Carl Phillips - WKTV Journal

WKTV Staff

Quote of the Day

"Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world."
          -Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate

‘Book’ on over

The new KDL Bookmobile was unveiled at a special event at Steelcase. The Steelcase Foundation helped to launch the project with a $208,000 grant.

This week the Kent District Library unveiled its new Bookmobile, or as KDL Executive Director Lance Werner called it, “a library on wheels.” The Bookmobile, loaded with books and materials, will be heading out to service underserved areas and places where there is not a library readily available.

The goal is to help improve reading proficiency with students, Werner said, adding that the target age is third grade as students who are not at a reading proficiency by third grade could face more problems as they get older. The bookmobile has a rotating collection that can be curated for the places it visits whether it be a school or a senior center.

The KDL Bookmobile is scheduled to come to the KDL Kelloggsville Branch, located at the Kelloggsville High School, 4787 Division Ave. on Nov. 17 and to the KDL Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, 4950 Breton Ave. SE, Nov. 24. For a list of locations, visit kdl.org/bookmobile.

For more on the Bookmobile, click here.

Go Blue!

Godwin Heights will face off against Wyoming Lee this Friday in hopes of getting its sixth win and securing a place in the playoffs. And of course, WKTV will be there to cover all the action.

The playoff schedules will be announced on Sunday, Oct. 21 with Pre-District games kicking off the following weekend. All games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvondemand.com.

By the Meter

Two award-winning poets will be heading to Grand Valley State University Thursday, Oct. 18, to discuss their work.

Part of GVSU’s Fall Arts Celebration, poets Ada Limón and Carl Phillips will begin the discussion at 7:30 p.m. at GVSU’s Eberdhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. Limón is the author of five books of poetry, including her new book The Carrying (2018). Phillips is the author of 14 books of poetry, including his most recent works, Wild Is the Wind (2018) and Reconnaissance (2015).

For more on the event, click here.

Fun Fact:

maestra

The Spanish work for a person who teaches music, usually referring to a woman. (Maestro is the male word.) This month, St. Cecilia Music Center announced its new Grand Band conductor Robin Connell. For more, click here.

By Matthew Makowski

GVSU

Two unique poetic voices will share their work and discuss their inspirations with the West Michigan community during Fall Arts Celebration at Grand Valley State University.

“An Evening of Poetry and Conversation with Ada Limón and Carl Phillips” will take place Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m., on the 2nd floor of the Eberhard Center, located on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. A reception and book signing will take place after both authors read samples from their work.

“Carl Phillips and Ada Limón both write out of their passions,” said Patricia Clark, professor of writing and Grand Valley’s Poet-in-Residence. “If Phillips is the more somber voice of the two poets, his words are still lit by brief moments of intensity and beauty. Limón’s relaxed, seemingly casual voice dazzles with precision and directness.”

Clark said attendees of the event will experience the power of poetry when it is heard instead of read.

“It is a completely different experience to hear poets live, not just on the page,” she said. “They reveal quite a bit about themselves and their work, and they say things that help illuminate the poems.

Limón is the author of five books of poetry, including her new book The Carrying (2018). Her volume Bright Dead Things was named one of the top 10 poetry books of 2015 by The New York Times. Limón currently serves on the faculty of Queens University of Charlotte’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts program.

Phillips is the author of 14 books of poetry, including his most recent works, Wild Is the Wind (2018) and Reconnaissance (2015). The latter won the PEN USA Award and the Lambda Literary Award. A four-time finalist for the National Book Award, Phillips’ honors include the Los Angeles Times’ Book Prize for Poetry, the Kingsley Tufts Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Library of Congress and Academy of American Poets. He is currently a professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis.

For more information about Fall Arts Celebration, visit gvsu.edu/fallarts. All Fall Arts Celebration events are free and open to the public.