Earth Day is a celebration! The natural beauty and resources we all enjoy here on the First Coast are something to behold. When was the last time you visited the riverfront, our amazing beaches or the Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens? Earth Day is also a reminder and a call to action. So many plants and animals call the Earth home! Every generation must do its part to protect it. Even the youngest kids can get in on the fun! For ideas and tools, check out these books about kids who are doing small (and big) things that make difference every day!
Jessica Q. Stark is the author of Buffalo Girl (BOA Editions, forthcoming April 2023), Savage Pageant (Birds, LLC, 2020) and four poetry chapbooks, including INNANET (The Offending Adam, 2021). Savage Pageant was named one of the “Best Books of 2020” in The Boston Globe and in Hyperallergic. Her poetry has most recently appeared or is forthcoming in Best American Poetry, Poetry Society of America, Pleiades, The Southeast Review, Carolina Quarterly, The Boiler, Tupelo Quarterly, Glass Poetry Journal, among others. She is a Poetry Editor at AGNI and is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Florida.
Join us for a lively, wide-ranging discussion about Jacksonville's history and architecture, highlighting Wayne's new "Bicentennial Edition" of his local classic book, Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage, as well as several of his previous books. Interviewed by Dr. Tim Gilmore, a colorful and prolific author in his own right, Wayne will present little-known facts about Jacksonville's buildings and will discuss his all-time favorite landmarks in the city.
Whether you write love sonnets in secret, perform your own lyrics on stage, rock the mic at slam poetry or just really enjoy sitting down with a good poetry collection and a cup of tea - April is your time to shine! And what better place than the Library to get your poetry fix?!
Join us this month at the Library for drop-in activities, Lit Chat author events, and more!
Aaron Woodson is a Florida-based military combat veteran who has served in the US Air Force and US Air National Guard for over 15 years. He began his military career participating in military campaigns such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve. At a very young age, Aaron began to nurture an interest in and passion for poetry. He began to write poems at school and his love for writing grew so deep that he told his parents that someday he would publish his own book. Having moved to Jacksonville in 2016, he decided to finish up his now-completed book, The Face of Expression, a poetry book that fuses story-telling and non-fiction clips into it.
Celebrate our community's deep pool of creative talent on the first Wednesday of each month in Downtown Jacksonville! The Main Library is directly across from James Weldon Johnson Park, from one of Art Walk's three major hubs of activity, and plays host to student art shows, Author's Roundtables, teen open mic nights and more! Plus, it's the perfect time to take a self-guided tour of murals, maps and public art found throughout your library headquarters.
Welcome to a new month of the 2023 Jax Stacks Reading Challenge! We are going to give you suggestions for each* category in the challenge every month so that you always have a great library book waiting for you when you need it. Plus, you can share what you're reading with other Jax Stacks readers at our monthly Jax Stacks Reading Challenge Book Club. Note: Our April, May and June meetings take place at the Beaches Branch Library!
You know the power of a good book. And if you're a parent, you know that it's important for your kids to see you reading for enjoyment. But as adults, we're all reading role models! The more we use the Library, talk about books, and attend awesome author events and book signings, the more literate (and well-read) Jacksonville becomes. That's why we hope you'll celebrate reading with your community starting March 27 through April 1!