Hamilton Public Library hosts book club celebrating award-winning Hamilton author, Anuja Varghese

By: Erica Boyle, Arts and Culture Contributor

The Hamilton Public Library celebrated the end of last year’s Hamilton Reads program on Nov. 14, 2024, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Valley Park Branch. This year, Hamilton Reads featured Chrysalis, Anuja Varghese’s debut book.

Chrysalis was published in 2023 and won both the Governor-General award and the Writers Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2+ Emerging Writers in 2023. Additionally, Chrysalis was awarded the Fiction Award at the 31st Annual Hamilton Literary Awards which took place at the HPL’s Central Branch on Dec. 12, 2024. 

Hamilton Reads is an annual book club that celebrates reading and shines a spotlight on a recommended book each year. Readers can pick up the book and give their thoughts at the event. This is a great opportunity for the community to come together and bond over a shared love of reading.  

“Doing Hamilton Reads over the past year has been so cool for me . . . I’ve got to spend time with a whole bunch of different book clubs, I didn’t even realize there were that many book clubs that the library runs. I got to do a writing workshop. So just so many cool things throughout the year that have both helped promote the book but also just allowed me to connect with different kinds of readers in Hamilton and that’s been really neat,” said Varghese. 

[Hamilton Reads] allowed me to connect with different kinds of readers in Hamilton and that’s been really neat.

Anuja Varghese, Author of Chrysalis

The event included Varghese reading from Chrysalis and being interviewed by Sanaa Humayun, a Hamilton artist and artistic director at Hamilton Artists Inc., a local non-profit run by artists. The event was a great opportunity for readers to gather and have some fun. There were complimentary snacks and students from the Abhinaya Performing Arts Centre performed a traditional Bharatanatyam dance. 

Varghese lives in Hamilton with her partner, two kids and two cats. She works for the YMCA in Hamilton in addition to being an author. 

Varghese discussed what she hopes readers will take away from her book in an interview with The Silhouette. “I hope that anyone that picks up the book sees something of themselves somewhere in these stories. The stories all really focus on women and girls in moments of transformation. They focus on women of colour and queer folks and just the ways that we’re kind of robbed of power in different ways in our lives, and the ways that we can then pull some of that power back,” said Varghese. 

I hope that anyone that picks up the book sees something of themselves somewhere in these stories. The stories all really focus on women and girls in moments of transformation.

Anuja Varghese, Author of Chrysalis

Varghese then mentioned her hope that McMaster students will discover an interest in short  stories. “Short story collections are not something that a lot of people sort of naturally pick up. So, I hope that if it’s not something you would normally pick up, I hope it encourages people to give short stories a try,” said Varghese. 

Currently, Varghese is working on a fantasy series set in medieval India. Readers interested should check out her website or social media for more information. More news about that will soon be released, so stay tuned! For the readers out there who want to get involved with the library, Hamilton Reads is the perfect program for you. 

Artists and enthusiasts gathered at the Hamilton Public Library to showcase their creativity and sell their work

The Hamilton Zineposium is a zine fair organized by a small volunteer collective of local artists. The event took place on Nov. 2, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the central branch of the Hamilton Public Library as part of the Hamilton Day celebrations.

This year, the Zineposium had 40 vendors who are all Hamilton-based. The Zineposium provides a platform for local zine makers to showcase, display and sell their artwork in the form of zines.

Zines are usually a self-published work, with similar formatting to a magazine, that highlight a topic the creator cares about. Zine makers also had the opportunity to sell other items such as stickers, buttons and bookmarks.

This annual Hamilton fair initially began on June 27, 2015 and was founded by artists and educators Sally McKay, Taien Ng-Chan, Donna Akrey, Carmela Laganase, Leah Klein and Brittany Sostar

Sonali Menezes, a co-organizer of Zineposium, is one of three artists who inherited the Zineposium organization. “Three years ago, the organizers asked if we wanted to take over organizing the event. They wanted to pass on the torch to younger artists in the city and so we took it over in 2022,” said Menezes.

