Pulitzer Reads

Posted by diane on 18 April 16

Congratulations to the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner, Viet Thanh Nguyen, for his book The Sympathizer.  The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is awarded to “distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author.”

This year’s Fiction winner, according to the Pulitzer website, offers “a layered immigrant tale told in the wry, confessional voice of a ‘man of two minds’ — and two countries, Vietnam and the United States.”

To see past Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners, see our list online or download our Fiction Winners handout, which lists winners of the Man Booker, National Book Award, and Pulitzer.

Other Pulitzer Winners

Pulitzer Prizes were also awarded in the following literature areas:

History:
Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America, by T.J. Stiles

Biography or Autobiography:
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, by William Finnegan

Poetry:
Ozone Journal, by Peter Balakian

General Nonfiction:
Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, by Joby Warrick

Also, if all these new books are checked out, you can always look at some of the older Pulitzer Prize winners in fiction.

Poetry in the Stacks

Posted by diane on 12 April 16

For a few years now, San Rafael Supervising Librarian Pam has been curating poetry displays in the fiction and non-fiction areas of the library. If you’ve never noticed them before, come by and take a look!

As you wander through the aisles of books, notice the ends of the bookshelves.  In addition to selecting the poems and themes, Pam creates unique collage decorations for each piece. (She is also the one who spruces up the fireplace mantle in the Carnegie Wing Reading Room with her seasonal creations.)

The poetry theme on display right now is Gratitude, and includes poetry by Robert Bly, Anne Sexton, Gary Snyder, Alice Walker, and more.  While you’re here, you can browse American poetry under the call number 811, British poetry is at the 821s, and check out some of our international poetry collections below:

100 Love Sonnets, by Pablo Neruda

Duino Elegies, by Rainer Maria Rilke

The Essential Rumi

New and Collected Poems 1931-2001, by Czeslaw Milosz

Open Closed Open: Poems, by Yehuda Amichai

Selected Poems, by Jorge Luis Borges

Selected Poems, by Federico Garcia Lorca 861 Garcia Lorca

The Selected Poems of Rosario Castellanos