Latest news with #MaryOliver
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Wild Geese, Hyderabad's new lending library at Nallagandla hopes to attract young and adult readers
A spacious room on the second floor of an apartment complex in Nallagandla, Hyderabad, now houses a modest yet inviting lending library. Surrounded by greenery, the quiet neighbourhood allows for natural light and cross ventilation through multiple window panes. Wild Geese Library (@ named after the Mary Oliver poem, is only a few weeks old. A passion project by Sankeerthana, an avid reader and cinephile, it aims to welcome both young and adult readers. An engineer and former IT professional who later began writing about cinema, Sankeerthana had long dreamt of being surrounded by books. 'It was a romantic dream,' she says, referencing Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail, who runs a small independent bookstore. 'But a bookstore was beyond my budget; the next best thing was a lending library.' The idea took three years to take shape. She saved up, found a space in her neighbourhood, and Wild Geese was born. Her eight-year-old son, Vivaan Varma, helped her set up the collection — now over 5,000 books strong. Talking about the relevance of lending libraries, Sankeerthana says, 'When we buy books online, we tend to look for what we already know. A library gives you the chance to browse, get curious, take recommendations and discover something new.' She has observed this shift in her son too, who tends to read what is popular among his peers but becomes more open to other titles when browsing at the library. She hopes Wild Geese fosters the same curiosity in other readers. While a large portion of the collection caters to ages six to 18, there is enough to engage adult readers as well, with books in both English and Telugu. Some are from her personal library, while others were sourced from friends, family, and book fairs such as Abids Sunday Market and 'Lock the Box', as well as second-hand stores in Hyderabad. 'Even when buying pre-owned books, I avoid anything too worn out, and I never pick pirated editions,' she adds. Classics like The Famous Five and The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton, The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew,Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and Tintin sit alongside titles like Winnie the Pooh, Keeper of the Lost Cities, How to Train Your Dragon, Geronimo Stilton, Wings of Fire, Percy Jackson, and books by Terry Pratchett. The Telugu collection was curated with help from Hyderabad-based Anvikshiki Publishers. Sankeerthana's reading journey began in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, with her father's books. Later, while studying engineering, she made regular use of her college library. 'Wild Geese is also a way for me to reconnect with the joy of reading,' she says. The library offers membership plans ranging from one to twelve months. Word-of-mouth is slowly spreading through community groups and residential complexes nearby. As the readership grows, Sankeerthana hopes to organise interactive reading and storytelling sessions to foster a deeper connection with books. (Wild Geese Library is at 202, Sai Orchids, Huda Layout, Nallagandla, Hyderabad. Email: Ph: 7075849255)
Toronto Star
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Blondshell alt-rock finds new nuance on ‘If You Asked for a Picture'
Sabrina Teitelbaum, who records under the band name Blondshell, is a longtime student of alt-rock. She knows a thing or two about all the ways in which a cutting lyric and thunderous guitar can rejuvenate the soul and soundtrack rage. On her sophomore album, 'If You Asked for a Picture,' named after Mary Oliver's 1986 poem 'Dogfish,' she builds from the success of her earlier work – 2023's self-titled debut and its haunting single 'Salad.' Over the course of 12 tracks, much like on her first album, Blondshell reckons with a woman's role in her various relationships, personally and societally. Those messages — gritty, real, existential and fluid as they are — arrive atop visceral instrumentation, hearty guitars and punchy percussion.