The three new organizers, Sonali Menezes, Sahra Soudi and Mariel Rutherford, were originally vendors for the event. “It’s interesting that we started as tablers at the zine fair. Now we organize it and we’re fostering that community for other zinesters,” said Menezes.

It’s interesting that we started as tablers at the zine fair. Now we organize it and we’re fostering that community for other zinesters.

Sonali Menezes, Co-Organizer
Zineposium

Sahra Soudi, another co-organizer of the Zineposium, discussed the seamless transition of taking on the organization with their peers. “They [former founders] passed the administrative torch in some ways . . . luckily all of us are administrators in our own working lives and already have that experience,” said Soudi.

Menezes further explained the convenience of the working relationship with her peers throughout the transition. “Sahra, Mariel and I used to work together . . . at an artist-run centre. We already had a working relationship with each other and were already friends before we took this on,” said Menezes.

As a collective, the three have been facilitating the Zineposium since 2022 and are currently collaborating with the Hamilton Public Library to host the event. “There are lots of wonderful staff at the library who support the Zineposium every year,” said Menezes.

Soudi described the involvement required to organize this event. “How this thing [Zineposium] keeps running is our relationship with the library, also volunteers and the zine community,” said Soudi.

For those new to the zine fair, Menezes suggested bringing cash to purchase the available works. “Price points tend to be lower so bring things like loonies and toonies and 5 dollar bills. If you make zines a lot of zinesters are open to trades,” said Menezes. “Trading is a really big part of zine culture . . . that’s how I put together my own personal zine library.”

Menezes also hopes that more students will turn out to the next event. “What I would encourage is for Mac students to exit the university bubble and come into the community and meet people,” said Menezes.

What I would encourage is for Mac students to exit the university bubble and come into the community and meet people.

Sonali Menezes, Co-Organizer
Zineposium

Soudi mentioned that the Zineposium continues to grow in popularity. “We had around 500 people come through the library. So it’s usually pretty well attended and people look forward to it every year,” said Soudi.

If you missed this year's Zineposium, you can attend next year or get involved through updates on their Instagram.

This annual fair showcases the services and programs the McMaster libraries offer. Here are some you might not know about!

Library Crawl is an annual event that showcases the resources and tools offered by McMaster Libraries to all students. Taking place on Sep. 24, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., both new and returning students are encouraged to attend and take advantage of the services available at the libraries on campus. At this event, students can learn about the libraries while playing games, winning prizes, enjoying complimentary refreshments and more! 

Lynne Serviss, associate university librarian for user services and community engagement, explained what the libraries offer in an interview with the Silhouette. “It is a place to support student success, whether that be through research, through study, through collaboration, through accessing tools, through experimenting with different technology pieces,” said Serviss.

It is a place to support student success, whether that be through research, through study, through collaboration, through accessing tools, through experimenting with different technology pieces.

Lynne Serviss, Associate University Librarian
McMaster University

Serviss then highlighted a few of the many services and spaces that will be showcased at the Library Crawl. 

Firstly, Serviss mentioned prayer spaces operated in collaboration with the Muslim Students Association and the Spiritual Care and Learning Centre. There are prayer spaces on the third floor of Mills Memorial Library and in the basement of H.G Thode Library of Science and Engineering. These spaces offer a quiet and respectful environment for students observing religious practices.

Next, the Lyons New Media Centre is an accessible creative space on the fourth floor of Mills library where technology is provided for learning and research purposes. Students can book amazing media creation spaces, including an audio and podcast recording studio, a video and photo studio and a virtual reality studio. The centre also offers 3D printing services and media lab computers with media creation software such as the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. In order to show students how to make optimal use of the space, this centre also hosts classes, like their upcoming workshop on digital design with Canva.

