Tagged Literature
Creative Writing: Discovering Your Inner Voice
I always wanted to explore creative writing! It’s fascinating to understand what tools and mechanisms writers use to craft a story or a poem. Creating with words is an amazing and fun experience! The pandemic gave me the…
Making Her Mark Spotlight: Poetry and Movement Building
by Suzanna Urminska and Sam Perduta Our words carry power—whether as balm or as burnish, our words have the power to come together to form poetry that recalls and reconnects a range of human experiences both personal and…
Newest Episode of "Book Feast" Invites Women to the Table
Coinciding with Women’s History Month, the newest episode of Book Feast uses the luncheon in Virginia Woolf ’s proto-feminist essay A Room of One’s Own (1929) to discuss women’s legacy in literature. The…
Let Culinary Explorations of Literature Nourish You with Book Feast!
Have you ever thought about why we use the same vocabulary to describe consuming food and consuming knowledge? How we’re hungry for the truth, devour a good book, and digest information? Intellectual nourishment has been so…
Story Search from Special Collections: An Interview by Hannah Cho
Hannah Cho is a University of Pennsylvania Work-Study student from Davis, CA. During the Fall semester, she studied, recorded, and edited the Story Search podcasts remotely from South Korea. I’ve always been more of a talker…
Healing Verse Philly: a Project from the Poet Laureate
Through the challenges of 2020, one of the abiding sources of relief for many of us has been poetry. More people than ever are looking to the written word for strength, wisdom, and comfort. Even before the pandemic struck, Trapeta B.…
Monday Poets Turns 25! View Ephemera from Over the Years
The Literature Department at Parkway Central Library is celebrating the 25th year of our flagship program, Monday Poets ! Over the years, the department has hosted poets from all over the country, and has always made it their mission to…
In Appreciation of Octavia Butler
That’s all anybody can do right now. Live. Hold out. Survive. I don’t know whether good times are coming back again. But I know that won’t matter if we don’t survive these times. ― Octavia E. Butler, Parable of…
If You Liked Jane Eyre...
...then why not check out these digital titles from the Free Library, specially curated for fans of this beloved English novel? On this day in 1816, Charlotte Brontë was born in Thornton, England. The third of six children, she and…
Spotlight on Special Collections: When Dickens Met Poe
This blog post is in honor of Charles Dickens' birthday. The prolific Victorian author of "epic stories" like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield , was born on Portsea Island off England's south-central…
Mark Gatiss Visits The Rosenbach to Film New Dracula Documentary
The Rosenbach was delighted to have writer, actor, and director Mark Gatiss visit in June to shoot scenes for his In Search of Dracula documentary, which was just released on the BBC. Along with Stephen Moffat , Gatiss created a new…
Hands-On History Wraps Up 2019 With Charles Dickens... and Introduces a New Line-Up For 2020
What do Charles Dickens, cuneiform tablets, and James Bond have in common? The answer is Hands-on History at the Free Library, which wraps up its inaugural year with a holiday program on Saturday, December 14 at 2:00 p.m.,…
Happy Birthday to Kurt Vonnegut (and Kilgore Trout?)
Yes, I am one of those: I keep a list of books saved in my phone—books that I will eventually read once I reach that magical point of life when I stop desiring new books and therefore stop adding to the dang list—and…
Song-Poems Concert Series Returns to Literature Deparment This Fall
The 'Song-Poems' concert series , which debuted in the Spring of 2019, is finishing up this calendar year with three special events. The concert series invites Philadelphia-based musicians to come into the library and utilize…
Happy Birthday, F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald would be 123 years old today, if human beings commonly lived to this age and had he not been a self-destructive parvenu , much like his most famous character. In fact, F. Scott Fitzgerald only lived 44…
Remembering Toni Morrison, 1931–2019
When I first read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison , at 15 years old, I knew it would haunt me. The story fed my soul—I was shocked at its lovely, yet stinging taste, but realized I had always been craving it. Never had my struggle…
George Orwell in Context
Talking animals, pigs rising to power, a full-fledged government on a farm, and a revolution against an alcoholic farmer serve as the backdrop of George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm . Confused? Trust me, there’s…
ReJoyce! Bloomsday Returns to The Rosenbach
The Rosenbach 's annual Bloomsday festivities will be held on Sunday, June 16, falling on Father’s Day this year! What is Bloomsday? Bloomsday is an annual event where the world celebrates Leopold Bloom’s…
We Celebrate Him: Walt Whitman at 200
I celebrate myself — When lilacs last — I contain multitudes — O Captain! my Captain! What other U.S. poet’s work can be recognized by so few words—and by so many people—as that of the self-proclaimed…
The Mystery of Missing Persons
Many things go missing – overdue books, keys, socks in the dryer – but none of those can compare with the gravity of when a person simply disappears. Approximately 90,000 people are missing at this very moment in the United…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W.E.B. Du Bois
Join us for a virtual reading group of The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W.E.B. Du Bois. This book discussion group meets on Zoom on July 13, 20, 27, and August 3rd and is open to everyone. You will be given a copy of…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W.E.B. Du Bois
Join us for a virtual reading group of The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W.E.B. Du Bois. This book discussion group meets on Zoom on July 13, 20, 27, and August 3rd and is open to everyone. You will be given a…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
“I am the Smoke-King”: The Poetry of W.E.B. Du Bois
Teens - Do you like poetry? Is art important to you? Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote poetry to free his people. He said that artists are leaders of human civilization. Come read his poetry and create your own poems and artwork inspired by it.…
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W.E.B. Du Bois
Join us for a virtual reading group of The Quest of the Silver Fleece by W.E.B. Du Bois. This book discussion group meets on Zoom on July 13, 20, 27, and August 3rd and is open to everyone. You will be given a copy of…
VIRTUAL Story Club!