Winnipeg Free Press
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Music Review: Blondshell alt-rock finds new nuance on ‘If You Asked for a Picture'
Sabrina Teitelbaum, who records under the band name Blondshell, is a longtime student of alt-rock. She knows a thing or two about all the ways in which a cutting lyric and thunderous guitar can rejuvenate the soul and soundtrack rage. On her sophomore album, 'If You Asked for a Picture,' named after Mary Oliver's 1986 poem 'Dogfish,' she builds from the success of her earlier work – 2023's self-titled debut and its haunting single 'Salad.' Over the course of 12 tracks, much like on her first album, Blondshell reckons with a woman's role in her various relationships, personally and societally. Those messages — gritty, real, existential and fluid as they are — arrive atop visceral instrumentation, hearty guitars and punchy percussion. 'Oh well you're not gonna save him,' she reminds listeners in 'Arms.' Much of 'If You Asked for a Picture' sits at the intersection of modern indie, '90s grunge and '80s college radio rock, like that of 'Event of a Fire.' On the acoustic fake-out 'Thumbtack,' instrumentation builds slow and remains restrained. 'Man' is muscular, with its soaring distortion and layered production. On 'If You Asked for a Picture,' relationships are nuanced, awkward and honest — her flawed and frustrated characters show how easy it is to succumb to the whims of someone who doesn't have your best interest in mind, to become someone else when you don't know who you are. That's clear on 'Change,' where she sings, 'It's not my fault it's who I am / When I feel bad I bring it back and leave it all at your door.' And the anxious complications compound: 'A parting gift / Kiss me back / I'm sorry for changing.' If there is a main weakness in 'If You asked for a Picture,' it is that a number of the tracks bleed together sonically near the record's end, making it hard to distinguish a three-song run: 'Toy' to 'Man.' Fans will likely label it stylistic consistency rather than tiresome repetition. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. That said, there's a lot to love here. 'T&A,' 'Model Rockets' and the palm-muted power chords of 'What's Fair' warrant repeat listens. 'Why don't the good ones love me?' Blondshell asks on 'T&A,' with its dreamy guitar tone 'Watching him fall / Watching him go right in front of me.' The swaying mellotron of 'Model Rockets' ends the album. 'I'm a bad bad girl / Bad bad girl,' she adds to the closer. 'Life may have been happening elsewhere / And I don't know what I want anymore.' It might serve as a mission statement for the album — where identity and desire are malleable, influenced by relationships and the evolving nature of the world, made more complicated by simply being a woman in it.
Associated Press
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Music Review: Blondshell alt-rock finds new nuance on 'If You Asked for a Picture'
Sabrina Teitelbaum, who records under the band name Blondshell, is a longtime student of alt-rock. She knows a thing or two about all the ways in which a cutting lyric and thunderous guitar can rejuvenate the soul and soundtrack rage. On her sophomore album, 'If You Asked for a Picture,' named after Mary Oliver's 1986 poem 'Dogfish,' she builds from the success of her earlier work – 2023's self-titled debut and its haunting single 'Salad.' Over the course of 12 tracks, much like on her first album, Blondshell reckons with a woman's role in her various relationships, personally and societally. Those messages — gritty, real, existential and fluid as they are — arrive atop visceral instrumentation, hearty guitars and punchy percussion. 'Oh well you're not gonna save him,' she reminds listeners in 'Arms.' Much of 'If You Asked for a Picture' sits at the intersection of modern indie,'90s grunge and '80s college radio rock, like that of 'Event of a Fire.' On the acoustic fake-out 'Thumbtack,' instrumentation builds slow and remains restrained. 'Man' is muscular, with its soaring distortion and layered production. On 'If You Asked for a Picture,' relationships are nuanced, awkward and honest — her flawed and frustrated characters show how easy it is to succumb to the whims of someone who doesn't have your best interest in mind, to become someone else when you don't know who you are. That's clear on 'Change,' where she sings, 'It's not my fault it's who I am / When I feel bad I bring it back and leave it all at your door.' And the anxious complications compound: 'A parting gift / Kiss me back / I'm sorry for changing.' If there is a main weakness in 'If You asked for a Picture,' it is that a number of the tracks bleed together sonically near the record's end, making it hard to distinguish a three-song run: 'Toy' to 'Man.' Fans will likely label it stylistic consistency rather than tiresome repetition. That said, there's a lot to love here. 'T&A,' 'Model Rockets' and the palm-muted power chords of 'What's Fair' warrant repeat listens. 'Why don't the good ones love me?' Blondshell asks on 'T&A,' with its dreamy guitar tone 'Watching him fall / Watching him go right in front of me.' The swaying mellotron of 'Model Rockets' ends the album. 'I'm a bad bad girl / Bad bad girl,' she adds to the closer. 'Life may have been happening elsewhere / And I don't know what I want anymore.' It might serve as a mission statement for the album — where identity and desire are malleable, influenced by relationships and the evolving nature of the world, made more complicated by simply being a woman in it.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
