Bards & Brews Open Mic returns to the Central Library for October. This is the second to last Bards & Brews for 2022. Instead of the typical brews, there will be mixed drinks made with Sweet Home Spirits. 

Local artist Frazer Steindorff is the opening artist of the night, setting the tone with some acoustic songs. Join us for an October night full of all kinds of spirits!

• What: Bards & Brews October Open Mic
• When: Friday, October 7, 6:00—9:00 p.m.
• Where: Central Library | 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
• Details: Listen to—or try your hand at—original spoken work poetry at Bards & Brews Open Mic. Attendees are welcome to take the stage and share their original works. Audience members will get to hear some of the Birmingham metro area's best talent. Live music will be performed by Frazer Steindorff. Bards & Brews Open Mic is free to attend and perform. Attendees must be 18 and up to attend and 21 and up with proof of I.D. to drink. Bards & Brews is sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

As the second to last 2022 Bards & Brews, our Open Mic is back at the Central Library for October. This program is sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, helping us  hosts some of the Birmingham metro area's most talented poets as they share their original poetry and other spoken word arts.

Our special opening guest entertainer for the night is Frazer Steindorff. He's played several local venues in the Birmingham area; you may have heard him before, providing live music at restaurants like Eats Highland and Diplomat Deli.

Frazer is originally from Montgomery and has been playing the guitar and writing music for about a decade. He loves adding his own style to covers but writing original content is his real passion. In his down time, he enjoys practicing yoga, playing basketball, and adventuring with his dog Sadie. 

Sweet Home Spirits is a spirits maker founded in Bluff Park, Alabama. Starting off during the pandemic, Sweet Home Spirits recently turned one and have expanded beyond the two ABC Select Spirits, growing to be in over 150 package stores across Alabama.

Follow Bards & Brews on Facebook and the BPL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more Bards & Brews updates. 

By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations 

Keep reading to learn a little bit more about her before the BPL's programs about her story on Monday and Tuesday, October 3 and 4, happening at the Central Library from 6:00—8:00 p.m.

Sean of the South is coming to the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) for An Evening with Sean Dietrich, Thursday October 13, starting at 6:30 p.m.!

After receiving life altering news, Sean Dietrich and his wife Jamie make a rigorous biking adventure across The Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath. He details this story in his newest book, You Are My Sunshine.

Hear him unpack these stories and more at an author discussion and book signing like no other.

• What: An Evening with Sean Dietrich: Sean of the South  

• When: Thursday, October 13 | Starts at 6:30 p.m.

• Where: Central Library, 1st Floor Grand Reading Room| 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203

• Reserve tickets here.

• Details: Sean Dietrich of Sean of the South is coming to the Birmingham Public Library to discuss his new book, You Are My Sunshine. His newest book details the sudden journey he takes with his wife Jamie as they bike The Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trail—a trip inspired by Jamie's cancer diagnosis early in their marriage. Join the BPL for a special author discussion and book signing with Sean Dietrich. Books will be available for purchase at the event. The program is free and open to the public. Reserve your space on Eventbrite. 

Sean Dietrich is a columnist, novelist, and podcast host known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Southern Living, Garden and Gun, The Tallahassee Democrat, Good Grit, South Magazine, Alabama Living, the Birmingham News, Thom Magazine, and The Mobile Press Registration. He has authored thirteen books and is the creator of the "Sean of the South" podcast.

Get to know him more personally as you read the journey Sean and Jamie take that leads them to meeting a priest, encountering aggressive turkeys, and getting caught in Hurricane Sally while they traverse the trail of a lifetime on bicycles. 

As a part of the Local Authors Series, the Birmingham Public Library is honored to highlight such inspirational local authors, leading up to the Local Authors Expo on Saturday, November 5, from 10:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. The 2022 Local Authors Expo's theme is marketing self-published books. 

An Evening with Sean Dietrich is free and open to the public. Reserve your space at An Evening with Sean Dietrich on Eventbrite. 

Follow the BPL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more updates on An Evening with Sean Dietrich and the Local Authors Series. 

Keep up with Sean Dietrich on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to his newsletter for more Sean of the South.

By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is excited to partner with Childcare Resources to present the biannual Citywide Resource Fair on Saturday, October 1. This far-reaching event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at downtown's Central Library. It is free and open to the public. 

The Citywide Resource Fair will offer the Birmingham community a chance to gather information about opportunities, resources, and services available through local organizations and businesses. Health screenings and job recruitment will comprise supplementary aspects of the fair. Parents and guardians, please feel free to bring your children, as fun activities will be waiting for them on the second floor. 

