22nd Annual 5k Run/Walk & Free Kid's Fun Run on September 22nd!

On Sunday, September 22nd, the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library will host the annual Run to benefit the Library. The USATF-Sanctioned 5k Run/Walk starts at the library with runners proceeding to the West Chop lighthouse and back. There will also be a free 1/2 Mile Fun Run for Kids.

Medals will be awarded to winners in all age groups, and all participants will be eligible to win raffle prizes including gift certificates from local stores. 5k registration includes a t-shirt. 5k starts at 10 am; Fun Run for Kids starts at 9:45 am; Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Community sponsors for this year's event include Brickman's, Broadway Screen Printing, Cape Cod 5, Cronig's Market, The Green Room, Island Source, Martha's Vineyard Harley Riders, Martha's Vineyard Savings Bank, Martha’s Vineyard Vacation Rentals & Sales, Stop & Shop, and Vineyard Grocer.

Save $5 by registering in advance! You can register online, or pick up a registration form at the library.

Register for Fall Literature Seminar with Phil Weinstein: "Fictions of the Law"

Register Online

Philip Weinstein, the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English Emeritus at Swarthmore College, will present the next in the ongoing program series "Islanders Read the Classics", with a six-part seminar "Fictions of the Law". This free seminar will be held on Wednesday evenings at the Katharine Cornell Theater, 51 Spring Street, Vineyard Haven.

"Fictions of the Law" will study three classic novels: Charles Dickens's Bleak House (1852), Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment (1866), and Franz Kafka's The Trial (1925). Participants are encouraged to read the books in advance, however it is not required. Copies of the books may be requested through your local CLAMS library. Those who prefer to read the same edition that Professor Weinstein will use in class may request the Norton Critical Edition of Bleak House, the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation Crime and Punishment, and the Muir translation of The Trial.

According to Professor Weinstein, the series' title--"Fictions of the Law"--should be understood in at least two ways. "On the one hand, we are reading three classic novels that circulate obsessively around the concept of the law (both criminal and civil). But each novel does this in its own ways, and the three of them differ starkly in approach, implication, and resonance. The other way to understand "Fictions of the Law" is to grasp that "law" itself is held up to an imaginative probing (is shown to be in disturbing ways fictional) in all three novels.  You may come away from each novel wondering, afresh, what is law?"

In order to allow the library to prepare class materials and communicate with students, participants are encouraged to sign up in advance at the library, or register online.

Dates and reading assignments:

Wednesday, September 18th, 7pm
Charles Dickens, Bleak House, chapters i - xxxi

Wednesday, October 2nd, 7pm
Charles Dickens, Bleak House, entire book

Wednesday, October 23rd, 7pm
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, parts 1-3

Wednesday, November 6th, 7pm
Crime and Punishment, entire book

Wednesday, November 20th, 7pm
Franz Kafka, The Trial

Wednesday, December 4th, 7pm
Franz Kafka, The Trial

Arnie Reisman: Rembrandt Has Left the Building

On Thursday, September 12th at 7 pm, learn how two screenwriters solved the nearly 30-year-old art heist at Boston’s Gardner Museum (and why they had to turn this historic event into a comedy). Arnie Reisman will tell the story of his award-winning original screenplay, “Rembrandt Has Left the Building,” cowritten with Nat Segaloff, based on the unsolved 1990 robbery of Boston’s Isabella Stuart Gardner art museum.

The Gardner museum robbery is the world’s biggest art heist. On March 17, 1990, two men dressed as Boston policemen overpowered the guards at the Gardner, methodically lifted and cut 13 works from their frames, and made off with their $500 million booty never to be seen again. Not only were there no significant clues, but in 29 years neither the FBI nor private investigators have been able to untangle the mystery -- until now. Reisman’s and Segaloff’s original script offers a compelling solution to who stole the paintings and why they will probably never be recovered. Based on interviews with the two chief suspects and a deathbed confession from one of them, it shows how the robbery was committed and the dryly funny reasons the investigation ran aground almost from the beginning.

“Rembrandt Has Left the Building” -- the title suggests a comedy of crime and manners -- was profiled on the acclaimed 2018 “Last Seen” NPR podcast series by Kelly Horan. The script was chosen winner in the feature division from among 153 submissions to the Electric City screenplay competition. Arnie Reisman is a writer, poet, editor, producer, and panelist on the popular NPR word game show, ”Says You!” Nat Segaloff is a writer, film historian, and producer. The screen rights to “Rembrandt Has Left the Building” are currently available through Barry Krost at BKM Management.

Despite some promising leads in the past, the Gardner theft of 1990 remains unsolved. The Museum, the FBI, and the US Attorney's office are still seeking viable leads that could result in safe return of the art. The Museum is offering a reward of $10 million for information leading directly to the recovery of all 13 works in good condition. A separate reward of $100,000 is being offered for the return of the Napoleonic eagle finial. Anyone with information about the stolen artworks or the investigation should contact the Gardner Museum directly. Confidentiality and anonymity is guaranteed. 

Sam Ducharme: Thru Hiking the Appalachian Trail

On Tuesday, September 10th at 7 pm at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, Thru-hiker Sam DuCharme will give a talk on his trail trek, as documented in his new book "Sole Searching on the Appalachian Trail".

Sam Ducharme set out on a 2189 mile, 14 state backpacking trip from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin Maine. During his six month journey he documented the rugged beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, the wildlife, the hardships encountered on the trail, as well as the people, culture and humanity at its finest. Come join him as he takes you through the trail towns, over the mountaintops and through the backcountry. The images and stories will leave you with a renewed awe of the beauty of our country and its people.

