Good morning and welcome to Thursday! We’re now two full days into spring, and I’m a happy girl! This mild weather makes me think this is what March should always be like – and what it’s like every year further south. Good news is if the fantastic weather has inspired you to spruce up the yard, you’re in luck because the composting site is now open on Saturdays from 9 to 3. I’m always surprised that, with all the raking I did last fall, it still needs to be done all over again come spring.

So this weekend, once you’ve done your raking and you’re looking for a little respite, head over to the library for this month’s poetry reading. Mark Leidner’s poems are contemporary and accessible; he likes to inject a little humor into his poetry, so it should be a joy to listen to. Mark didn’t always want to be a poet: his original plan was to go to law school. He was an econ major who thought English was for “artsy” people. But then law school sounded like a lot of work and he was pretty happy with where he was living and working, so he decided to study poetry instead.

Mark told me he had no fear of failure when it came to poetry, because it seemed so completely foreign to him. And that gave him the confidence to take risks with it. He studied at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, a pretty famous place for getting your writing education; he loved going into his class of one teacher and 15 students and seeing what he could say that would get a reaction.

But Mark is more than just a poet; he also blogs and takes really interesting photographs. He told me he likes using these and other creative mediums to get to poetry, like looking at a subject from different angles to figure out how better to write about it. He’s also working on a novel for his thesis out at UMass Amherst, where he teaches undergraduate writing and freshman composition.

Mark will be reading from his book, “Beauty was the Case That They Gave Me,” this Sunday, March 25, at 3 pm. It’s in the periodicals room at the main library, and there will be a book signing and reception after.

Talk to the Chef

If you like tea and you like to eat – and who doesn’t, really? – you might want to check out the Concord Museum’s “Sweet & Savory: A Tea Time Conversation with an Expert Chef”, this Saturday at 2 pm. Tea Forte will provide the tea while Chef Brigid Flanagan provides the sweets and expertise. You’ll get to try jams infused with herbs and spices, on things like pound cake and sandwiches. Very interesting! Admission is $25 per person, and $20 for members, and includes admission. You do need a reservation, so call 978-369-9763.

Planning Ahead

I know next Thursday is a whole week away, but you may want to plan your night now, because that’s the next lecture in the Little Women lecture series. This one is “Performing Little Women – Variations on a Classic,” and you’ll get to see excerpts from the 1933, ’49, and ’94 Little Women movies, as well as the musical version done on stage. The discussion will be led by Kate Henchman, a writer, developmental psychologist, and resident scholar at Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center; she’ll examine how changing social norms have been reflected in the many performances of Little Women and how they may differ from those expressed by Miss Alcott. Should be a lively evening!

The talk will be held at the First Parish Church in Concord, on Thursday, March 29 at 7:30, and is sponsored by the Concord Players, The Orchard House, and the First Parish Transcendentalism Council. Admission is $5 at the door, unless you’re a teacher or a student, in which case you can get in for free.

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at stefanieac@comcast.net or Maureen at mcb23@comcast.net, and we will be happy to help you spread the good news.

And follow us on Twitter: Maureen is @cosmo1162, I’m @stefanie3131.