Over 50 organizations and businesses are slated to host tables at the BPL's fall fair. Guests may participate in scheduled presentations dealing with health topics. There will also be door prizes, complementary snacks, and giveaways!

ALL Kids, Helping Families Initiative, Help Me Grow (UWCA), and Kidzone Daycare figure among other youth-centered organizations taking part in the Citywide Resource Fair. Children and teens are encouraged to visit the second floor of the library to take part in art and crafts and engaging games. 

If you are in the market for a job, apply for employment with Brasfield & Gorrie, Chick-Fil-A, Eagle Security, Enhabit Home Health & Hospice (formerly Alacare), and UAB. Representatives from these local businesses will be on hand to assist in your search for a rewarding career. 

Hope, Bama Health Food's wellness bus, will be a special guest at the BPL's fall Citywide Resource Fair. Visit Hope in the library parking lot to peruse her selection of healthful prepackaged foods, herbs, and supplements. Jacquie Fazekas, owner of Bama Health Foods and founder of the nonprofit Bama Wellness Advocacy, will answer questions about her wellness events and workshops. Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., she will host a presentation on how to read and decipher food labels. 

Other organizations committed to public health that will participate in Saturday's fair are Birmingham Aides Outreach, the Dannon Project, and Morris Avenue Eyecare. Their representatives will provide free health screenings to interested attendees. 

Love pets and looking for ways to become more involved in the Birmingham community? Learn about volunteer opportunities with the Greater Birmingham Humane Society and the Sugarbelle Foundation. 

The Cumberland School of Law, Legal Services Alabama, and Volunteer Lawyers will answer questions about your legal concerns. Guests may set up appointments for free legal consultations with representative of these nonprofit groups. 

For those interested in entering or continuing a program of postsecondary education or obtaining a GED, Lawson State Community College, and UAB's Education Opportunity Center will be available to assist you. To facilitate the realization of your educational endeavors, these organizations will offer help with the financial aid application process. 

If you or someone you know is dealing with substance abuse problems, take advantage of the Citywide Resource Fair to consult with the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Treatment Centers and R.O.S.S. Birmingham about their diverse range of services and compassionate support. 

The Lovelady Center will educate attendees about its outstanding re-entry programs. Other topics to be addressed on Saturday include financial literacy, health insurance, housing and utility assistance, re-entry programs, and voter registration. Opportunities and services for veterans and older adults (ages 55+) will be spotlighted at the Citywide Resource Fair as well. 

Please mark this invaluable event on your October calendar. We hope to see you on Saturday, October 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the BPL's Central Library!

By Margaret Splane | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Development Department

Submissions for the Comic Strip Challenge are due next week! This month's prompt is "Scare Us!"

In partnership with Create Birmingham and CreateHubs, the Birmingham Public Library is hosting a monthly Comic Strip Challenge with cash prizes awarded for three different age groups.

Get into that haunting spirit a little early this October and submit an original story about the eerie things that scare you. Some ideas for your four panel comic might be:

• Reinterpreting a local legend or folktale

• Talking about your own personal phobias 

Winners are selected and announced on the third week of each month. There will be up to one winner for each age group each month. The winner's name and comic will be shared in the Create Birmingham newsletter and social media platforms.

Last month's winners were Jacari Wells for Ages 8—12 and Mia Musso for Ages 13—16. Congratulations! 

The prizes for the age groups is listed as follows:

• Ages 8—12: $25.00
• Ages 13—16: $50.00
• Ages 17+: $100.00

You can find Comic Strip Challenge material stations at the North Birmingham Regional Branch Library and at the Central Library in the Youth Department on the second floor.

October is National Family History Month and Birmingham Public Library’s Southern History Department is here to help you with your genealogy research. 

Below is a listing of programs we have scheduled throughout October to help patrons research their family tree and connect with others who share passion about learning about genealogy.

Mary Spencer, genealogist

* This Saturday, October 1,  at 1:00 p.m. in the BPL Research Library's Arrington Auditorium on the 4th Floor, we welcome professional genealogist Michelle Spencer (https://romamarygrace.com/) to BPL. Michelle is a researcher, speaker, and writer. She will be offering two workshops: "Don't Forget to Misspell! Getting the Most from Online Newspaper Research" and "Sanborn Maps: A Genealogist’s Guide."

* We’re excited to offer a new series of workshops called A Few of Our Favorite Things. Taking place on October 5, 19, and 31 at 11:00 a.m., these 3 unique workshops offered by library staff highlight our favorite quirky and “under the radar” genealogy resources. Print and online sources that staff use and want to share will be featured.

