The 13 Clocks

Jessie Kornbluth, responsible for wide-ranging, engaging reviews on his Head Butler blog, writes today about Thurber's "The 13 Clocks," quoted here in its entirety (but I urge you to make his daily blog one of your frequent sources):

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Aug 3, 2009
Category: Children

The younger generation has no idea who he was, but once upon a time, James Thurber was a god. He wrote “Talk of the Town” and dashed off cartoons for The New Yorker, churned out books that became classics, had his work successfully adapted for Broadway and, just to fill his idle hours, published five books for children.

Well, not just any children. Smart, verbal children. The children of New Yorker readers. Kids who now might prefer Lemony Snicket to Harry Potter. That is, nine to twelve year-olds who understand that words can be funny, sentences can be ironic and evil doesn’t always come on the wings of bats.

Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline and no slouch at the kids’ book game, thinks The 13 Clocks is more than Thurber’s best book for children --- it’s “the best book in the world.” And not just for children: “I think you could learn everything you need to know about telling stories from this book.”

Thurber wrote the fable quickly in 1950. He’d gone to Bermuda to work on another book, but this one just poured out of him. He didn’t do the illustrations; one-eyed since a childhood accident, he’d recently gone totally blind. In this lovely, recently reissued hard-cover version, you’ll find the original Marc Simont illustrations. Smart kids will want to cut them out and frame them.

And the book itself? It starts like this:

Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn’t go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his niece, the Princess Saralinda. She was warm in every wind and weather, but he was always cold. His hands were as cold as his smile, and almost as cold as his heart. He wore gloves when he was asleep, and he wore gloves when he was awake, which made it difficult for him to pick up pins or coins or the kernels of nuts, or to tear the wings from nightingales.

In this castle, where it’s always 4:50, will the Princess ever be rescued? Perhaps, for here comes Prince Zorn of Zorna, who calls himself Xingu. And now appears Golux, a wizard with a spotty memory and a bad habit of falling for his own tall tales. With his help, the Prince may find the 1,000 jewels required by the Duke. Then again, the Duke may slit the Prince “from your gurgle to your zatch.”

At the end, the Duke has a complaint: “This tale is much too tidy for my taste. I hate it.” Consider him a minority of one. And don’t make the mistake of thinking this book is only for kids.

Link to Financial resources through State Library

Hello all.....

Our latest Kansas Government Information blog is out. This week's
topic is "Financial Literacy Education."

The KGI blog includes resources for adults and children and making it
through difficult financial times.

Check it out at:

http://ksdocs.blogspot.com/

Bill Sowers


Bill Sowers
Kansas Publications & Cataloging
State Library of Kansas
300 SW 10th, Room 343-N
Topeka, KS 66612
ksdocs@kslib.info
785-296-3296

Speakers sought at Kansas Humanities Council

Be prepared is not just the Boy Scout motto, it’s a way of thinking at the Kansas Humanities Council, especially as we look toward Kansas 150, the milestone Statehood anniversary in 2011. In preparation for the statewide commemoration of Statehood, KHC is creating a special Kansas 150 Speakers Bureau for 2010-2011 that will provide opportunities for community members to come together to discuss the past and invite ideas about the next 150 years.

The Kansas 150 Speakers Bureau will include presentations that examine our state, her past and her future, through the lens of the humanities. KHC is looking for stories of people, significant places, landscapes, art, literature, communities, major events, important political decisions, Big Ideas, and other topics that provide an opportunity for discussion among Kansans. These stories tell us about who we are, not just who we were.

Applications should be postmarked no later than August 26, 2009. For more information and application guidelines, visit www.kansashumanities.org or contact Dan Carey-Whalen, Director of Programs, at dan@kansashumanities.org or at 785/357-0359.

World Almanac Online!

Facts On File Online wrote about our subscription to:

Issues and Controversies

• Latest cover story: Rescuing the Newspaper Industry.
  
  
• Other recent feature articles: Supreme Court Nominations; Government Transparency; and Organized Squatting. Click here for a full list of topics.
  
  
• Recent Editorial Cartoons and Questions: Related to the Government Transparency article: Ben Sargent on Secrecy and The Obama Administration and Transparency. Related to the Rescuing the Newspaper Industry article: Do We Need Newspapers? and Assessing the Current State of Affairs . Click here for the full list.
  