See his gear, how he cooked, and hear what it is like sleeping in a hammock for six months through three seasons. You'll learn logistics and helpful hiking techniques, as well as how to survive in the woods for up to six months. You will also hear how Sam returned to the trail the following year, connecting with aspiring Thru Hikers, paying it forward, and his return to the summit of Katahdin one year later.

Sam Ducharme is a retired K9 Officer and is a lifelong resident of Connecticut. He has two adult sons, both serving in the United States Air Force. As an avid outdoorsman, and finding the empty-nest, Sam decided to buy a backpack and a plane ticket to Georgia. From there, he started walking north. With no prior backpacking experience, he learned on the trail. Gear, trail nutrition, enduring the elements, and the logistics involved in a long distance backpacking trip were hard lessons. After 20 years working within Connecticut’s prisons, the search for a positive recharge resulted in a life changing journey.

Art in The Stacks: Martha's Vineyard Jazz in Black & White, Photographs by Michael Johnson

Mimi Jones
- MV Jazz Summerfest 2012

The Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library are pleased to present “Martha's Vineyard Jazz in Black & White" an exhibit of photographs by Michael Johnson. The exhibit will be on display on the lower level of the library during regular library hours throughout the month of August, 2019.

“Martha's Vineyard Jazz in Black & White” is an on going photographic project created by Martha's Vineyard  artist Michael Johnson. Since beginning this project in 2011, Mr. Johnson has created images of many luminaries of the jazz world when they performed on Martha's Vineyard. According to the artist, "Martha's Vineyard  is a locale with a rich history of local and visiting musical talent. I am drawing on that ready fount of talent while attempting to channel the artistry and feel of the old school black and white jazz imagery of the 1940s through the 60s."

Michael Johnson was born in Harlem, New York City and heard his calling to the fine arts at an early age. As a youth he spent many hours in the public libraries and museums studying the works of the great masters of art motivated by his love of their work.  Among his favorites were the painters of the Renaissance, while he also spent abundant amounts of time studying the Flemish masters and Art Nouveau. But his odyssey as a visual artist didn’t begin until his late twenties when he decided on a whim to enroll in a community college video production class. It was while attending this class that his earlier studies came to the fore, and he realized that he had some “natural” talent for composition and camera work. He prevailed on his father to lend him three hundred and fifty dollars to buy his first camera. Shortly afterward he moved to Martha’s Vineyard Island where he taught himself the art of photography. He has  traveled and photographed many American states, the Caribbean, Europe, Cuba and, Thailand.

Michael has has been a full time artist since 2001. He now lives 5 months of the year on Martha’s Vineyard and runs his own gallery in Vineyard Haven. He endeavors to keep the traditional techniques of hand crafted black and white photography alive with his work. Michael says of his creative process: “All of my work is informed by my deep belief in God. I try to tell the truth with my images, but it must be told from the view point of dignity and beauty. Whether it is nature, architecture, or people, God creates the forms and the moments and I draw on my talent and spirit to capture them. My job is infinitely simple, but infinitely rewarding.”       

http://www.michaeljimage.com
                                                                           
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The Vineyard Haven Public Library's "Art in the Stacks" space features rotating monthly exhibits and is managed by the Friends of the Library. The library also has a permanent collection of artworks that are displayed throughout the year, including 12 paintings by Vineyard artist Captain John Ivory. Artists interested in showing their work may contact the library at (508) 696-4210.

Full-time, Year-Round Position at VHPL, September Start Date

Applicants should provide cover letter and resume and complete online application here:
https://towntisbury.seamlessdocs.com/f/Employment_Application

VINEYARD HAVEN PUBLIC LIBRARY seeks Full-time Library Associate to provide comprehensive library
services to adults and children. Bachelor’s degree plus experience in libraries, education, or related fields, and strong computer skills required. Ideal candidate will be detail oriented, with knowledge and enjoyment of books and literature, excellent customer service skills, and enthusiasm for new technologies. 40 hrs/week schedule includes evenings and weekend hours. Starting salary $44,724.96 with full benefits under union contract. Applicants should submit resume, cover letter and online application through the Town of Tisbury Website
www.tisburyma.gov. EOE.

"North of Havana" author Martin Garbus at Vineyard Haven Library

Martin Garbus, one of the country’s leading First Amendment lawyers, has just published North of Havana: The Untold Story of Dirty Politics, Secret Diplomacy, and the Trial of the Cuban Five (New Press; June 18, 2019). Mr. Garbus will be at the Vineyard Haven Public Library on Monday August 19th at 5PM to talk about his new work, followed by a book signing. Refreshments will be served. "North of Havana" is a riveting look at the U.S.-Cuban relationship seen through the lens of a nearly impossible case, that Kirkus Reviews has called “both an indictment of the legal system and a plea for prison reform – a harrowing chronicle of a fight for justice.”

During his distinguished career, Martin Garbus has established himself as a well-known trial lawyer representing the likes of Daniel Ellsberg and Leonard Peltier. But there is no story Garbus wants to tell more than that of his most challenging case: representing five Cuban spies marooned in the U.S. prison system and his efforts to get them out.

North of Havana tells the story of a spy ring sent by Cuba in the early 1990s to infiltrate anti-Communist extremists in Miami. Erroneously charged by the U.S. government in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two planes circulating anti-Castro leaflets over Havana, the spies—in the absence of evidence—were convicted in 2000 of conspiracy to commit espionage and murder. Caught up in the sweep of history, the Cuban Five, as they became known, played a central role over the next decade in the recent thaw in Cuban-American relations.

Set in Miami and Havana, North of Havana is a mesmerizing tale of international intrigue, espionage, and political gamesmanship that continues to play a shaping role in American foreign policy and presidential elections. In the process, the books shows how the justice system can be, and is, subverted for political purposes and gives readers insight into one of the most fascinating legal cases of our times.