Explore and Discover

Confession of a librarian mom: Reading and summer slide

Posted on June 5, 2018 at 6:00 am

By Gwendolyn Haley Last summer my family was busy with summer activities: camps, road trips, and camping vacations. We planned highly educational and enriching activities for our youngest daughter, but we did not make reading a high priority. When she started school in the fall, her teacher told me that she had definitely lost ground […]

Children’s booklist for Pride Month

Posted on May 29, 2018 at 6:00 am

by Caitlin Wheeler June is LGBT Pride Month in the U.S. Originally a week-long festivity, it honors the 1969 Stonewall Riots that culminated in a 51-block parade march from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in Manhattan, New York. As it has evolved and taken many forms, Pride Month continues to commemorate the men and […]

What’s cooking in the mud kitchen?

Posted on May 22, 2018 at 6:00 am

By Abra Cole In the last month, my garden has gone from looking like the dark side of the moon after the zombie apocalypse to a lush green jungle of happiness. Many plants I forgot I had planted last fall have popped up to greet the sun. I already know that I want to plant […]

Poetry of resistance and environmental justice

Posted on May 3, 2018 at 6:00 am

by Nathaniel Youmans Since its inauguration in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month has become perhaps the single most-celebrated global literary phenomenon of the year, making April arguably the most literate month. Sorry November, your romantic dreariness and proclivity for wool socks and chai lattes are no match for the e […]

Poetry in Spokane: Get Lit!, Tod Marshall, and Scablands Books

Posted on May 1, 2018 at 6:00 am

by Nathaniel Youmans Spokane has been a vibrating hive of activity during National Poetry Month. Eastern Washington University’s Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing program has had another smash hit year of literary programming for the 20th annual Get Lit! Festival, featuring readings, workshops, and panel discussions all across the Spokane […]

Reading in between: Done with winter but not quite ready for spring

Posted on April 24, 2018 at 6:00 am

By Susan Goertz Winter has never been my favorite season. This one seemed to drag out endlessly—gray clouds heaped on the horizon like immobile lumps of oatmeal. The sun rarely filtered through. At last, with April’s arrival, the light is returning—the dormant season ending. Though I’ve longed for this, there is a chill reticence still […]

Bicentennial of a Monster’s Birth

Posted on April 17, 2018 at 6:00 am

By Melissa Rhoades On January 1, 1818, the debut novel of a 20-year-old woman was anonymously published in London. Within five years, a second edition was released and a play based on the book premiered. The novel and its spin-offs remained a hit, and in 1910, Edison Studios created the first movie based on Mary […]

Consent Matters: Talking about the importance of “Yes”

Posted on April 3, 2018 at 6:00 am

By Sheri Boggs If the media is telling us anything these days, it’s that consent continues to be a hot-button topic. With new allegations of sexual harassment in politics, entertainment, and the arts hitting the news almost daily and the ongoing issue of date rape on college campuses, it seems more important than ever to […]

Resolving to Read Diversely

Posted on March 13, 2018 at 6:00 am

by Caitlin Wheeler In late 2016, a friend challenged everyone she knew, including me, to name one Indigenous American author, other than Sherman Alexie, off the top of their heads. As an employee of the library and an English literature major with a passion for diverse representation, I felt I should have answered quickly and […]

How’s that resolution treating you?

Posted on March 6, 2018 at 6:00 am

by Melanie Boerner Hey! It’s March. Remember that New Year’s resolution you made way back in January? How’s that going for you? Some of you may be rolling your eyes and dismissing me completely right now. Some of you may say you didn’t make a resolution at all. Or you may say how happy you […]