New River Breakdown

Terry Kennedy, Associate Director of the MFA writing program at UNCG, editor of the online journal storySouth, and associate editor of The Greensboro Review, recently published a collection of prose poetry titled New River Breakdown.  The collection, published by Greensboro's own Unicorn Press, includes 44 of Kennedy's poems, and also features five original cover designs by area artists.  Each hand-stitched cover presents a visual interpretation of Kennedy's poems and provides an additional creative element to the book. 

"Beautiful and moving, Terry L. Kennedy's debut poetry collection describes an elusive and haunting narrative of loss, love, and recovery. His prose poems bring us so close to the narrator that we share in our bones his predicament of wanting to go forward while fearing what may be ahead. 'It's neither the end nor the beginning of all we hope for,' he discovers. Lyricism and considered thought are here, and lines that strike sparks from these passionate poems" (Kelly Cherry, VA Poet Laureate Emerita).

“The bright, swiftly kinetic surfaces of Terry Kennedy’s poems whisper as they pass a wistful but passionate love story. He has an Impressionist’s purpose and deftness of touch. I think of Renoir, of the etudes of Debussy. Yet his strophes stand firmly on their ground and are as strong as the seasons they portray. His every image bears the nuances of a remembrance. New River Breakdown is a rare treasure" (Fred Chappell, winner of the Bollingen Prize for Poetry).

"Prepare to be haunted by the poems... their shifting imagery, tones, and shadings. Prepare to be mystified by how these poems flow so effortlessly beyond the description of 'prose poem' into a genre that defies any label whatsoever, poems that eddy into dreamtime" (Kathryn Stripling Byer, NC Poet Laureate Emerita).

"Not only is [the collection] a stellar volume of prose poems, but it’s also a canny primer on that genre—a many-headed, oft-misunderstood hybrid. [Kennedy's] querulous, introspective speaker resists his own breakdown by breaking down his universe into parcels of incremental wonder in which “fear and love [are] one and the same.” The result is poem after poem of fabulous imagery and infinite possibility" (Joseph Bathanti, NC Poet Laureate).

 

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Time and Project Management Strategies for Librarians

Librarians today must be creative managers of their time and resources, in order to maintain some semblance of sanity in this world of increasing demands coupled with significant budget cuts.  The logical (and who, if not librarians, are logical?) response to this environment might seem to be something like, we can only do so much with so little; however, as librarians strive, on a fundamental level, to serve their patrons, this seems to be an impossibility.  Instead, professionals in the field endeavor, through sundry means, to increase their level of productivity in an effort to effectively fulfill their ever increasing obligations.

In response to this, Carol Smallwood, Jason Kuhl, and Lisa Fraser have assembled over 30 essays in their book Time and Project Management Strategies for Librarians, which address various aspects of time management and organizational skills.  The essays offer insights from practicing librarians who are currently navigating the wilds of the profession on such topics as management strategies, staffing issues, uses of technology in time management, tips on how to stay organized, work/life balance, and professional development.  UNCG's own Jenny Dale and Lynda Kellam of University Libraries co-authored an essay for the compilation titled, Productive to the core : core competencies and the productive librarian.

"This anthology is certain to become an essential resource for librarians everywhere as they attempt to maximize efficiency and productivity with limited resources". (Jeffrey A. Franks, Associate Professor and Head of Reference at Bierce Library, University of Akron, Ohio)

It "is a great addition to any librarian’s professional bookshelf". (Heather Payne, Corporate Liaison to the Libraries, City College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

"The editors' formula... is one drop theory to four or five drops of practical advice. What it creates is an elixir for librarians who struggle to accomplish their goals while negotiating changing technology, shrinking, budgets, and depleted staffs". (Carol Luers Eyman, Outreach and Community Services Coordinator, Nashua Public Library, Nashua, New Hampshire)