After historic winter weather in Kansas, once-reliable mail slowed to a standstill
A lone snowman stands at attention on the Kansas Statehouse lawn, on Jan. 13, 2025 (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) The 10-inch snow and high winds we had in Overland Park the first Sunday of 2025 was the kind of snow where, says poet Mary Oliver, 'All the singing is in the tops of trees.' Ground level, our postal carrier skipped Monday. No surprise. Our chickens moved into the garage. We all needed a day or so to get control of the situation. I had charged up my generator to keep the fridge and freezer powered in case of outages, which occur on our block more often than for friends. I can't get a good answer as to why. 'The lights,' however, as my folks would call electricity, stayed on. Even on spring days, we often find a neighbor's mail on our lawn or in the street, stamped with tire tracks. I write this six days after the big snow, and no postal carrier has yet to be seen. FedEx, Amazon and UPS deliveries busy our street. Trash and recycling trucks came as scheduled. Neighbors cleared their walks. Stores are open, and the woman across the street leaves for work every morning at 6:10. No sign, no word or letter from the U.S. Postal Service. My uncle 'Red' worked for the post office after World War II until he retired. He was known in the family to be 'kind of finicky' and 'particular about things,' as my mother once said. I admired him for it. My father and grandfather were plumbers, and they had to be particular about things, too. People I grew up around were mostly particular about things. My dad's friend Don drove a bread truck and knew the owners of all the small groceries. When I started to send my own writing to magazines, long ago, hoping for the return of an acceptance letter, a more established writer cautioned me: 'Your life will start to revolve around the mail.' In the military, also, as late as the 1970s, our routine was best expressed in Randall Jarrell's poem 'Mail Call,' which ends, 'The soldier merely wishes for his name.' I am reasonably adept with computers. I pay some bills online, and my own writing often shows up in digital magazines. Some people have no need for the good old Postal Service anymore. A friend rarely checks his mailbox, nested in standalone clusters of boxes scattered throughout his neighborhood. It's mostly junk, he says. Printed paper, folded, glued, bound, or boxed and stamped, magazines, even bills, first-class letters, signed and handled by the sender, and, yes, sometimes a print journal with my name in it surprise and enrich me. Junk, as we call some mail, gets recycled. Postmaster Louis DeJoy, according to Time in 2023, 'aims to remake delivery service that deals increasingly less with traditional mail and more with packages.' 'Packages,' we should understand, mean purchases, corporate products, consumer goods. Indeed, regular first-class mail has slowed down under DeJoy, a logistics expert and Donald Trump donor. When my checks aren't posted by due dates, I have called companies in Newark or Chicago to arrange payment, and strangers there counseled me not to rely on the postal service these days. 'Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,' a sentiment from the Greek Herodotus and carved into the Farley post office in New York City, is not, the Postal Service wants made clear, an official motto. Former U.S. poet laureate Philip Levine, lost in Spain years ago, wrote, 'The mail here never leaves or leaves too late.' Overland Park, however, is what I call a 'built-up area.' Lack of public services historically troubles rural areas or small towns in this country where post offices are being closed. Los Angeles is a built-up area, of course, and not where we would expect huge wildfires. I say that to suggest that institutional infrastructures have us jammed up these days, staggering a bit. The Postal Workers Union says the number of counter clerks fell roughly from 79,000 to 69,000 in 2023, and the turnover rate for new hires in 2022 was close to 60%. Blame low morale — how the term 'postal' gained its grim connotation — low pay and overwork; or maybe workers now just don't like being particular about things. Or maybe they do. Our mail finally came in the late dark this Saturday. What we have, still, are fellow humans, walking up to our doors or stopping on the road in front, and that, I say, keeps us grounded. 'The Rural Carrier Discovers Love Is Everywhere,' writes poet T.R. Hummer, when the carrier discovers newlyweds behind a privet hedge, on their lawn, still asleep and still naked. After observing, 'Lord, they're a pretty sight,' the carrier makes one of the grand statements in contemporary literature by a messenger: 'The hell with the mail,' he says. It can wait one day, affirming poetry's humanity and maybe the mail's. 'There's no one they need to hear from.' Robert Stewart edited the literary journal New Letters at The University of Missouri-Kansas City for many years. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
