Library: New winter series at the library

When the holidays are over and the winter weather sets in for real, a new Saturday afternoon series will begin at the Shelter Island Public Library. “Writers on Their Work” will feature five Island writers reading and discussing a work in progress or one already completed. The programs will begin at 4:15 p.m., as the early winter dark ends any chance of outdoor chores, and participants will still be able to make it to Saturday night dinners or other plans.

The poet Robert Browning once wrote, “We pluck the rose and love it more than tongue can speak / Then the good moment goes.” He was, as most writers do, considering the difficulty of transforming that special moment, idea or emotion into real words on a real page. Beginning in January, some Island writers will take on this theme, read from their work and then comment on the issues they confronted in the creative process.

The tentative schedule follows:

January 15: Carol Galligan will inaugurate the series and read her short story, “Everyday Life,” and wonder, hopefully with the audience, whether it might be the first chapter of a novel and where the pitfalls might lie.

January 29: Jeff Baron, with a live cast, will present a scene from a new play, describe the problems he sees and look for feedback. His earlier play, “Visiting Mr. Green,” is one of the most produced plays, worldwide, in recent history.

February 12: Lynn Franklin will read from her non-fiction work on adoption, “May the Circle Be Unbroken,” a chronicle of her experience giving up a newborn son when she was 19 years old and their reunion, 27 years later.

February 26: Bob Lipsyte will read from his memoir, “An Accidental Sportswriter,” scheduled to come out in May, published by HarperCollins.

March 12: Lois Morris will read from her current endeavor, a memoir, not yet titled, about her sister, an activist criminal attorney, who died in a small plane crash in 2009.

Wine and snacks will be on hand. Come, participate, enjoy.