J.R. Jones, film critic and author of The Lives of Robert Ryan, tells us about what it's like to work as a movie reviewer today. Find his reviews and other writing for the Chicago Reader here.
Robert Ryan was known for his bigoted, violent characters in movies like The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, and Bad Day at Black Rock, but off the screen Ryan was a civil rights activist and pacifist, a fascinating dichotomy that Jones brings to life in his book and in our conversation.
Finally, I ask J.R. Jones to share some of his memories of the novelist and short story writer Richard Yates. Jones also grew up in Deerfield, so we hear a bit about how the Deerfield library and community inspired his early interest in film.
You can check out The Lives of Robert Ryan or explore the work of Robert Ryan or Richard Yates here at the library.
We welcome your comments and feedback--please send to: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast
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Known for Darth Vader and Son and the Jedi Academy series as well as Clumsy, Funny Misshapen Body, & A Matter of Life, Jeffrey Brown has been a prolific cartoonist and author. We discuss why the Village of Deerfield is in every one of his books, some of the themes of his adult graphic memoirs, how his Star Wars books came about, why it's difficult to make jokes about R2-D2 and C-3PO, and how he gets all the science into his Lucy & Andy Neanderthal series.
His website is jeffreybrowncomics.com or check out his books through the library. You can also find My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris at the library, which Jeff recommends.
Library News: Learn more about, Read Without Boundaries, our year-long adult reading program.
We welcome your comments and feedback--please send to: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast
Legendary photographer and writer Art Shay’s work has appeared in LIFE, Time, Sports Illustrated, and many other publications. Our conversation is full of first-hand accounts of some of the most the famous people and events of the 20th century--and local Deerfield history. We learn that Nelson Algren and Billy Corgan often visited Shay in Deerfield and Eleanor Roosevelt and James Baldwin were in town to support a proposed integrated housing development in the late 1950s and early 60s. Shay was part of the Deerfield Citizens for Human Rights, a group supporting integration.
We also hear about Shay’s interactions with Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, John F. Kennedy and more! At 95, Shay was recently honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Lucie Foundation and has a current exhibit at the American Writers Museum, Capturing Stories, which features his photographs of authors (through Spring 2018).
Just a note that Shay does use a bit of colorful language in this interview--you might want to preview it before sharing with young listeners.
We welcome your comments and feedback--please send to: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast
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We're taking a break from our monthly episodes for this busy time of year, but we'll be back in January with perhaps our most notable local yet. Thanks for listening and happy holidays!
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Author of Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter’s Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy, Elizabeth Rynecki. We discuss about her amazing memoir and documentary film project that chronicles the search for the missing paintings of her great-grandfather, Moshe Rynecki.
You can check out Chasing Portraits from the library or see the books and movies discussed in our conversation here.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Deerfield Rotary Club co-presidents Natalie Kirsch & Peter Fitzgerald. Check out deerfieldrotary.org for more info about their unique projects and how to get involved.
Vicki from Adult Services shares her Top 5 Spooky Reads list. Send in your own list of favorite Spooky Reads by 11:59 pm (Central), October 19th to podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. We’ll share all listener lists in a blog post and you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win a Halloween treat! (One entry per person.)
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Dr. Michael Lubelfeld, the superintendent of District 109, Deerfield’s elementary schools is our guest. We discussed the state of education today in Deerfield and Mike's recent book (with co-author Nick Polyak) The Unlearning Leader. Check out District 109’s new podcast, “Sound Around 109.”
Library news this month highlights an author visit from Elizabeth Rynecki on October 8th, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., to discuss her memoir and documentary project Chasing Portraits. Register by clicking here.
Finally, Elisa, our Youth Development Collection Librarian, recommends a beautiful new children’s book, The Grand Canyon by Jason Chin.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org.
More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Guided audio walking tour of public art in Deerfield, IL. Find map & guide and more info at deerfieldlibrary.org/arttour.
Tour features artists Lars-Birger Sponberg, Janet Austin, Robert Winslow, Javier Vilató, Antoine Poncet, Mary Block, and Ryan Wilde.
Find other local tours at deerfieldlibrary.org/localtours.
Mary Block, sculptor & Lars-Birger Sponberg, painter, both with longtime Deerfield connections and artwork in the community.
Check out the Deerfield Public Art Tour, in self-guided audio tour or 360 video tour formats. Our next in-person Public Art Tour, on Saturday Sept. 9th, from 10-11 am. Registration opens August 16th.
Multimedia Librarian Ted recommends a biography, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org.
More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Charlie Meyerson, proprietor of ChicagoPublicSquare.com, a free email news roundup. We talk “fake news” and the state of the media today. Charlie visited us in June as a panelist on our program The Real Story Behind Fake News, you can watch it here.
Library News: a new resource for our patrons in the market for a car: Auto Finance Resource. With this resource you can get the inside information on low rates for car loans that car dealers get.
Staff Picks segment: I take over for this month, recommending the new novel by Percival Everett, So Much Blue.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Chef Gale Gand, James Beard Award-winner, co-founder of the restaurant TRU, cookbook author, Food Network star on Sweet Dreams (and a whole lot more) is our guest this month. We talk about her long and fascinating career with a local spin--Gale grew up in Deerfield and has many connections to the area.
Library News: Summer Reading has started! Check at Youth or Adult desk or online for more info.
One of Gale’s favorite books: The Whip by Karen Kondazian.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Bestseller Mary Kubica, author of The Good Girl, Pretty Baby, and Don’t You Cry is our guest this month! We discuss the themes that run through her books, the local Chicago and suburban settings in her novels, and her love of libraries. Mary also shares some info about her new book, Every Last Lie, coming out this June.
