It was a very busy weekend in Normal, Illinois, home of the Sweet Corn, Sweet Blues festival, sponsored by WGLT, which also sponsors Poetry Radio!
On the first day, my son and I biked into town and partook in the Good To Go program of free valet bicycle parking. We both signed up for the Trek 7100 bicycle raffle (pictured at the Good to Go link.) We did not actually eat any of the marvelous steamed sweet corn, but we smelled it. It and the kettle corn popcorn. Mmmmm.
On the second day, I went back to the sidewalk sale at Garlic Press, a fabulous kitchen store, and got the little red star ceramic candy or appetizer plates of my heart's desire, bargaining them down to 50 cents a piece. Like a flea market! Or medieval town fair!
I also encountered, in a poem brought to my poetry workshop in the rare book room, a book, a particular book, Saving Jesus from the Church, by Robin Meyers, mentioned (and pictured) earlier in this blog, where Jesus is seen with the usual crown of thorns and an unusual gag of duct tape. Poor him. What lovely irony to encounter those words on a Sunday, in a poem.
As it happens, the author is coming to uppity town Normal October 29-30 to give a free lecture, "Jesus: Galilean Sage or Supernatural Warrior," at 7 p.m., on Friday night, and to conduct a workshop, 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, "The Underground Church: Raising the Body by Corrupting the Empire," both events taking place at Heartland Community College. You can learn more, or sign up for the workshop, at the hosting church, New Covenant Community. Click on the rolling announcement.
I'd be curious to learn of a good history of Illinois, especially Northern Illinois and particularly in the first half of the last century.
ReplyDeleteSeana, right now at the Babbitt's search page, the phrase "Illinois History" brings up 687 books, and you might just scan titles for pertinence. The phrase "northern Illinois history" brings up fewer, and one focused on the "Methodist moment in Illinois." I will keep an eye out.
ReplyDeleteSweet Corn, Sweet Blues Festival sounds like a good time! But, how could you resist a cob of corn dipped in butter? Our sweet corn festival is this coming weekend and you have put me in the mood for all things corn!
ReplyDeleteFor the first time in recent memory, I have no books- none checked out and none on reserve. Not sure how I allowed this to happen, but I am going back through past posts here to make a list of possibilities. What a great resource for a book-hungry girl.
Thank you!
mary
Mary, The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman! It talks about books, rare books! Also, there's food in it.
ReplyDeleteRe: corn on the cob, a favorite food ever since childhood! It's a teeth thing.
Thanks, Kathleen--will do.
ReplyDeleteA teeth thing. I've never heard it put like that but that's true.
Thanks Kathleen!
ReplyDeleteI requested The Cookbook Collector. I am #187 on the list, but it won't be very long until it arrives because our library is the best.
I will keep working on a book list and in the meantime will catch up on my magazines and maybe a couple of movies, too!
mary