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Local Author Spotlight: Vichet Chum 

Local Author Spotlight Vichet Chum  Please describe your writing routine. Is there a time of day or place that is most productive for you? I find that as the day progresses, I'm less able to stay focused, so I try my very best to write earlier than later. There's something very energetic and encouraging about…
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Local Author Spotlight: Judith Davidson

Local Author Spotlight Judith Davidson  Please describe your writing routine. Is there a time of day or place that is most productive for you? I write first thing in the morning in my journal---no plan, just whatever emerges. I do that work at the kitchen table with my first pot of tea. I usually work…
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Local Author Spotlight: Aaron D. Tavares 

Local Author Spotlight  Aaron D. Tavares  Please describe your writing routine. Is there a time of day or place that is most productive for you? I have an office / art studio in my basement. That's where I do most of my writing, but I typically bring my laptop with me wherever I go, just…
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Local Author Spotlight: Bob Hodge 

Local Author Spotlight  Bob Hodge  Please describe your writing routine. Is there a time of day or place that is most productive for you?  Early morning, I will read what I wrote on the previous day and take things from there. Is there anything in Lowell or in the surrounding area that has inspired your…
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Local Author Spotlight: David Daniel

Local Author Spotlight  David Daniel  Please describe your writing routine. Is there a time of day or place that is most productive for you?  Generally early morning-- 5 a.m. for a couple hours. Is there anything in Lowell or in the surrounding area that has inspired your work? Such a place to take nice walks…
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Staff Picks and Goodreads

A couple of weeks ago, we presented the Best Books of 2023 according to a selection of 50 magazines, websites, newspapers, book review journals, awards committees, libraries, and bookstores. This week, we are sharing the books that the Pollard Library staff loved last year.  You can find many of the books listed on the Best…
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Local Author Spotlight: Joanne Carota 

Local Author Spotlight  Joanne Carota  Please describe your writing routine. Is there a time of day or place that is most productive for you? Morning coffee has become the most productive writing time. I don't have a specific routine because strict routines are confining. Writing is my creative venture; intuiting words and phrases before writing…
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Becoming “Annie”

Becoming "Annie" by Walter V. Hickey Originally published in the Lowell Historical Society Newsletter Winter 2024 edition - republished with permission of Walter Hickey and the Lowell Historical Society As so often happens, when researching one thing, you find something totally unexpected. Recently I was looking at the Register of Female Voters in 1879 when…
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The Best Books of 2023

Compiling the best books of each year is one of my favorite projects. Learning which books reviewers, critics, librarians, and booksellers love is always interesting. I find myself rooting for books, especially if they need just one more to make it to 5, 10, or 20 lists. Of course, “best” is subjective, which is evidenced…
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The Early Days of the Lowell Police Court

In 1853 on November 10th, the city of Lowell said goodbye to the first Police Court judge, the Honorable Joseph Locke, with his death in the Chapel Hill area of the City at the age of 81 ½ years. Judge Locke was born in Fitzwilliam, NH in 1772 to Jonathan Locke and Mary Haven of Portsmouth, NH. He…
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Thanksgiving? National Day of Mourning? Which is it?

The short answer is: both. Let me explain: I remember one of the first history classes I attended in college. I was getting a degree in history and had been interested in the subject since I was a kid and my grandma read me the story of the Pilgrims every year. Something the professor said…
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Indigenous Heritage Month Book Recommendations

November is Indigenous Heritage Month and what's better way to celebrate than with a good book? Check out these featured titles by Indigenous authors, featuring Indigenous stories. You're sure to find something you'll enjoy! Picture Books Benny the Bananasaurus Rex (Inuit)    by Sarabeth Holden ; illustrated by Emma Pedersen  A funny and relatable story…
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