Rielly, Robbins to read at Books in ‘Brook

Books in the ‘Brook will continue its second season on Dec. 3 with readings by multi-genre writer Edward Rielly and poet Dana Robbins.

Rielly, a Westbrook resident, is a professor of English and director of the Writing and Publishing Program at Saint Joseph’s College. He has published approximately 30 books, including studies of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jonathan Swift, Native American history and the popular culture of the 1960s. He also has written detective fiction, books about baseball and football, children’s picture books and many collections of his own poetry. Rielly will read from his most recent works, the memoir “Bread Pudding and Other Memories: A Boyhood on the Farm,” which chronicles his youth on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin, and “Answers Instead: A Life in Haiku.” The latter, a retrospective selection of haiku published over a period of 40 years and reflecting his life from youth to the present, recently received the Mildred Kanterman Memorial Award, an annual award sponsored by the Haiku Society of America.

Dana Robbins, a retired attorney, obtained an MFA in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast Writers Program of the University of Southern Maine. Her first book, “The Left Side of My Life,” was published by Westbrook’s Moon Pie Press in 2015. Her poem, “To My Daughter Teaching Science,” has been featured by Garrison Keillor on NPR’s The Writers Almanac.

Books in the ‘Brook is a monthly reading series that aims to support and nurture the local writing and reading community. The Dec. 3 readings will take place from 4 -5 p.m. at Continuum for Creativity, 863 Main Street, Westbrook. The event is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Gingerbread house workshop Saturday
Make a gingerbread house at a special workshop on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. to noon at the Walker Memorial Library.

Registration is required. Stop by the library’s children’s room, call 854-0630, ext. 4, or email kreiman@westbrook.maine.us.

‘Landscape of Memoir’ painting, writing class

Destress from holiday planning with “The Landscape of Memoir,” a day devoted to awakening your creativity. This cross-disciplinary workshop, which will be held from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Continuum for Creativity, 863 Main St., Westbrook,  will explore the physical and emotional aspects of landscape as a foundation to story through the allied crafts of painting and writing. The cost is $75. For more information, call 252-9897.

Holiday Open Poetry Reading
Lowry’s Lodge will hold a Holiday Open Poetry Reading from 7-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Continuum for Creativity, 863 Main St., Westbrook. Poets are invited to bring books to sell and exchange. Holiday refreshments will be served. A $4 donation is suggested.

Library schedules Holiday Open House

A Holiday Open House will be held from 3-6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Walker Memorial Library. Held in the Gathering Room, the annual open house is presented by the Friends of the Library.

Acrylic painting course begins next month
The current “The Sky is Not Blue” acrylic painting course is finishing up on Tuesday, Dec.13. The next round at the Continuum for Creativity, 863 Main St., Westbrook, will begin in early January. The six-week session will cost $150 with supplies included. Go to www.marybrooking.com for more information.

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