How many ways can you tell a story? Check in with Ms. Scout for a weekly story prompt and then write, draw, tell, sing, dance, or build your response! Instagram: @freelibraryccd Facebook: ParkwayCentralChildrens Twitter: @ParkwayCCD
“I am the Smoke-King”: The Poetry of W.E.B. Du Bois
Teens - Do you like poetry? Is art important to you? Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote poetry to free his people. He said that artists are leaders of human civilization. Come read his poetry and create your own poems and artwork inspired by it.…
Virtual First Chapter Friday
Looking for your next read? CCD librarians will read the first chapter of a book they really enjoy! Be sure to then place your hold so you can read them too! (The videos will be posted to Facebook.) This program is intended for…
VIRTUAL - Yaa Gyasi | Transcendent Kingdom
PURCHASE TICKETS In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Celebrated for her “stellar instincts, sturdy craftsmanship and penetrating wisdom” ( San Francisco Chronicle ), Yaa Gyasi is the…
Poetry in Translation
Take pleasure in reading poets from other languages and cultures.
Poetry - Novels in Verse
Poetry with special appeal for tweens and teens.
Poetry - Great Contemporary Poetry
Selections from the Literature Department.
NewsBank Hot Topics
Trending news and hot topics for your next assignment! Hot topics covers Current Events, Business & Economics, Civics, Government, & Politics, Social Issues, Science, Technology & Health, Sports, Arts & Literature, and People in the News.
LitFinder *
Discover literature content from more than 150,000 full-text poems, 840,000 poem citations and excerpts, 7,100 full-text short stories and novels, 3,800 full-text essays published in the 16th-20th centuries, 2,400 full-text speeches, and…
Literature Criticism Online
This extensive compilation of literary commentary represents a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras, and genres. Covers Children’s, Classical, Contemporary, Drama, Poetry, Shakespearean,…
Gale OneFile | High School Edition (formerly InfoTrac Student Edition) *
High school students will have access to age-appropriate content from magazines, journals, newspapers, reference books, and engaging multi-media covering a wide range of subjects, from science, history, and literature to political…
Gale Literary Sources (formerly Artemis)
Cross-search all of Gale’s literature databases from a single digital space to find biographies, primary sources, contextual reference, and criticism. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author, LitFinder,…
Gale in Context | Middle School (formerly Research in Context) *
Discover reliable and trusted information on a variety of topics to support middle school student research for government, U.S and world history, geography, literature, sciences, and social issues. Research In Context offers…
Gale in Context | Elementary (formerly Kids InfoBits) *
Elementary students in kindergarten through grade five will find age-appropriate content covering a broad range of educational topics such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, people, social studies, technology, etc. Kids…
Books & Authors *
Discover fiction and non-fiction books that match your interests! Books and Authors (powered by Gale's popular What Do I Read Next? series) is for readers from every level of reading proficiency and enables users to explore the endless…
America's Historical Imprints
Explore the nation’s past in unprecedented ways. Includes books, pamphlets, broadsides and other scarce printed material, centuries of American history, literature, culture, and daily life, and extensive indexing and full bibliographic…
Academic OneFile *
More than 18,000 peer-reviewed journals and more than 9,200 in full text Full text of The Economist ranging from 1988 to the present, with no embargo Full text of The New York Times from 1985 to present, updated daily Full text of The…
Kiese Laymon | Long Division
In conversation with Imani Perry Kiese Laymon’s Heavy , a coming-of-age memoir that begins in Jackson, Mississippi, was named a Best Book of 2018 by the New York Times , NPR, and the Washington Post , among other media outlets. The…
Michael Punke | Ridgeline
In conversation with Christina Baker Kline, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train , A Piece of the World , and The Exiles Michael Punke is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Revenant , “a superb revenge…
Maggie O’Farrell | Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague
In conversation with Nicole Galland, historical novelist and author of Master of the Revels and creator of Shakespeare for the Masses With a “gift for combining intricate, engrossing plots with full-bodied characterizations” (…
Kevin Kwan | Sex and Vanity
