U.S. Poet Laureate

As of October, 2001, the nation has a new Poet Laureate. The latest poet, appointed by the Library of Congress, is Billy Collins. Collins, in addition to being a published poet, is a professor of English at the City University of New York. Unfortunately, the National Library Service does not yet have talking book versions of his works. However, we do have the works of some earlier poets laureate in our collection. You might want to read the works of the following poets (their terms as poet laureate are in parentheses).

Robert Penn Warren (1944-45)
Karl Shapiro (1946-47)
Robert Lowell (1947-48)
Elizabeth Bishop (1949-50)
Randall Jarrell (1956-58)
Robert Frost (1958-59) New Hampshire resident
Howard Nemerov (1963-64)
Reed Whittemore (1964-65)
James Dickey (1966-68)
Stanley Kunitz (1974-76)
Robert Hayden (1976-78)
William Meredith (1978-80)
Maxine Kumin (1981-82), resident of Warner, NH
Anthony Hecht (1982-84)
Gwendolyn Brooks (1985-86)
Mark Strand (1990-91)
Joseph Brodsky (1991-92)
Mona Van Duyn (1992-93)
Rita Dove (1993-95)
Robert Hass (1995-97)
Robert Pinsky (1997-2000)

Loan Period

Our loan period for talking books is three months. You may return books sooner, when you have finished reading them. This will maintain a regular flow of new books to you. Should you forget to return books, we will send an overdue notice. This is not punishment, but a reminder that other readers might like the book. Please be considerate and return books promptly.

Granite Bits in Alternative Format

All registered borrowers receive a copy of our newsletter, Granite Bits, as a large print publication. Luckily, the State Library has an excellent print shop to produce the newsletter. We are also experimenting with providing Granite Bits in other formats. In addition to being posted on our website (http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/gbits), we can send it as an email attachment or on a floppy disk, upon request. We are also attempting to record Granite Bits on 2-track cassettes. A State Library colleague, David Harris, has graciously volunteered to record the newsletter for us. Our previous issue (#81) has already been recorded and is available for loan. We will record this issue as soon as feasible. If interested in borrowing a cassette copy, please contact us.

Thank You

Each year we thank our generous contributors. Your kindness makes "extras" like described movies on video available. To make a donation, please make checks payable to "New Hampshire State Library."

• Anonymous
• In memory of William Zimba from Hearthstone Homes of Wolfeboro, Inc.
• In memory of Martha Winslow from Muriel E. Lawrence
• In memory of Linwood Tracy from Philip & Dorothy Corson
• "With gratitude" from Alexander L. Taylor
• In honor of Dr. Lyn S. Lindpaintner from Frank Singer
• In honor of Virginia Berg from Jenness Ide
• Velma W. Lodge

Our warmest thanks to all!

Mark Twain Film

Renowned filmmaker Ken Burns, of Walpole, New Hampshire, is releasing a new documentary film on Mark Twain. This film will be shown on PBS television January 14 and 15, 2002. In conjunction with this event, you may also want to read some books by or about Mark Twain. We have several in our collection.

RC 15223 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
RC 18136 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
RC 19955 The Selected Letters of Mark Twain
RC 22132 The Autobiography of Mark Twain
RC 33970 Mark Twain's Aquarium
RC 34411 The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories
RC 36186 Innocents Abroad
RC 41298 Pudd'nhead Wilson
RC 42188 The Bible According to Mark Twain
RC 43591 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
RC 44119 Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain
RC 47144 California Sketches
RC 48359 The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain
RC 49345 A Tramp Abroad
RC 50367 The American Claimant
RC 51079 Life on the Mississippi
RC 23743 The Making of Mark Twain by John Lauber
RC 33234 Mark Twain: the bachelor years by Margaret Sanborn
RC 41094 Mark Twain by Skip Press
RC 41051 Mark Twain: the man and his adventures by Richard Lyttle
RC 44715 Inventing Mark Twain by Andrew Hoffman
RC 45656 Mark Twain: American Humorist, Dreamer, Prophet by Clinton Cox

Islam

Although the terrorist attacks of September 11th are almost beyond comprehension, many of us would like to understand why a group of people can hate Americans enough to commit such crimes. Listed below are several books in our collection about the Islamic religion and about Afghanistan.

RC 18402 Islam, a Concise Introduction by Dennis Roberts. A look at the beliefs, attitudes and customs of Islam. 1982.
RC 19783 Towards Understanding Islam by A.A. Maududi. An overview of Islam. 197?
RC 20541 In the Path of God by Daniel Pipes. History & nature of Islam. 1983.
RC 24287 Sacred Rage by Robin Wright. Foreign correspondent's exploration of Moslem fundamentalism. 1985.
RC 26064 Caught in the Crossfire by Jan Goodwin. Journalist's experiences traveling with the Afghan rebels. 1987.
RC 27408 Holy Terror by Amir Taheri. Iranian journalist looks inside the Islamic international terrorist movement. 1987.
RC 27446 Among the Afghans by Arthur Bonner. Account of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 1987.
RC 28736 Islam by John Esposito. An introduction to Islam and the Muslim way of life. 1988.
RC 29873 Mohammedanism by H.A.R. Gibb. Describes the growth & influence of Islam. 1970.
RC 31235 Heart of the Koran by Lex Hixon. Insights into the Muslim holy book. 1988.
RC 32137 Soldiers of God by Robert Kaplan. Journalist reports on the Soviet/Afghanistan war. 1990.
RC 38201 The Hadj by Michael Wolfe. A convert tells of his sacred journey to Mecca. 1993.
RC 41926 Islamic Fundamentalism in the Modern World by William Spencer. Explains Muslim beliefs. 1995.
RC 44542 God has Ninety-Nine Names by Judith Miller. Profiles the rise of Islamic militants. 1996.
RC 44913 The Meaning of the Glorious Koran by Marmaduke Pickthall. Explication of the sacred scripture of Islam. 1992
RC 46841 In Search of Islamic Feminism by Elizabeth Fernea. The status of women in Muslim societies. 1998.
RC 47506 Islam and the West by Bernard Lewis. Essays on 1400 years of contact between Islam and Christianity. 1993.
RC 48185 The Taliban by Peter Marsden. The beliefs and policies of the Taliban. 1998.
RC 51131 The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong. Why religious fundamentalist groups exist. 2000.
RC 51183 Islam by Karen Armstrong. History of Islam. 2000.
RC 52899 Taliban by Ahmed Rashid. Journalist discusses the origin & rise of the Taliban. 2000.
RC 52901 Reaping the Whirlwind by Michael Griffin. Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. 2001.