BELLE — Osage Arts Community (OAC) donated 100 books Nov. 14 to the Belle High School (BHS) library.
OAC Director Mark McClane and artists in residence were present for the donation.
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BELLE — Osage Arts Community (OAC) donated 100 books Nov. 14 to the Belle High School (BHS) library.
OAC Director Mark McClane and artists in residence were present for the donation.
“OAC will continue to work the librarian and donate a lot more contemporary poetry in the near future,” McClane said about the donation. “The collection will be not just poetry created in Belle. It will be regional and probably focus on the Midwest.
Kassi Maurer, librarian at BHS, said students have shown interest in the new book display that has been up since Thursday.
“For right now, to get started, the students can choose a book and sit down to read it,” Maurer said. She explained some students will check out a book for months. “This (keeping them in the library) ensures everyone gets a chance to read them.”
Maurer said McClane approached her prior to the November elections when he was at the school to register students to vote.
“He mentioned he would like to bring writers in to talk to the English classes, and OAC wanted to spend a couple hundred dollars on books for a local poetry section,” Maurer said.
OAC writers have been active in a few of the English classes already, including Donnie Boenker’s Language Arts I class.
“Donnie is excited to have something poetry related to show his class and have them read in class,” Maurer said.
Authors include Zophia McDoughal, Jeanette Powers, and John Dorsey among others.
“These are all artists who have been in residence at OAC in the last two years, in the community of Belle,” McClane said. “We have six publishers here right now. Five are exclusively poetry.”
McClane said OAC donated the contemporary poetry collection for the students.
Maurer added that students have already perused the shelves. One book filled with painted portraits by Powers seems to be a favorite.
“A couple of students noticed the book didn’t have words,” Maurer said. “They were just blown away that there was a book without words.”
The author of the book was thrilled that her work was being looked at, and added that the book was “Women in Italy.”
“I was in Italy for three weeks and painted all the women I met,” Powers explained. “There were also sculptures in that book.”
Powers said when she was asked to contribute to the donation, she was not thinking “poetry.” She gave the ones she liked best.
“Those paintings speak,” Powers said. “It’s cool to see the kids responding to those.”
Powers, who primarily identies as a writer, and considers painting and kayaking her hobbies, explained that most of her other paintings and sculptures are more aggravated, from an angry place. “Women in Italy” is a traveling piece.
“It’s more traveling the world, more sweet, more delicate,” Powers said. “I am delighted they looked. Those books being opened and looked at — that’s the point.”
Maurer also hopes the trend will continue, as the collection expands and helps students to be more well-rounded.
“Since the poetry is here, we hope it will continue to gain interest with the kids,” Maurer said.
