about the concert.  A white billowing tent, decorated with chandeliers and colorful uplighting, had been constructed for the evening's concert, which will be broadcast on BET on Nov. 15.  A six-page program for the event, titled "Love and Happiness," was placed on gold Chiavari chairs for guests to shed light on just who would be gracing the stage:  Usher, Jill Scott, Michelle Williams, Yolanda Adams, Janelle Monae and even R&B throwback group, Bel Biv Devoe.  And most interestingly--historically speaking--rap acts were also on the program, including Common, The Roots, and De La SoulJoi-Marie McKenzie  http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/inside-president-obamas-final-white-house-concert/story?id=42986089


http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1541  October 24, 2016  On this date in 1857, Sheffield F.C., the world's oldest association football club still in operation, was founded in Sheffield, England.  On this date in 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States was completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express.

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