Other segments in this episode—
Library News: we learn about the new Baby Garden in Youth Services from head of Youth Services, Meg Anthony.
Local History Corner: we answer the question “What does Charlton Heston have to do with Deerfield?”
Staff Pick: Readers Services Librarian Melissa recommends recent Pulitzer-Prize winner, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
State Senator Julie Morrison of Illinois’s 29th District is our guest this month. Julie discusses her career path, how best to get involved in local government, and how she gets some of her ideas for legislation (hint: visit her office!).
Other segments on our April show include information from youth librarian Julia Frederick about the library’s new Discovery Kits available for checkout. Then, in our brand new segment, our “Local History Corner,” librarian Anne Jamieson shares two hilarious spring-time animal stories from Deerfield’s past. The animal theme continues with our staff picks segment: Acquisitions Assistant Tom Walsh recommends The Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cat’s Walk Across America by William Stolzenburg.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
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Music in Local History Corner: https://archive.org/details/1950sJazzTrumpetGreats
Deputy Chief Ray Larson of the Deerfield Bannockburn Fire District is our guest this month. He discusses the path to becoming a firefighter, specific fire and life safety tips, when to call 911, and some of the unusual situations they’ve responded to. Follow the Fire Dept. on Facebook for more safety tips and news updates.
Bookending the conversation, Library Director Amy Falasz-Peterson tells us about the new Giving Tree project the Library Board has been working on. A reception honoring the first group of honorees will be held on Thursday, March 9 from 5-6:30 p.m. in the library’s front lobby and is open to the public. Finally, Multimedia Librarian Ted Gray recommends two TV shows, American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson and recent Oscar winner for Best Documentary, O. J.: Made in America.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Executive Director of the Deerfield Bannockburn Riverwoods Chamber of Commerce, Vicki Street, is our feature interviewee this month. We discuss the Chamber’s role in the community, growing up in Deerfield, and the Chamber’s recent trip to Cuba! Bookending the conversation, Outreach Coordinator Judy Hoffman tells us about the food drive for the Deerfield Township Food Pantry (donate in the library lobby March 1st - 22nd) and Teen librarian Nina Michael recommends the memoir Ugly by Robert Hoge.
Read the transcript of a speech a Deerfield librarian gave to the local Woman's club in 1939 here.
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
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Deerfield’s current Mayor, Harriet Rosenthal is our feature interviewee this month. Mayor Rosenthal discusses her path from community volunteer to the Mayor's seat and what makes her job particularly fulfilling. Bookending the conversation, librarian John Phillips fills us in on the details of our new board game collection, available for checkout now, and librarian Anne Jamieson recommends The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell.
Mayor Rosenthal also shares some information on an upcoming volunteer project, Give Where You Live--Deerfield. Info on Jan. 16th event: http://www.deerfield.il.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=56
Comments and feedback: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast.
Use this audio walking tour to explore Deerfield-area veterans (and other related people) in the historic cemetery in Deerfield Illinois. Narrator Dylan Zavagno will introduce the tour and guide you to the graves and librarian Anne Jamieson will detail the lives of those buried there. Along the way we’ll learn about veterans from nearly all of our country’s wars, with a special focus on the Civil War, World War I and II and the home front. The cemetery is located on Waukegan Rd. at the corner of Central Ave..
A .pdf map of the tour can be found here: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Veterans-Day-Cemetery-Tour-Route.pdf
A detailed guide, with map, pictures of graves, and written histories here: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CemeteryGuide_VeteransDay.pdf
And more info on this and our regular cemetery tour (which covers different people and different stories about some of the same people) can be found here: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/cemeterytours/
Sources for the research and featured music: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gMeywv1ws4wN4BaOyzDD1YRyTrU78lkdL6XTkAuU7ws/edit
The Deerfield Cemetery Commission's website (where you can electronically search the cemetery) is here: http://www.gisconsortium.org/WebApps/StoryMaps/VDF/DeerfieldCF/s2.html
Additional information can be found at the Deerfield Area Historical Society: http://www.deerfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ or explore our local history collection at the library: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/.
Allow approximately one (1) hour to complete the tour, and please remember to observe the following guidelines:
Produced by the Deerfield Public Library. Special thanks to the Deerfield Cemetery Commission and the Deerfield Area Historical Society.
Use this audio walking tour to explore the historic cemetery in Deerfield Illinois. Narrator Dylan Zavagno will introduce the tour and guide you to the graves and librarians Ted Gray and Anne Jamieson will detail the lives of those buried there. Along the way we’ll learn about early settlers, German immigrant families, abolitionists and veterans. We’ll get to know PTA and church members, famous local names, and a local historian, Marie Ward Reichelt. The cemetery is located on Waukegan Rd. at the corner of Central Ave..
A .pdf map of the tour can be found here: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Cemetery-Tour-Route.pdf
A detailed guide, with map, pictures of graves, and written histories here: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CemeteryGuide_Regular-Tour.pdf
And more info on this and our Veteran's Day cemetery can be found here: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/cemeterytours/
The Deerfield Cemetery Commission's website (where you can electronically search the cemetery) is here: http://www.gisconsortium.org/WebApps/StoryMaps/VDF/DeerfieldCF/s2.html
Additional information can be found at the Deerfield Area Historical Society: http://www.deerfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ or explore our local history collection at the library: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/.
Allow approximately one (1) hour to complete the tour, and please remember to observe the following guidelines:
Produced by the Deerfield Public Library. Special thanks to the Deerfield Cemetery Commission, The Deerfield Area Historical Society and pianist Daniel Baer.