Poem in Your Pocket Day

Every April, on Poem in Your Pocket Day, people celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with them, and sharing it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, and on Twitter using the hashtag #pocketpoem.  Poem in Your Pocket Day was originally initiated in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor, in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, as part of the city’s National Poetry Month celebration. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets made the initiative national, encouraging individuals across the country to join in and channel their inner bard. 

This is the third year in a row I have used the Poem in Your Pocket to do a display. I cut out the tiny poems and roll them up into scrolls as pictured above. I put them out in a cute bowl with a sign and patron take one home to enjoy and pass on.

I also post the poems one a day leading up to Poem in Your Pocket Day on our Facebook page. Since it's National Poetry Month this is a great little way to make poetry come alive.

Poem in Your Pocket Day Website

These poems come from the Poets.org listing made curated for Poem in Your Pocket day. I copied selected ones and made them into pocket sized poems that you can print out and roll up.

2018 Poems 

2017 Poems

2016 Poems

2015 Poems

Doctor Who Adult Trivia Night

I did a Doctor Who themed adult trivia night at my library. While I was hoping for more attendees (had 35, but have done similar programs in neighboring towns and draw more like 65 people) I was pleased with the great group I got.

Teams of 2-6 adults ages 14+ registered in advance. I actually had several teams with kids show up not knowing and I let them in. One of the teams comprised a father and his two girls actually took third place.

Teams all came up with some great team names: my personal favorite was the Ood couple. We had 5 rounds and finished up in 1 hour 40 minutes. The teams seemed to really love the questions and everyone had a great time. We even had a Dr. Who Meet-up.com group come.

Four people came in costume and the best one got a weeping angels coffee mug.

I made clusters of three prizes and the top 3 teams could choose their prize packages (1st place chooses first and so on.) The prizes were all Doctor Who merchandise.

After each round is over and the teams have turned in their sheets to the grading table I have my assistant grade as we go over the answers. Let the group yell out the answers. I only give team scores at halftime and of course at the end of the night.

Here is the blank template for keeping score 

Cool background you can use for your posters

As you go through and download the templates below please note some formatting may have changed from being uploaded to Google Drive. 

Round 1: Companions & Villains 
For this round show each slide on the screen one by one and have the participants write on their answer sheets the correct answer. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. When team is done have them bring it up to the grading table.

• Powerpoint Questions
• Blank Sheet for particpants 
• Answer Key

Round 2: Missing Words

For this round participants will complete one worksheet per team. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. When team is done have them bring it up to the grading table.

• Blank sheet for participants 
• Answer Key

Round 3: Who Dat?

For this round participants will have to write on their answer sheets which two characters are speaking in the dialog. At the beginning of trivia night have volunteers write their name on a piece of paper if they wish to volunteer to read the dialog. Each person gets one bonus point for their team. Pull two names out, hand each a script and tell them if they are reader A or B. Only one person from each team can read in each scene. Have them read twice aloud and then they can sit with their teams. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. When team is done have them bring it up to the grading table.

• Scripts for readers
• Blank sheet for participants
• Answer Key 

Round 4: Trivia

For this round participants will answer all questions. Read aloud the questions twice each. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. When team is done have them bring it up to the grading table.

• Trivia questions
• Blank sheet for participants
• Answer Key

Round 5: Where in the Universe

For this round show each slide on the screen one by one and have the participants write on their answer sheets the correct answer. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. When team is done have them bring it up to the grading table.

• Powerpoint Questions
• Blank sheet for participants
• Answer key 

Book Discussion: After Birth by Elisa Albert

Questions:

Women over time have fought hard to gain control over their bodies and the decisions surrounding their bodies ( abortion, birth control, elective surgery.) When it comes to birth does that all go out the window?

What is it that separates Ari from connecting with other women. Do you think women often find it difficult to find common ground with other women?

What are your thought on how the male characters were portrayed in the book?