  
• Recently updated articles: Bullying; Cigarette and Alcohol Taxes; and Death Penalty.
  
  
• Almanac: The 2009 World Almanac has been integrated onto the site. Access Almanac content from all searches via the Reference Shelf tab, or click the Almanac button at the top of any Issues and Controversies page to browse the Almanac.

Remember, you have access through your Butler Pipeline account on the Library tab!

July E-book available now...

Graphic Universe™: Beowulf

by Storrie, Paul D.; Randall, Ron
Lerner Publishing Group, 2007
Product ID: 205964

Retold as a graphic novel, this action-packed edition brings to life one of the most enduring legends in the English language.

The hero of Beowulf is a brave and mighty warrior, known to have the strength of thirty men. At home in Geatland, Beowulf hears about the terrible troubles of his father’s friend, Hrothgar, the king of the Danes. Hrothgar’s land is plagued by Grendel, a vicious monster who attacks the Danes by night. Beowulf sets sail to aid Hrothgar and the Danes. But is Beowulf strong enough to slay the monstrous Grendel? And even if he succeeds, what other dangers lie ahead for the warrior-hero?

In this Graphic Universe™ edition from Lerner Publishing Group, the author and illustrator of Beowulf: Monster Slayer bring to life one of the most enduring myths in the English language. Action-packed and richly illustrated, this age-old story will engage readers of all ages with supreme artwork and a faithful interpretation of the original epic.

25 years of Poetry Slams

In The News

Once on the fringes, poetry slams have firmly entered the mainstream, and an early pioneer expresses concern

Is Slam in Danger of Going Soft? [Free registration may be required]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/books/03slam.html?hp

Slam's new round: The founder of the poetry slam issues two books to renew the genre
http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/books/74004/marc-smith-of-uptown-poetry-slam

Obama Hosts White House Poetry Night
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104079608

Poetry Slam, Inc.
http://www.poetryslam.com/

The Poetry Foundation: Chicago Poetry Walking Tour [iTunes]
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/gallery/walking-tours/chicago/index.html

Green Mill Cocktail Lounge
http://www.greenmilljazz.com/

While the exact origins of the poetry slam are hard to pin down, some might point to the northwest corner of Broadway and Lawrence Avenues in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. Here, hidden by a dazzling neon sign, is the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge where poetry slammer Marc Kelly Smith fused various elements of spoken word performances, poetry, and a touch of Tom Waits into what is now called a poetry slam. 25 years later, Smith is concerned about the future of poetry slams, noting in a recent interview in the New York Times, "Now there's an audience, and people just want to write what the last guy wrote so they can get their face on TV." This unique art form has certainly flourished over the past several decades, and poetry slams have been organized from the Ozarks to Reunion Island. Others still remain ambivalent about such events, including literary critic and scholar Harold Bloom who once called poetry slamming "the death of art." Despite being co-opted by some in the mainstream media, Smith maintains that the poetry slam can retain its unique qualities and its subversive form of social commentary. [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to a news story from this Tuesday's New York Times on Smith and the world of poetry slams. The second link will lead interested parties to a recent article from Time Out Chicago that talks about Smith's two recent books on the subject of poetry slams. Moving on, the third link leads to an NPR news feature on the recent poetry night held at the White House. The fourth link leads to the homepage of Poetry Slam, Inc., which is the organization charged with overseeing the international coalition of poetry slams. The fifth link leads to an excellent audio walking tour of important poetry sites in Chicago, created by the Poetry Foundation. Finally, for those who might be in or around Chicago soon, the final link leads to the homepage of the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, where Smith and his band do their thing every Sunday night. [KMG]

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(There you have it! --Micaela)

June 2009 E-Book of the Month

The Career Clinic
Eight Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love

by Maureen Anderson
AMACOM Books, 2008
Product ID: 251065

Since the Baby Boom generation, we have been raised with a sense that self-fulfillment is one of our inalienable rights—yet most of us probably do not love our work. As the longtime host of a radio show devoted to helping people find careers they love, Maureen Anderson has often invited listeners in to hear firsthand accounts of people who not only relish their work, but live without regret.

The Career Clinic: Eight Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love by Maureen Anderson (AMACOM 2008) collects intimate and revealing first-hand accounts of people who have made the leap from the 9-to-5 doldrums into jobs that leave them feeling happy, satisfied, and filled with the sense of contentment that comes from knowing they're doing what they were put on this earth to do.