Beflast Free Library

Belfast Poetry Festival workshop: "Literary Litanies" with Doug Woodsum
2024-10-19 11:30 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Abbott Room
LITERARY LITANIES a workshop with Doug Woodsum
Poets have been writing litanies forever. Some people call them catalog poems. Anaphora is repetition of words or phrases in a group of poetic lines. The class begins with a brief discussion of classic litanies, then moves into brief warm-up writing exercises. Participants will craft a draft (or two) of their own litanies to share.

Free and open to all.
Douglas “Woody” Woodsum has taught at two universities and five public schools. He has published poetry in Yankee, Maine Times, The Café Review, Prairie Schooner, Antioch Review, English Journal, Off The Coast, Southern Review, Denver Quarterly, Exquisite Corpse, Massachusetts Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Puckerbrush Review, New England Review and The Beloit Poetry Journal. His work is on-line at Poetry Daily and the educational website, www.fishousepoems.org. In 1995, he changed his focus from his own writing to teach English, first in rural Maine, then in extremely rural Maine. With his students, he has published twelve annual anthologies of oral history, folklore, and creative writing. His book The Lawns of Lobstermen is available from Moon Pie Press.
More information about the Belfast Poetry Festival here.

"Songs from Here" with Sarah Tuttle, pianist Bridget Convey, and guest poets
2024-10-19 15:00 - 17:00 | Gammans Room
We are thrilled to welcome for the first time to the Belfast Poetry Festival SONGS FROM HERE, a Maine-based initiative dedicated to the commission of new vocal works by composers born or based in Maine. The program, featuring Sarah Tuttle, pianist Bridget Convey, and guest poets, will include original compositions with poetry readings interspersed between groups of songs. The performance takes place on Saturday, October 19 at 3 pm in the Gammans Room at the Belfast Free Library
Following Songs from Here, the Gammans Room will host Jay Hanes and Eleanor Weisman for “Compress, Impulse, Express,” an original choreopoem based on John Dewey’s aesthetic process and motivated by climate destruction and the rise of fascism. The duo will also offer intermedial interpretations of works by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. To close the afternoon program, Mark S. Burrows, Willie Sordillo and Liz Kalloch present “Dancing the Orange,” an improvisational performance that begins with the poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s eccentric call in one of his Sonnets to Orpheus to “dance the orange”—and, as he goes on to suggest, to “establish kinship / with the pure, resisting rind, / with the juice that fills the happy fruit.” The trio will weave together a dialogue with poetry, saxophone, and movement.

Library Offers New Year’s Eve Lineup as part of Last Night Belfast Events
2024-12-31 05:00 - 21:30 | Abbott Room
Belfast Free Library Offers New Year’s Eve Lineup as part of Last Night Belfast Events:
The Belfast Free Library is delighted to offer something for everyone during this year’s “Last Night Belfast” celebration on New Year’s Eve 2024: resolutions to release, a magic show, a slice of Belfast history and the fantastic Bill Barnes Jazz Trio to top off the evening’s festivities.
From 5 to 9:30 in the lobby, Parks & Rec Director Pamela J. Salokangas will offer “Resolutions Ablaze.” Come write anything from 2024 you’d like to release on a flame-shaped colored piece of paper: an event, a thought, a tragedy, something angering, a bad habit . . .add a yarn hanger, and Pamela will collect them and take them to the bonfire area prior to the fire. They will be placed on the bonfire as decoration, and burned when the bonfire is lit.
At 5:15, families are welcomed to BFL’s Abbott Room for a longtime favorite magic show. “Conjuring” Carroll Chapman is a traveling performing artist specializing in family audiences as an education specialist. With over 30 years of performing in New England and Internationally, Carroll provides world-class family entertainment for resorts, community events, fairs, and festivals. Come experience laughter, comedy, magic, and a bit of nonsense at his award-winning magic presentation.
At 6:15, we’ll explore “Belfast Winters of Yesteryear” with Megan Pinette, historical society president. Her fascinating program will take a look back at how Belfastians fared during the 19th and early 20th century during the long winter months. The harbor froze over, runaway horses and sleighs were regularly reported in the newspaper, and falling snow drifts were a constant hazard. And yet, fun was had! Selected New Year’s greeting cards from the Belfast Museum collection will also be featured.
At 8 pm we welcome back the legendary Bill Barnes Trio. A Maine favorite with decades of musical experience and virtuosic guitar skills, these marvelous musicians will provide an unforgettable performance, interpreting jazz standards uniquely and delivering heart-warming original compositions.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
2025-06-24 16:00 - 18:00 | Plaza in front of the Library
All are invited to celebrate the recent installation of a state-of-the-art heat pump system at the Belfast Free Library, the result of a collaboration between the Belfast City Council and the Library Board of Trustees. Please join us at the open house and ribbon cutting for this successful community project on Tuesday, June 24th from 4-6 pm.

Me and Martha in concert
2025-08-15 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room

Policing, Politics & The Law: Connecting the Dots
2025-11-21 16:00 - 17:30 | Abbott Room
Belfast Senior College and the Belfast Free Library are co-sponsoring this free and open to all discussion.
How do policing, politics and the law intersect and shape our daily lives?
Join us for a lively presentation led by Eli B. Silverman, Ph.D. that unlocks the stories behind the headlines. Current events regarding the actions of federal, state and local law enforcement will be examined. No expertise needed- bring your curiosity, comments and questions.
Our speaker Eli B. Silverman, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center of City University of New York. He has served with the U.S. Department of Justice and National Academy of Public Administration in Washington D.C.