Paul Boncella, BPL Map Conservator

* Our genetic genealogy expert, Paul Boncella will discuss how to preserve your family pictures using FamilySearch.org on October 12 at noon. On October 26, also at noon, he will be sharing how to sort your DNA matches.

Dallas Hanbury, The Lantern Project

* On October 22, at 2:00 p.m., Dallas Hanbury will conduct a hands-on workshop for researching newly digitized records of enslaved persons in Mississippi and Alabama. The Lantern Project is a multi-institution effort to digitize and transcribe legal records of enslaved persons generously funded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Records featured in the project include probate records, bills of sale and receipts, wills, circuit court records, plantation records,. and other similar materials.

All programs will take place at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham,  in the Research Building. Michelle Spencer’s programs will be in the Arrington Auditorium and all others will be in the Computer Center. Both are on the 4th floor. 

For more information, check out our BPL Events Calendar. All events are in-person and the weekday events are also online via Zoom.

By Mary Beth Newbill|Department Head, BPL Southern History Department 

While some may detract that we should be gentle with all children, the study Girlhood Interrupted found that adults view black girls as being less innocent and needing less protection than their white peers. This is known as adultification bias.

And this is the lens that Tania De'Shawn uses in be gentle with black girls to tell the story of a young black girl named Deja from girlhood to adulthood. 

Told in poems, we follow our protagonist as her childhood is chipped away at by the biases of other people but later evolves into a cosmic sense of self-love. 

As the story progresses, select poems introduce the reader to pivotal key words, servings as definitions in creative prose. De'Shawn uses common AAVE words, like "be," "fast," and "pocketbook," and highlights them throughout her poetry to show how they shape Deja's story. 

"Be" empowers and manifests the purpose of this book—that black girlhood is sacred and valued in this space and continues to be. However, we see that "Fast" and "Pocketbook" have a different effect on Deja. 

The duality of the language organically tells the story and adds a complexity that Deja has to balance as older community members use words that others used to describe them in their childhood to define Deja's young body in the vocabulary of a grown up. 

It's easy to be enraged when the adults around Deja fail her, but be gentle with black girls demands more than raw anger. There is a safe space in these pages that asks the reader to be vulnerable, to hurt, to mourn, to heal, and to be gentle with yourself and those around you. 

Sentimentality, one of my favorite poems in the book is "Fannie Pearl." 

While the eponymous character is stoic like a granny sentinel, the descriptions of a Sunday supper with turnip greens and tomato slices, the home-grown garden, and the quiet reservation that Fannie Pearl carries herself with as she cooks and feeds the men in her family reminds me of my own grandmother's kitchen, too. 

"Fannie Pearl" tugs on the heartstrings of familiarity while also reevaluating "what makes her silent." This poem pulls back the nostalgia of those precious memories in a bittersweet way to consider what we internalize in those early childhood memories and what life experiences formed Fanny Pearl into the adult that she is. 

Ending at 35 pages, be gentle with black girls closes out the "Acknowledgments" with a family photo of a lively young black girl looking off to her left.

The lasting impression of this photograph emphasizes who this book is for: the young girls who need to be loved and protected, and the young girls who grew into women that are just as deserving of love and protection. Tania De'Shawn recreates this photo as an adult for her "About the Author" section. 

You can hear the poetry of be gentle with black girls live tomorrow, Thursday, September 22, at be gentle with black girls: Addressing Adultification Bias and Protecting Black Childhood, happening at the Central Library, starting at 6:00 p.m.

• What: be gentle with black girls: Addressing Adultification Bias and Protecting Black Childhood 

• When: Thursday, September 23 | Starts at 6:00 p.m.

• Where: Central Library, 1st Floor Grand Reading Room| 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203

• Reserve tickets here.

• Details: Tania De'Shawn will give a live reading from her new book of poetry, be gentle with black girls, addressing adultification bias and the fragility of black girlhood followed by a discussion moderated by Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones. Discussion panelists include DeJuana Thompson, President and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; Lauren Whatley, University of Alabama Women's Studies professor; and Queen daPoetess, poetess and co-owner of the Majesty Lounge. This program is free and open to the public. This program is intended for young adults and older. 

Reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

This project is supported by the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Follow the Birmingham Public Library on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more updates. 

Follow Tania De'Shawn Russell on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Medium to see more of her writing.

By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations 

Chair yoga is a great way for older adults to get the wonderful health benefits of yoga. It also makes yoga accessible to more people. Staying seated while doing yoga means that even frail seniors or those who are not flexible can safely do the exercises.

