“It’s about resistance to throwing things out,” poet Ammiel Alcalay said during the shindig Saturday night to celebrate the opening of the Maud/Olson Library in Gloucester.
The library is a reproduction of the late Gloucester poet Charles Olson’s library as well as books he read and referenced—some 3,800 volumes all assembled by the late scholar Ralph Maud.
The Gloucester Writers Center, which manages the collection, offered tours at the library’s new home at 108 East Main St., followed by a big party at the Tavern in Gloucester on Saturday, June 18, 2016.
The late Gloucester poet Charles Olson’s granddaughter Lila Olson reads during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)
The shindig featured performances and readings and talk by Olson’s granddaughter Lila Olson, poet and The Fugs co-founder Ed Sanders (who sang some of the proto-punk band’s 1960s numbers with backing from local musicians Joey Unis, George Hall and Josh Lentini), Willie Loco Alexander, Greg Gibson, Miriam Nichols, Brian King, Henri Ferrini (who screened part of his documentary about the cross-country trip he made with Gibson to bring Maud’s books to Gloucester), Ammiel Alcalay, Karen Ristubin, Rick Gadbois (as his alter ego Hooglio Bastistos), and Gordon Baird.
“Its an extraordinary collection,” the Gloucester writer Peter Anastas says of the library in Ferrini’s video, “because it’s like walking into Olson’s mind.”
(All photos here copyright Greg Cook)
Poet and rocker Ed Sanders signs music by The Fugs during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Miriam Nichols reads during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Karen Ristubin sings T.S. Eliot’s “Marina” during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Brian King sings during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Writer Ammiel Alcalay speaks during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Henri Ferrini (left) and Gordon Baird sing during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Rick Gadbois performs as his alter ego Hooglio Baptists during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Henri Ferrini introduces his video documentary about the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Gloucester writer Greg Gibson served as a host for the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)Poet and rocker Ed Sanders signs music by The Fugs during the celebration of the Maud/Olson Library at the Tavern in Gloucester, June 18, 2016. (Greg Cook)