What allows Mina and Ari to become fast friends.
        -Safe place to be vulnerable with each other

What fuels Ari's anger?

Ari is insensibly honest in the book. In our culture how do we praise or punish honest in people?

Did this novel read as the author's manifesto?

What are your thoughts on the way we treat birth in this country?

Mina describes what happened to Ari during her birth as rape, do you agree with that statement?

Book Discussion: Welcome to Braggsville

Discussion Questions:

At Berkeley, the students are encouraged to utilize "performative intervention" to shock onlookers into engaging with uncomfortable topics they might otherwise ignore. Do you think this type of political performance is a worthwhile and eye-opening approach, or is it too avant-garde to ever be useful?

Louis' brand of humor frequently makes light of issues around race and culture, but he isn't characterized as a racist. Under what circumstances do you think it's "okay" to joke about race?

 In the aftermath of the “Incident at Braggsville,” the Davenports come under scrutiny, and it's suggested that D'aron may have masterminded the entire event. Does this warped interpretation of the facts parallel the way real news is reported through media channels today?

 The militia touts itself as a well-meaning group of concerned citizens, but their stronghold on the city is extreme, as evidenced by the abrupt shift in the way the Davenports are treated after D'aron visits the hunting lodge. Have you ever belonged to a group in which the majority's viewpoints were so strong you felt you could not disagree with them?

Book Discussion: City of Thieves

Book Discussion Questions:

• Did you like this book?
• What is the significance of the fictitious grandfather?
• Did you ever feel like you were reading a memoir or work of non-fiction?
• David wants to hear about his grandfather’s experiences firsthand.
•  Why is it important for us to cultivate and preserve our oral histories? 
• Do you have a relative or friend whose story you believe should be captured for posterity?
• From the cannibals in the market to the sex slaves in the farmhouse, there are numerous illustrations of the way in which war robs us of our humanity. In your opinion, what was the most poignant example of this and why?
• Why is Leningrad important?
• info about Leningrad: The siege of Leningrad was statistically important for the Nazis and the Soviets because Leningrad is one of the most important cultural hubs of Russia and the Soviet Union. Before 1917, Leningrad (then called St. Petersburg) was the capital of the Russian empire, and even though the capital was moved to Moscow, the Soviet government considered Leningrad one of the hearts of the Soviet revolution — hence its renaming to honor Vladimir Lenin. The Nazis, who saw Communism and Bolshevism as a direct threat (and also part of an alleged international Jewish conspiracy), were interested in taking Leningrad for both its strategic military importance and its power to break Soviet morale. 
• What role does hunger serve in this story?
• Kolya tells Lev that the government should “put the famous on the front lines” (p. 67) rather than use them as the spokespeople for patriotic propaganda. Do you agree or disagree? 
• Can you think of any contemporary instances of this practice?
• What is the tension between the city and the countryside?
• Do you think Markov’s denouncer should have remained silent about the partisan’s presence
• Did either of them deserve to die?
• Even moments before Lev pulls his knife on the Sturmbannführer, he thinks: “I had wanted him dead since I’d heard Zoya’s story. . . . [But] I didn’t believe I was capable of murdering him” (p. 228). Do you think everyone—given the right motivation—is capable of killing another human being? Could you?
• Lev takes an instinctive dislike to Kolya yet comes to consider him his best friend. What was the turning point in their relationship?
• Did you think the boys were actually going to be successful in finding the dozen eggs?
• Why did Koyla have to end up dieing?
• How important is the "frame" at the beginning of the novel where the writer introduces his grandparents and has the grandfather (Lev) begin telling his story? Would you have liked the book to come back to that frame at the end?
• What parts of the novel had the biggest emotional effect on you

Interesting Facts:

• David Benioff wrote the screenplay for the films Wolverine, Brothers and the Kite Runner among others. He is the co-creator, writer and show runner for Game of Thrones.
• David is married to the actress Amanda Peet

-Codex Vitae: Life Code or "Ancient text about one's life"
-Geritszoon might be Times New Roman                                                                                              
-Gertiszoon was a real man but his name was Francesco Griffo 
-The cover of this book glows in the dark
-Manutius's printing seal is a dolphin and an anchor. In the book the bar they go to in NYC is named the Dolphin and the Anchor
-Penumbra (n) The partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object. (Astronomy)

On the bottom of page 284 Clay sends Kat a text after their date that simply says "25,000 miles" What does this mean?

