Blog: Author: Dora St. Martin

Abolition and Agitation – Lecture Explores the Complex Life of Malden’s James Redpath

Join us on Tuesday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. for a lecture by scholar and historian Dee Morris entitled, “James Redpath: Malden’s Spirited Abolitionist and Agitator.”  The lecture will explore the life of this complex reformer. Dedicated to his unique brand of fairness, Redpath, a radical freethinker, challenged the community to rethink their views about equality in all its forms.  He inspired heated controversy, yet forged lasting friendships in the community – a true Malden original.

James Redpath (1833–1891) was an important figure in many of the key developments in nineteenth-century American political and cultural life. He advocated for abolition, civil rights, Irish nationalism, women’s suffrage, and labor unions. In 1868, Redpath founded The Boston Lyceum Bureau (later the Redpath Lyceum Bureau) which promoted lecturers and authors of celebrity including Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Mark Twain.

Dee Morris is a scholar and educational consultant specializing in the nineteenth-century history of Greater Boston. She is the author of Boston in the Golden Age of Spiritualism: Séances, Mediums & Immortality. Her goal is help us all connect to our civic ancestors.

For more information, check out the Malden Public Library website at www.maldenpubliclibrary.org.

Outdoor Movie Night in the Park at River’s Edge

Join us for a “Movie Night in the Park at Rivers Edge” on Friday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m.. The movie will be on The Park at Rivers Edge Great Lawn adjacent to 200 River’s Edge Drive in Medford. The Great Lawn section of the park will be transformed into an outdoor movie theatre where residents and visitors of all ages are welcome to gather and enjoy a free movie night featuring Disney’s Enchanted.

Enchanted is an American live-action/animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, and Susan Sarandon. A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day life when an animated princess is exiled into the real world by an evil queen. MPAA Rating PG.

The event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Preotle, Lane & Associates and the Malden Public Library. Attendees should bring their own blankets and chairs for use. There will be free snacks and water provided. Wellington Station is just 0.4 miles from Rivers Edge. Free parking is available at the Rivers Edge Garage.

 

September is Library Card Sign Up Month

September is library card sign up month. And ALA and I Love Libraries have partnered to offer a $100 gift card to a lucky library lover. Just post a photo of you and your library card as a comment or wall post on the I Love Libraries page. Don’t forget to not include any personal information in your photo (just show us the front of the card). #GetLibraryCarded promotion begins Today, at 1pm EST and ends Friday, September 23, at 1pm EST.  Check back to see all the ways you can use your library card and all the reasons to love your library. We’ll be featuring the many uses, programs, and perks of using your library card regularly.

Family Movie Night at the Park at Rivers Edge (200 River’s Edge Drive)

Join us for a “Movie Night in the Park at Rivers Edge” on Wednesday, August 17 at 8:00 p.m.. The movie will be on The Park at Rivers Edge Great Lawn adjacent to 200 River’s Edge Drive in Medford. The Great Lawn section of the park will be transformed into an outdoor movie theatre where residents and visitors of all ages are welcome to gather and enjoy a free movie night featuring Disney’s Enchanted.

Enchanted is an American live-action/animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, and Susan Sarandon. A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day life when an animated princess is exiled into the real world by an evil queen. MPAA Rating PG.

The event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Preotle, Lane & Associates and the Malden Public Library. Attendees should bring their own blankets and chairs for use. There will be free snacks and water provided. Wellington Station is just 0.4 miles from Rivers Edge. Free parking is available at the Rivers Edge Garage.

 

Come Explore the Healing Power of Art

On Tuesday, June 21 at 6:30 p.m., the Malden Public Library is proud to present Art-Prescriptions, a talk on museum-based art therapy, wellness and social inclusion with Stephen Legari, Program Officer for Art Therapy at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, Quebec.

Stephen Legari holds a master’s in creative arts therapies from Concordia University and a master’s in couple and family therapy from McGill University. He has worked extensively with individuals, groups, couples, and families in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Since 2017, Stephen has been Program Officer for Art Therapy at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where he has developed specialized therapy programs for groups and contributed to numerous publications on the arts in health. Stephen works with Canada’s Social Prescribing program–which empowers doctors to prescribe free art museum visits to patients with a range of ailments, from depression to diabetes to chronic illnesses.

Beginning at 6 p.m., there will be a pre-program hands-on (30 minute) wellness workshop in the art galleries. Using simple tape and some acrylic paint, participants will be able to create their own “crafty emotional coaster” to express their feelings and be inspired by the library’s beautiful art collections.