In conversation with Nydia Han, Consumer Investigative Reporter and co-anchor of 6ABC Action News Sunday mornings Kevin Kwan is the author of Crazy Rich Asians , "a lively, generous story of shallow extravagance and human devotion” (…
Kaitlyn Greenidge | Libertie
In conversation with Salamishah Tillet, the Henry Rutgers Professor of African American Studies and Creative Writing and author of In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece Kaitlyn Greenidge is the author of…
Caleb Azumah Nelson | Open Water
In conversation with Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning British–-Ghanaian writer Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water is, “an intense, elegant” ( Guardian ) tale of two young Black British artists who find love as…
Yusef Komunyakaa | Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth: New and Selected Poems, 2001–2021
Yusef Komunyakaa won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Neon Vernacular , a collection of poems that spoke about the realities of the Vietnam War, of which he was a veteran. His other collections include Warhorses , Taboo , and The…
Natalie Diaz | Postcolonial Love Poem with Denice Frohman
Natalie Diaz is the author of When My Brother Was an Aztec , an “ambitious . . . beautiful” ( New York Times ) American Book Award–winning poetry collection that ruminates on her sibling’s drug addiction. A former professional…
Phillip Lopate | The Golden Age of the American Essay: 1945-1970
In conversation with Carrie Rickey, writer and former film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer Phillip Lopate’s “observant, elegiac, and far-reaching” ( New York Times ) essay collections include Bachelorhood , Against Joie de Vivre ,…
Blake Bailey | Philip Roth: The Biography
In conversation with Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of The Border , The Force , The Cartel, Power of the Dog , Savages, and Broken , his new collection of six short novels. Blake Bailey is acclaimed for his…
Quiara Alegría Hudes | My Broken Language
In conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel Introduced by Virginia Sanchez Quiara Alegría Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful , a story of “shimmering, sustaining…
Viet Thanh Nguyen | The Committed
In conversation with Alexander Chee, author of Edinburgh , The Queen of the Night , and How To Write An Autobiographical Novel , and associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College Viet Thanh Nguyen won the 2016…
Hala Alyan | The Arsonists’ City
In conversation with Alix Gerz, Vice President of Communications, Free Library of Philadelphia Hala Alyan’s novel Salt Houses , a “heart-wrenching, lyrical and timely” ( Dallas Morning News ) study of three generations in a Palestinian…
Melissa Broder | Milk Fed
In conversation with Nomi Eve, author of Henna House and The Family Orchard , Director of the Creative Writing MFA program, Drexel University. Melissa Broder is the author of The Pisces , a darkly erotic yet tender tale of academia,…
Nadia Owusu | Aftershocks: A Memoir
In conversation with writer and librarian Maisy Card, author of These Ghosts Are Family Nadia Owusu won a 2019 Whiting Award for her work on Aftershocks . “A memoir that broods on lost identity and statelessness” ( Elle ), this debut…
Salamishah Tillet | In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece
In conversation with Errin Haines, founding member and editor at large at The 19th, a new, nonprofit newsroom focused on the intersection of women, politics and policy. Salamishah Tillet is the author of Sites of Slavery , an…
VIRTUAL - Sadeqa Johnson | Yellow Wife
In conversation with Jennifer Weiner, bestselling author of numerous books including In Her Shoes and most recently Big Summer Yellow Wife tells the harrowing story of an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in…
George Saunders | A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Masterclass on Writing, Reading, and Life
In conversation with Daniel Torday , Director of Creative Writing at Bryn Mawr College, author of The Last Flight of Poxl West, Boomer1, and The Sensualist , and two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award. “One of the most…
Jerald Walker | How to Make a Slave and Other Essays
In conversation with author, essayist, and radio host Solomon Jones. Jerald Walker ’s recent How to Make a Slave and Other Essays was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award. A “restless, brilliant” collection that “can alight on a…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o | The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi
In conversation with Ketu H. Katrak, Professor in the Department of Drama at the University of California, Irvine, and author of the forthcoming book Jay Pather, Performance, and Spatial Politics in South Africa Acclaimed Kenyan scholar…
Bestsellers
Find out about the latest bestsellers from many well known resources.