The benefits of chair yoga older adults includes loosening and stretching painful muscles, reducing chronic pain, decreasing stress, and improving circulation. It also reduces anxiety, helps lower blood pressure, projects joints, and builds strength and balance. 

Instructor Russell Lee makes the class fun and lively and explains the benefits of chair yoga movements. 

There are limited spaces, please call the library at 205-322-1140 for registration.

Russell Lee's credentials include:

• AFFA—Group Exercise Instructor Aerobics and Fitness Association of America

• Les Mills—Bodypump

• Les Mills—Bodystep

• American Red Cross AED/First Aid/ CPR

• Spinning—Cycling 

• Schwinn—Cycling

• Group exercise instructor with YMCA since 1991

• First Black Group Exercise Instructor at Downtown YMCA

• Teaching Experience—Gold's Gym, The Levite Jewish Community Center, Faith Chapel, UAB Special Studies, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church

• Currently teaching Y-Step and Bodypump at The Downtown Y

By Reba Williams | Librarian Ⅱ, Titusville Branch Library Manager

Check out the book displays in the Youth and Teen Departments highlighting Hispanic and Latiné American authors and characters. Learn more about Hispanic heritage by searching for clues on a Hispanic Heritage Scavenger Hunt. Explore Hispanic American culture with our activity sheets available all month long. 

Wednesday, September 14

Art Attack: The Art of Frida Kahlo

Learn about the celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and create artwork inspired by her famous paintings. 

Wednesday, September 21

Culture Club: Hispanic Heritage

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by exploring ancient Central America with music, crafts, and games that include designing a paper sombrero and painting maracas.  

Adventures in Storyland with Miss Pamela: Fiesta

Olé! Grab you maracas and join Miss Pamela for a story fiesta with stories, songs, and a craft celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. This storytime will feature Antonio Sacre books like, The Barking Mouse and A Mango in the Hand, as well as Martina, The Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy.

Wednesday, September 28

Eatable Creations

Create your own frog cookie creation and learn important traditions of ancient Central America. For example, frogs were an important source of food in ancient times in Central America and were symbols of water, and artists often painted frogs on clay pots and molded them out of metals like gold. 

Stop by the North Birmingham Library to take part in our many Hispanic Heritage Month festivities!

By Pamela Gordon | Library Assistant Ⅲ, North Birmingham Regional Branch Library  

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) and the Friends Foundation of the BPL are excited to announce Classic Cocktails, a kickoff party leading up to this year's Magic City Classic football game. Classic Cocktails will take place on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at downtown's Central Library.

Whether you're a fan of Alabama A&M University or Alabama State University, BPL's premier Classic Cocktails fundraiser will be an evening to remember!

The event will feature a tasting of locally distilled spirits, music from DJ Chris Coleman of V94.9 FM, catered tailgate food, a cigar bar provided by Cigars & More, a 360 photo booth, a full-service cocktail bar, and more! Merchandise from the two rival HBCUs will also be available for purchase. 

A portion of the proceeds from Classic Cocktails will be awarded to the Birmingham Education Foundation (Ed) to fund student scholarships. Ed's mission is to increase the number of students in the Birmingham City School system that are on the path to college and careers, as well as to strengthen their life skills.

Remaining proceeds will help the Birmingham Public Library continue to provide the community with the highest-quality experience of lifelong learning and cultural enrichment. 

Tickets are available for purchase online through Eventbrite. Please show your support of the Birmingham Education Foundation, the Friends Foundation of the BPL, and the BPL by buying a ticket today. 

By Margaret Splane | Library Assistant III, Development Department

This award will help make possible the be gentle with black girls: Addressing Adultification Bias and Protecting Black Childhood program happening next Thursday, September 22, starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Central Library.

As the first program in the Birmingham Public Library's Local Author Series, be gentle with black girls: Addressing Adultification Bias and Protecting Black Childhood brings the Birmingham community together to support local, self-published author Tania De'Shawn while discussing systemic issues that affect the children in our local community. Read our last blog to learn more about Tania De'Shawn and adultificaiton bias. 

This program is free and open to the public, allowing everyone to hear her poetry and participate in the discussion. Reserve your spot at be gentle with black girls on Eventbrite. 

With Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones moderating, our expert panelist will engage the audience with keen insight on adultification bias. Discussions may touch on matters not intended for children; young adults and older are invited to attend the program. 

Our panelist include:

 DeJuana Thompson—President and CEO of the  Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

 Lauren Whatley—University of Alabama Women's Studies professor