Pulitzer-nominated poet to headline poetry reading, open mic at library

Acclaimed poet Anthony S. Abbott will join local poets for a reading to celebrate National Poetry Month at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The reading also will feature an “open mic” organized by the Randolph Writers Group. The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

Abbott, a professor emeritus of English at Davison College, is author of five books of poetry, two novels and two nonfiction works on modern drama. His first book of poetry, The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat, earned him a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in 1989, among a slew of other awards.

“He is an artist who paints with words. The reader is swept into the canvas with the beauty and power of his written words,” says Sue Farlow, Asheboro High School English teacher and Abbott’s predecessor as president of the North Carolina Poetry Society.

As part of a society program, Abbott mentors aspiring poets. Abbott and a group of his mentees, which included two local students, read in a program at the library in 2009.

Find out more about Abbott at www.thegirlintheyellowraincoat.com.

To participate in the event as a reader, contact Randolph Writers Group President Robin Emerson, randolphwriters@aol.com, or 336-736-3496.

"Annie" star Rory to appear at Friends dog obedience program

Does your dog need a bit of refinement?

Join the Friends of the Library for a dog obedience demonstration at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, on the Asheboro Public Library lawn.

The event is free and all dogs are invited. Rain date is March 29.

Ally Thomas, owner of Southern Tails Dog School, will present the program. Bring your dog on a short, cloth leash (no

retractable leashes, please), and also bring a lawn chair.

With Thomas will be Rory, her Belgian hunting dog who starred in the 2009 RSVP Community Theatre production of Annie. For more information, call the library at 318-6801.

Movie Monday to screen "Life As We Know It"

A couple must put aside their differences to raise their goddaughter in Life as We Know It, the Asheboro Public Library’s Movie Monday, 2 p.m. March 21.

After a disastrous first date, the only things Holly Berenson and Eric Messer have in common is their love for their goddaughter, Sophie – and their dislike for each other. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in the world, Holly and Eric are forced to put their differences aside, juggling career ambitions and social calendars while trying to get along under one roof.

The romantic comedy stars Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel and Josh Lucas.

The movie is free and the public is invited; refreshments will be served. Find our more here, or call 318-6824.

Warner Williams arrowhead show to return to Asheboro library March 5

Warner Williams will bring his famous arrowhead collection back to the Asheboro Public Library on Saturday, March 5.

On display will be Williams’ 64-year collection of Indian arrowheads, considered to be one of the finest on the east coast.

The popular annual event, which is free, has drawn almost 9,000 attendees over the past 14 years. The show will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Williams will be on hand to talk with attendees.

Most of the arrowheads in the collection are from the Randolph County area. The collection has been featured on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Now, in Our State Magazine and in Prehistoric American, the official publication of the Genuine Indian Relic Society.

The Overstreet Indian Arrowheads Identification and Price Guide contains over 200 exemplars from Williams’ collection.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro. Call 318-6801 for more information.

Asheboro library to screen Eat, Pray, Love on Valentine’s Day

A woman’s journey of to find her true self is the focus of Eat, Pray Love, the Asheboro library’s Movie Monday at 2 p.m. February 14.

Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Liz Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India and finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.

The film stars Julia Roberts, James Franco and Billy Crudup.

The movie is free and the public is invited; refreshments will be served. Find our more here, at or call 318-6824.

Friends to celebrate Asheboro library birthday with cupcake party

The Friends of the Library will say “Happy 75^th Birthday” to the Asheboro Public Library with a cupcake party from 3-6 p.m. Thursday, February 10, in the library lobby and meeting room.

The Friends will offer free cupcakes and refreshments to all library visitors while supplies last.

The Asheboro library opened its doors on February 10, 1936, in two rooms above the Standard Drug Store in downtown Asheboro after a year-long effort by a group of local women to organize, fund and collect books for it. Although eight inches of snow had fallen four days previously, a huge crowd turned out and almost all the 384 titles were checked out on the first day.

The library later moved to the Asheboro Armory, then to the new Municipal Building, and to the Randolph County Courthouse before establishing its current location on the corner of Worth and Cox streets in 1964.

In January, the Asheboro Public Library Foundation, which traces its origins to the group that founded the library, hosted the UNC Clef Hangers at the Sunset Theatre to celebrate the anniversary; the Friends party will recognize the actual birth date.

Ivey to debut longrifle book at Asheboro library

Asheboro attorney and antique collector William Ivey will debut his new book North Carolina Schools of Longrifles 1765-1865 with a talk, slide show and signing at 7 p.m. Monday, February 21, at the Asheboro library.

The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

Ivey collects North Carolina furniture, pottery and textiles, but his favorite art object is the longrifle. “I am interested in the North Carolina longrifle as an art form with its added historical significance that should be studied, collected and preserved,” he says.

The authoritative, 392-page book – a 27-year labor of love for Ivey – depicts 213 rifles in over 1,200 photographs by Trinity photographer Kenneth Orr. It differentiates the rifles by schools, or characteristics that place them in a common location.

For example, Ivey notes that most rifles made in the Salem area are decorated with an engraved eagle on the patch box, an ornamental compartment on the stock where oil and tallow were stored.

Ivey approaches the guns from their artistic aspect, but he says his book also will appeal to anyone interested in history, long guns or decorative arts of the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries. For more information about the book, visit www.northcarolinalongrifles.com.