This program is free and sponsored by the Foundation Trust as part of their 2022 Speaker Series.  Light refreshments will be served. For more information or to register please call the Information Desk at 781-324-0218 or email info@maldenpubliclibrary.org.

The Living Art of Bonsai: A Talk with Michael Levin of Bonsai West

On Tuesday, June 7 at 6:30 p.m., the Malden Public Library is proud to present Michael Levin, founder and proprietor of Bonsai West of Littleton.  Michael will present beautiful bonsai works from his collection and demonstrate the amazing “art of bonsai.” The program will be held in the lovely 1885 Converse Memorial Building (36 Salem Street, Malden, MA)

Michael Levin is founder of Bonsai West, one of the country’s largest bonsai nurseries. Since 1982 Michael has worked to build a place that attracts bonsai lovers and plant people from around the world.  Bonsai West is a magical place for sure and everyone who visits feels the power of the trees and that certain beauty that is unique and hard to find in our commercial world. https://bonsaiwest.com/

The Bonsai West collection consist of many original works from the first generation of Japanese American Bonsai artists.  Michael was lucky enough to meet this small group of artists many who went into gardening as the only work they could find after being released from the Japanese internment camps in the late 1940’s. Michael has an interesting way of weaving their stories with his own experiences in the growth of American Bonsai.

Light refreshments will be served following the program.  For more information or to register please call the Library’s Information Desk at 781-324-0218 or email info@maldenpubliclibrary.org.

 

Museum Pass Discount Program Available

Did you know that thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Malden Public Library, city residents can reserve discount passes to area attractions? Each week we will be highlighting one of the many amazing institutions your library card helps you access through our Museum Pass program!
For a full list of institutions and reservation information, visit our website or give us a call at 781-324-0218.

National Library Week 2022

National Library Week 2022

April 3 – April 9, 2022

National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. National Library Week is sponsored by the American Library Association.

“Connect with Your Library” spotlights libraries as places to get connected to the internet, use computers, and access other technology resources. It reinforces the idea that libraries are places to connect with media, programs, ideas—and, of course, books! Likewise, libraries connect communities to each other!

“Moments in Creativity” ~ A Talk with Artist Gale Fulton Ross

Nationally renowned artist Gale Fulton Ross will explore creative inspirations in a gallery talk on Tuesday, April 12 at 1 p.m.  The talk will be followed by the opening of the Converse Galleries’ newest exhibition: Modern Sojourner / Sojourner Truth’s Malden.  

Registration is required for the talk and light luncheon. Spaces are limited. To register call the Library at 781-324-0218. The exhibition runs through May 31, 2022.

Gale Fulton Ross was raised in Malden, the oldest of nine children. Fulton Ross displayed an aptitude for art at a very young age, which was nurtured by her father Herman Fulton, himself an accomplished but unheralded automobile designer. Gale studied at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, where she explored a wide variety of styles and media including sculpture. She also attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco, concentrating in the study of Fine Arts and Art History. In addition to college training she studied under the guidance of established artists, including Melvin Johnson, at the Vesper George School of Art, Boston; Cleveland Bellow, of the DeYoung Museum, San Francisco, California; and Pierre Parsus, of France. The Malden Public Library is honored to have three other works by Ms. Fulton Ross in the permanent collection.

Early in her career, Fulton Ross traveled extensively throughout Africa, Europe, and as far east as China, in order to study and paint. Fulton Ross cites several modern-day African-American masters as influences on her work, primarily Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Samella Lewis, and Beauford Delaney, as well as the classical masters Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Rembrandt. Her work incorporates both the figurative and the abstract.  She has become a highly regarded portrait artist whose portfolio includes commissions for many leading professionals, celebrities and politicians. Among them are Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Justice Thurgood Marshall; Governors Michael Dukakis and L. Douglas Wilder; author and activist James Baldwin; and pro athletes Jackie Robinson and Arthur Ashe.  Currently Gale Fulton Ross continues to create, driven by the passion of her life. She works from her studios in Camarillo, California and Sarasota, Florida.

The event is funded in part by the Friends of the Malden Public Library.

National Library Lover’s Month

Here in Massachusetts, we LOVE our Libraries. During our busy everyday lives, we don’t always get a chance to let our libraries know how much we care about them. But, in recognition of Valentine’s Day, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) invites residents from across the Commonwealth have come together to show libraries some love.  Send your love or an image of yourself reading to: https://www.lovemasslibraries.com