Philadelphia Fire by John Edgar Wideman

Wideman, John Edgar. Philadelphia Fire. NY: Holt, 1990.

Philadelphia fire refers to the 1985 bombing by Philadelphia police of the communal group known as Move and the resulting destruction of a city block in West Philadelphia and the deaths of six adults and five children. The novel is not strictly about this event, although it is central to the novel; it is more about the narrator's psyche exploding when he hears about it. The first part of Philadelphia Fire is a straight forward narrative. The narrator hears about the fire in Greece where he has been living and decides to return to Philadelphia and his old neighborhood, which is in the vicinity of the bombing. He wants to find the one little boy who survives the devastation. Unfortunately, he fails to find him. The rest of the novel is a pastiche of memories from the narrator's lfie in West Philly. He emphasizes the poverty and the lack of opportunity; the neglect, violence and degradation of the neighborhood. The novel ends with the narrator's attendance at a ceremony held to recognize the slain Move family members.

2nd floor Black Library PS3573.I26 P48 1990

Wideman's most recent books are a novel: Fanon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008 and a collection of short stories, God's Gymn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

For other books by John Edgar Wideman at Grinnell College Libraries, follow this link:
http://cat.lib.grinnell.edu/search/a?SEARCH=wideman%2C+john+&sortdropdown=-

Teen Critics at the Overbrook Park Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia

David Van Etten. Likely Story. NY: Knopf, 2008.

Rasheda Hinton, a ninth grader at Central High School in Philadelphia wrote the following summary and assessment of Van Etten's new young adult novel, Likely Story.

Summary: A girl and her mother (a soap actress) debate a lot. Then, the girl gets the opportunity of a life time . . . and more confusion occurs.

Assessment: Rasheda writes, "Overall I think Likely Story is an excellent story. The best thing about the story is the dialogue. Also, the characters have very descriptive personalities. The story is very realistic. I would read this again and recommend it to many people. I give it 4 stars. Oh, also, its sarcasm is humorous and the highlighted quotes in the tvs were brilliant."

You can find this novel at public libraries, including Des Moines area public libraries in Iowa, the Delaware County Library System in SE Pennsylvania, and 22 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia, including of course, Overbrook Park 7422 Haverford Avenue.

Rebecca Stuhr is reading Louise Erdrich

Rebecca recently read for the first time Erdrich's first novel, Love Medicine (1984). This was the first of Erdrich's cycle of novels centered around North Dakota, on and off the Indian reservation, with a complex and interrelated group of characters. In Love Medicine, Erdrich uses a fluid chronology and allows each of her characters to tell their own story. Many of the chapters work as individual short stories but are enriched in connection with all of the other chapters. The characters are lost, defiant, triumphant, in mourning or despair, selfish and giving. Rebecca is currently reading The Beet Queen, Erdrich's second novel. Erdrich uses the same technique of allowing each character to tell his or her own story, however, The Beet Queen is a more cohesive plot. These are new characters but the names of some of the characters from Love Medicine enter into the story, and one of the Beet Queen characters is a Kashpaw.

For a list of books by Louise Erdrich, or to which she has contributed follow this link to the Grinnell College Libraries catalog:

http://cat.lib.grinnell.edu/search/a?SEARCH=erdrich+louise&sortdropdown=-

Love Medicine. New York: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston, 1984. New and expanded version, 1993.
Burling 3rd floor PS3555.R42 L6 1984
Burling 3rd floor PS3555.R42 L6 1993

The Beet Queen. New York: Holt, 1986
Burling 3rd floor PS3555.R42 B4 1986

Civic Librarianship

Ronald B. McCabe. Civic Librarianship: Renewing the Social Mission of the Public Library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2001.

Ronald McCabe is advocating a return to the educational mission of the public library that he believes was discarded in favor of a mission of simply providing or distributing information. He traces a change in American society from a desire to serve the good of society to an emphasis on the individual without regard to the good of society. He sees this change arising out of the Romantic movement and, more recently, the counter-cultural movement of the sixties. Like so many things, intentions were good, but balance was lost in the effort to move away from a rigid social order.

McCabe looks at these two movements, romanticism and the American counterculture, as well as utilitarianism and libertarianism, which promote an economic imperative that coincides with the emphasis on the individual. We see something like this in several cycles of corporate excess, currently revisiting us in the form of bank failures and massive layoffs. He sees aspects of Libertarian and Utilitarian philosophies as promoting the making of money without regard to social costs; getting rich as the sole merit of success.

McCabe looks to the Communitarian movement for the renaissance of the public library through what he is calling civic librarianship. Communitarianism calls for respect for individual rights, but also emphasizes the need for individuals to take responsibility for the good of his or her community and for society.

Libraries can contribute to community building by providing civic space and the resources and assistance to promote an educated and involved citizenry; collaborating with other service organizations; providing public programming that encourages dialogue and interaction, while serving both individuals, groups, and community organizations.

Unfortunately, this book is not widely available. But, you can find McCabe's chapter, "Civic Librarianship," which summarizes his ideas in:

Libraries & Democracy: The Cornerstones of Liberty. Ed. by Nancy Kranich. Chicago: American Library Association, 2001.

Burling 1st floor Z716.4+.L459+2001