Arts and leisure digest

Library schedules annual used book sale Florida — The Friends of the Florida Public Library will sponsor their annual used book sale at the Seward Senior Center in Florida over the weekend of Jan. 14 through 16. Hardcovers are $1, paperbacks are 50¢, children’s books are 25¢, and DVDs and CDs are $1. Also, find special sale sections featuring extra large coffee table books and vintage reads for just a buck, too. On Friday, Jan. 14 from 5 to 8 p.m., there is a preview sale for paid members of the Friends only. Yearly memberships starting at $10 are available at the door or in the library. On Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 15 and 16, the sale will be open to the general public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A bag sale takes place during the last hour on Sunday. Bring your own or get a bag at the sale to fill with books for $3. Help is needed to move books and set up on Thursday, Jan. 13, work the sale all three days, break down the sale and move books back on Sunday, Jan. 15. All volunteers are invited to a pot-luck supper after the clean-up. Call the library at 651-7659 to help. Call for art Warwick - Collage is currently seeking submissions for its next exhibit, L’Amour et Plus. All media considered. E-mail jpegs to collage@warwick.net. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 24. Austell to read at Poetry on the Loose on Feb. 5 Warwick — David B. Austell will read his work at the next program in the Poetry on the Loose Reading/Performance Series on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m., in the rear room behind the Utopian Directions bookstore at 7 West St. in Warwick. Following the feature, others are welcome to read original work. Austell is author of “Little Creek and Other Poems.” He is the director of the Office for International Students and Scholars at New York University, where he is also an adjunct associate professor of International Education in the NYU Steinhardt School. The next Poetry on the Loose reading will feature Tony Puma on March 5. Admission is free. For more information email William Seaton at seaton@frontiernet.net. Sugar Loaf Mountain Herbs hosts free demonstrations in January Sugar Loaf - Sugar Loaf Mountain Herbs will host a series of free demonstrations on Saturdays during January at the shop, located at 1361 Kings Highway in Sugar Loaf. Each demonstration will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. The schedule is: Jan. 15: Brewing loose leaf teas. An informative session covering the many health benefits of drinking the various teas, including Black, Green, Red and Oolong as well as additional information steeping and brewing methods. Jan. 22: Growing you own sprouts. A how-to guide with tasting to learn the different seeds for sprouting. Jan. 29: Elderberry syrup. A delicious way to boost the immune system and to help your family during the cold and flu season. For more information, call 469-6460 or visit online at www.sugarloafherbs.com. Free poetry workshop features Gail Fishman Gerwin this Saturday Warwick - The Warwick Valley Poets Reading Series will host a free poetry workshop and reading by Gail Fishman Gerwin on Saturday, Jan. 15 in the back room at Utopian Direction, 7 West St., Warwick. The workshop, “Let’s Pen Our Pasts—Taking a Narrative Journey,” will be from 2 to 2:30 p.m., followed by her reading at 4 p.m. and then an open reading. In the workshop she will read some of her own poems, discuss the craft of narrative poetry, and then suggest writing prompts. Participants should bring paper and a pen or pencil. To sign up for the workshop, please call 986-9477 or 986-7718. Gerwin’s book “Sugar and Sand” (Full Court Press) was a finalist for the 2010 Paterson Poetry Prize. Her poems earned honorable mention in the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards competition, and her work appears in Calyx, Paterson Literary Review, Cutthroat Journal Online, Lips, Caduceus, U.S. 1 Worksheets, Jewish Women’s Literary Annual, and yourdailypoem.com. “I Find My Aunt Frieda in Sepia,” about an aunt lost to the Holocaust, was included in The American Voice in Poetry: The Legacy of Williams, Whitman, and Ginsberg. “In Sugar and Sand Gail Fishman Gerwin breathes life and textured detail into her memories of the past,” said Maria Mazziotti Gillan of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College. “The sounds, smells and places connected with her childhood, her ancestors, and all those she loves and treasures rise from these pages like the immensely satisfying aroma of baking bread.” Meet Michelle Caruso-Cabrera at Tuxedo Library Tuxedo - CNBC reporter Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, author of “You Know I’m Right,” will appear at the Tuxedo Park Library’s Authors’ Circle on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. Her book focuses on “a modern solution to our nation’s social and economic woes—a return to our political roots: fiscal conservatism, limited government, and personal accountability.” Books will be available for purchase and to be autographed after the program. Call 351-2207 to register. Temple to present 'Cantors in Love’ Monroe — The Monroe Temple of Liberal Judaism, Temple Beth-El, will present a concert, “Cantors in Love,” on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. at the temple. The featured husband and wife cantors are David Perper and Faith Steinsnyder, and Sergei and Elena Schwartz. The Monroe Temple Adult and Youth Choirs will also be performing in concert, which is part of the Jewish Music Programming series and is dedicated to the memory of Harry Hirschberg. The temple is located at 314 North Main St., in Monroe. Tickets for the concert are $18 in advance, and $20 at the door. A dessert reception in the Social Hall will follow the concert. For more information call 783-2626.