KC Public Library Blog
Program Notes: Some Like It Hot (1959)
Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot is such a beloved movie – in 2000 it was named the best Hollywood comedy ever in an American Film Institute poll – that few remember that the critics disliked it and that the studio didn’t want to make it.
America's Music at the Library
Bob Walkenhorst’s regular gig at the Record Bar in Westport is usually standing room only. And in Norway he’s revered as a rock god. But you don’t have to stand in line, pay a cover charge, or fly to Scandinavia to get an earful of fresh Walkenhorst: He's coming to the Library.
Preserving Kansas City Women’s History
As part of Preservation Week, we are highlighting one of the recent projects here at the Kansas City Public Library: the preservation of the Athenaeum Collection.
Print is for posterity: Teens create their own literary magazine
Who says print is dead? Sure, our digital age has made it easy to type down our thoughts, push a button and “publish” them online… but that’s not as tangible, satisfying, and permanent as seeing your words actually printed in ink on paper.
Program Notes: The Mambo Kings (1992)
The Mambo Kings is an irresistible blend of music, romance, and more undiluted testosterone than can be found in the entire Die Hard series. Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas simply burn up the screen.
The Case of the Forgotten Canvas and the Third Man - Part 1
Each month, John Horner digs into the Missouri Valley Special Collections to unearth a story from local history and look at it in new light. Here he tells us the first part of the story of a missing painting and a mysterious man...
A Beer Baron Is Born
April 24, 1833: George Muehlebach, who will develop his brewery at 18th and Main into one of the most successful businesses in Kansas City, is born in Argau, Switzerland.
Jon Klassen Discusses his Work and Caldecott Win
I recently had the opportunity to speak with children’s author and illustrator Jon Klassen. His book This Is Not My Hat just won the 2013 Caldecott Medal.
Above All Things by Tanis Rideout
Adventure, romance, historical fiction…Above All Things by Tanis Rideout offers something for everyone in this tale of Englishman George Mallory and his final attempt to climb Mt. Everest in 1924.
The 2013 Pulitzer Prizes: Can We Pick ’Em or What?
The Pulitzer committee just announced the 2013 prize winners and finalists, and we are happy to say that their numbers include authors who have made recent appearances at the Kansas City Public Library.
Program Notes: Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Three decades after its release, Coal Miner’s Daughter is widely hailed as an American classic and remembered as the film that earned Sissy Spacek a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of country music icon Loretta Lynn.
Drawn from the Heartland
April 15, 1889: Thomas Hart Benton, a painter who will go on to lead the regionalist movement in American art in the 1930s from his studio in Kansas City, is born in Neosho, Missouri.
Program Notes: Cadillac Records (2008)
Cadillac Records is a satisfying amble through a rich chapter of American pop culture, the story of Chess Records and the personalities who made musical history there told with equal parts nostalgia, humor, and awe.
Epistles by Horace
April is National Poetry Month, and I like to spend as much time as I can in April focusing on verse. And yet, I set myself the task this year of reading and writing non-fiction works of biography, autobiography, diary and letters.
Put a Poem in Your Pocket
April is National Poetry Month. We are all familiar with the classics like Where the Sidewalk Ends, The New Kid on the Block, and A Child's Garden of Verses, (if you've never heard of these titles, stop right now and check them out!).