Award winning poet Peter Balakian will be reading excerpts from his latest book New York Trilogy at Glendale Central Library.
In an inventive, elliptical language, New York Trilogy explores one man’s journey from the late 1960s to the twenty-first century, as he moves through a series of experiences centered in New York City and the surrounding New Jersey Palisades. Thr1oughout this long poem in three parts, the protagonist’s life is impacted by historical events including the Armenian Genocide, the bombing of Hiroshima, the Vietnam War, the AIDS epidemic, the attacks of September 11th, the US war in Iraq, and the climate crisis.
Peter Balakian is the author of nine books of poems including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Ozone Journal. His memoir Black Dog of Fate won the PEN/Albrand Award, and The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response was a New York Times bestseller. Balakian’s work has been translated into many languages, and he teaches at Colgate University.
Books will be available for sale from Abril Bookstore at the event.
The Be the Change Series takes place in conjunction with such commemorations as Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, Black History Month, Armenian Genocide Remembrance, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and LGBTQ+ Pride. The series will also examine the one-year anniversary of the 2020 racial justice protests and 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The series will include virtual lectures, exhibits, and online programming from authors, curators, and historians.
The series is sponsored by the City of Glendale Arts and Culture Commission, with funding from the City of Glendale Urban Art Fund.
PARKING
Visitors to the Glendale Central Library receive 3-hour FREE parking across Harvard Street at the Marketplace parking structure with validation at the service desk. Accessible parking is available on the east side of the building. For additional information about this event, please contact Central Library at (818) 548-2021 or send us an email at LibraryInfo@GlendaleCA.gov.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Author Talk |
TAGS: | Glendale Central Library | BetheChange | AuthorTalk |
Established in 1906.
Library services in Glendale were first provided in 1906. The women of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, a social and philanthropic organization, raised money through a series of lectures to fund a library collection. The library opened in a renovated pool room at Third and E (Wilson and Everett) Streets with seventy books, soon supplemented by a State Traveling Library of fifty more, and served a population of 1,186.
In 1907, the City Trustees passed Ordinance 53 which established and supported a library which "...shall be forever free to the inhabitants and nonresident taxpayers of the City of Glendale..." The first year the library had 251 books, 165 registered patrons, and a budget of $248.88.
In 1913, a Carnegie grant of $12,500 made possible the construction of the main library at Kenwood and Fifth (Harvard Street). The building was completed and dedicated November 13, 1914.