The Friends of the American Library would like to take this opportunity to
extend their heartfelt thanks to the Florence Gould Foundation for two
special gifts most gratefully received in March.
The first of these donations was a very pleasant surprise. We received a
notice that a shipment of eight cartons of books was at the airport waiting to clear
customs. The shipping form said only that the books had been sent from Memphis, Tennessee.
I drove to the airport to pick up the mystery cartons. Imagine my surprise when, after
clearing customs, I found that the cartons contained the entire Library of America
Series (100 volumes).
These
beautifully bound, hardcover books represent the best of American writing. The first
volumes were released in 1982. Inspired by the "Pleiade" series in France, they
are printed on acid-free paper and are exceptionally durable. Thus they are ideally suited
for a lending library's collection. Visit the Library of America Web
Site to learn more about this superb collection.
The second gift was one that we hope will become an enduring tradition. A
generous grant from the Florence Gould Foundation enabled San Francisco's
Word for Word theater company to return to Montpellier for a new performance. Word
for Word presents stories and short novels verbatim. This unique approach delights
audiences by bringing stories to the stage while preserving the author's original language
and narrative. Word for Word's motto is "We bring literature to its
feet". The March 21st performance of Langston Hughes' The Blues I'm
Playing brought the audience to its feet. We had a full house and the
audience appreciated meeting and speaking with the cast at an after-show reception hosted
by the Friends of the American Library. A short review is posted
on this site.
-Kevin Lightner
