Blog: Author: Jean Slavkovsky

Thursday, September 24th 8PM Informational Session for
The Malden Writers’ Collaborative

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Are you a local writer?
Are you ready to work on a writing project?
Preparing for National Novel Writing Month?
Are you interested in joining a collaborative community of committed writers?
Are you looking for people to workshop your writing and are you committed to doing the same for others?
Are you open-minded, respectful, and encouraging to fellow writers and to the writing process?

Join the Malden Writers’ Collaborative! The group meets the first and third Thursday of each month from 8-9:30PM. Meetings will be held on Zoom until further notice. Limited to adults 18+.

Email facilitator Chris Hickey at maldenwriters@gmail.com to register for the informational session.

New members must attend this informational session to join for the 2020-2021 season. The group will then be closed until Fall 2021.

Tuesday, Sep. 8th 7-8:30PM
Game Night for Adults!

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Join Librarians Patrick and Jean to play Jackbox games online!

These games can be played online and all you need to be able to do is have a computer or smart phone and a way to join the Zoom call. The games are about 20 minutes each and skew towards humor and trivia topics.

 

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/97825456149

Tuesday, August 25th 7PM Gardening Program: Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Beneficials

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Join us via Zoom at 7PM: https://zoom.us/j/98174335588
The meeting will be locked at 7:15PM.

“Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Beneficials,” a 90 minute presentation about welcoming pollinators and other beneficial wildlife, will be offered by naturalist and landscaper John Root at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, August 25th. A Zoom link will be added here and the MPL Google calendar shortly before the program begins.

A variety of plants that can nourish these organisms throughout their active lifetimes are discussed, and organic methods for establishing pollinator gardens are also presented. Comments and questions are welcome throughout the program. Participants can access handouts online with information about attracting beneficials. This program is supported in part by the Malden Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thursday, August 20th 7-8:30PM 10th Annual Public Reading by The Malden Writers’ Collaborative

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Watch live on the Malden Public Library’s YouTube Channel
Celebrate writing! Join Malden’s own creative writing group, the Malden Writers’ Collaborative, for their 10th Annual Public Reading on Thursday, August 20th 7-8:30PM online. The group meets twice a month to workshop each others’ work, share ideas, and practice writing techniques. A link will be posted shortly before the event.

Members of the 2019-2020 season will read original works:

    Jason Rubin – “Little Red Pool of Blood”
    Felicia Ryan – Blue – “Blue is the color of the year”, “Drift Away” and “Trapped in my Yoga Top”
    Rebekah Brooks – Ceaseless Faith
    Jason Kenney – “No Sign of the Morning”
    Heather Angell – an unnamed selection
    Jeff Taylor – poems “Wall Dogs”, “Catfish” and “WAKEY, WAKEY”
    Christopher Hickey – “Fall Guise”

Some content may be inappropriate for children.

How to Take a Sensory Nature Walk (Urban Ecology Series)

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky


Don’t go for just any walk, take a sensory nature walk!
Cultivate a keen eye—and nose, ear, and hand—when evaluating the qualities of our living world. Then use these observational skills to explore your local urban or suburban environment.
This program was designed by the MIT Public Library Innovation Exhange (PLIX) for students in grades 3-8, but can be enjoyed by anyone.
Pick up the Urban Ecology kit at the Malden Public Library. Call 781-324-0218 to reserve yours! If you can’t obtain one, most of these materials, or replacements for them can be found in the home.
This is part one in the Urban Ecology Series. Join Librarian Jean live Wednesday, August 12th at 3PM for part 2: Tangible Ecosystem (be sure to collect 8-10 specimens on your walk before this program). The Zoom link will be posted in the event calendar a few minutes before the program.

Career Workshop: Tips for a Successful Virtual Interview
Thursday, August 6th 7-8:30PM

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky


Interviews are nerve-wracking enough and now we have a new normal to navigate. Prior to COVID-19 many companies were implementing phone and video interviews as part of their hiring process. Now virtual interviews are becoming commonplace as it relates to remote hiring. This Zoom workshop will address many topics including ideal locations and conditions for conducting the interview, the importance of body language, technology overviews, appropriate dress codes, and strategies to build confidence.

Gary Gekow is a Senior Employment Specialist/Career Coach with 30 years of recruiting and employment services experience in the Boston staffing industry. He works closely with client companies in many industries and job seekers in various specialties.

A Zoom link will be posted here a few minutes before the program begins. Email Librarian Jean at jslavkovsky@maldenpubliclibrary.org to have the link emailed to you.

Friday Folk & Fairy Tales: Mythological Birds

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Join us Friday, July 24th at 12:15pm for the reading of “The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Bird of Light, and the Grey Wolf” and “The Second Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor.” These stories were selected with an adult audience in mind. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PVKMhfD1pQ&list=PLynjS8HwKnkk4h2cYTo1RvlCRuLZ1XfeN&index=4&t=0s

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ~ Neil Gaiman* Coraline

The pandemic has presented us with new challenges and exacerbated old ones. Folk and fairy tales do not merely entertain us, but teach and remind us that we can conquer whatever we face and help quell our fears and anxieties. As we are faced with new obstacles we also need new fairy tales. On these summer Fridays, we will be sharing a combination of old and new folk and fairy tales to aid our community in overcoming the challenges we face today.

VIRTUAL Story Time for Adults!
Friday Folk and Fairy Tales at 12:15PM

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Join us Friday, June 26th at 12:15pm for the reading of a new fairy tale, “Reeling for the Empire” from Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell. This story is not recommended for children. A link will be posted here for the Zoom meeting 15 minutes before the event.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ~ Neil Gaiman* Coraline

The pandemic has presented us with new challenges and exacerbated old ones. Folk and fairy tales do not merely entertain us, but teach and remind us that we can conquer whatever we face and help quell our fears and anxieties. As we are faced with new obstacles we also need new fairy tales. On these summer Fridays, we will be sharing a combination of old and new folk and fairy tales to aid our community in overcoming the challenges we face today.

*Paraphrasing of G.K. Chesterton’s Red Angel: “Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.”