What does this novel say about the idea of immortality? What are ways you think we can be immortal in our day and age?

If you were to file a codex vitae, capturing all you’ve learned throughout your life, what would it contain? Do you journal or keep a diary?

What were your initial theories about the bookstore’s mysterious patrons and their project? What
did you predict Manutius’s message would be?

 If you try to picture it, what literacy will look like five hundred years from now, what do you see?

As Clay and the team of Google decoders take on the same challenge, what do they discover about the relative strengths of the human brain and technology?

How did you react to Gerritszoon’s “message to eternity ( Thank you, Teobaldo: You are my greatest friend: This has been the key to everything),” revealed in the closing passages? How
can his wisdom apply to your life?

• Clay's friends were the key to him decoding Gerritszoon's message

Why did the publisher choose the design of the cover of the book?

• Glow in the dark, modern, handwritten font

Clay grapples with the fact that e-books could make brick-and-mortar bookstores unnecessary. How have your community’s bookstores fared in recent years? Did the novel reassure you about the role of technology in the lives of book lovers?

Are Penumbra and his colleagues motivated only by a quest for immortality? If not, what are the other rewards of their labor-intensive work?

Book Discussion: Her: a memoir

Her: a memoir by Christa Paravanni


Discussion Questions:

1. Is anyone here a twin or have twins in their family?

• What is your observation of this book? 
• Did you relate to Christa and Cara's relationship?

2. Did you like this memoir?

• Did it remind you of any other memoirs you have read?
• What did you think about her writing style and the way she broke -up the book?

3. Christa mixes in excerpts from Cara’s writings throughout the book. How did this help in your understanding of Cara?

4. What was Christa's most admirable quality? Cara's?

5. What makes the relationship between identical twins unique from that of just siblings, or even fraternal twins?

• Do you think that identical twins are biologically prone to think and feel the same way, or is it something that evolves from their inextricably knit experiences?

6. Art is a significant part of the sisters’ lives. What do you think it meant for them to be able to create works of art in the midst of their tumultuous lives?

• Do you or have you ever found art to be able to help you through a difficult time in your own life?

7. What is the importance of home and location in the sisters’ lives?

• How did their constant displacement as children affect their idea and need for a home as adults? 
• What does “home” mean to you?

8. The book is mostly comprised of Christa’s memories of her life with her sister. Christa says that it’s  hard to tell if her memories are true without Cara; that she is “the sole historian left to record [their] lives.” Think back on the memories you have of growing up. How do we distinguish truth from mere memories? And does truth matter when it comes to your own experiences, or is it the things you take from those moments that really count?

9. Do you think the body is a mere vehicle for the person or is it a part of your whole self?

• Do you think it is possible to detach yourself from your body? 
• After Cara suffered a horrific rape, how was she changed? 
• What seems to have happened to her connection with her body? 

10. There are times in the book when Cara tries to overcome her addictions. Do you think addiction is genetic?

• Are certain personality types more prone to addiction? 

11. What do you make of Christa’s conversation with the psychic?

• Do you believe in the supernatural and that we can communicate with those who have passed? 
• Do you think that Christa’s visions of Cara were actually visits from another world, or were they illusions of dreams and grief?

12. Christa’s connection to her husband, Anthony, was unlike any other she had with a man. They both experienced much heartache and pain throughout their lives. Why do you think Christa was so drawn to him from the start?

• Are the best matches the ones who are as equally broken as we are?