The Campus Accessible Tech Space, located in Mills L212, provides quiet study areas for students registered with Student Accessibility Services (SAS). The space is designed with comfortable seating, has free coffee and tea and has dividers to block out sound and create an ideal study environment. While in this space, students are also allowed to borrow equipment that include but are not limited to a MAC laptop, a PC laptop and more for optimal learning accessibility. Students can register online for a keycard to access CATS.

Also to be featured at the crawl, The Hamilton Public Library’s Bookmobile visits campus every Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and parks across from University Hall. The Bookmobile is a service that allows students to browse a selection of books not available at the McMaster Libraries, including fiction and cookbooks. Students with an HPL library card can also place holds on books to be picked up at the Bookmobile.

And finally, the Thode Makerspace. Situated in the basement of Thode library, the Makerspace offers equipment such as sewing machines and woodworking tools for students to work on various hands-on projects. Each month, Makerspace hosts a repair café, allowing students to bring in items needing repair and learn how to fix them. This year's first repair café will be held on September 25, 2024 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., as detailed on their website.

Library Crawl is not just about exploring these features; it’s also an opportunity for students to provide feedback on library services. “We're here for students to help student research and to help students be successful. So often times the request will be directly from a need or from a student group who can reach out to us or we will be hearing feedback or comments from individuals in the community about a gap," said Serviss. The library values input from its users and encourages students to share their suggestions via the suggestion box.

We're here for students to help student research and to help students be successful. So often times the request will be directly from a need or from a student group who can reach out to us or we will be hearing feedback or comments from individuals in the community about a gap.

Lynne Serviss, Associate University Librarian
McMaster University

Library Crawl will take place rain or shine, and will ideally be located outside the main entrance of Mills Memorial Library. However, if it rains the event will be located in MUSC on the first floor. Library Crawl will feature both the Hamilton Public Library and the Art Gallery of Hamilton as guests.

Mark your calendars for Sep. 24 and join us for Library Crawl. It’s the perfect chance to discover all that McMaster libraries have to offer and connect with resources that can support your academic journey.

Photos C/O Benton Lowe

By Adrian Salopek, Staff Writer 

As kids, watching puppets on TV was a surreal experience. Wonderfully wacky creatures helping you learn your ABCs, your 123s and ultimately becoming a friend in the process. Local puppeteer Benton Lowe has made a name for himself in Hamilton and has allowed puppeteering to flourish as an art form in the city. 

By putting on shows at the Hamilton Public Library and appearing on local channels such as CHCH, Lowe is working to ensure that puppeteering is brought to the mainstream.

Originally from Carleton Place, a town outside of Ottawa, Lowe was inspired to practice puppeteering from a young age. Being exposed to shows like Sesame Street and growing up a short drive away from renowned Canadian producer and puppeteer Noreen Young, Lowe was very interested in what it takes to craft these characters from an early age.

Benton Lowe and his puppets. Photo C/O Benton Lowe.

Benton Lowe and his puppets. Photo C/O Benton Lowe.

“Noreen Young was my puppet grandma,” said Lowe. “She is an amazing puppeteer who did a lot of TV stuff. I really appreciated what she did.” 

Although he loved puppets, it wasn’t until December of 2016 that Lowe began pursuing his current career. It was then that Jordan Lockhart, a friend and fellow puppeteer, helped Lowe realize what he wanted to do in life. As Lowe spoke with him, learning more about Lockhart's puppetry, he discovered a special interest in television puppetry. This prompted Lowe to buy a camera and a monitor to kickstart his own career as a puppeteer. 

In order to make puppet shows believable, television monitors are used to allow each puppeteer to view what the audience would be seeing from home. This in turn allows them to get each shot right in order to make a more immersive connection between the viewer and the character.

“That’s how [puppets are] able to look into the camera and look at you, kind of like they’re looking at you through the screen. That’s the way we connect with people,” explained Lowe.

Lowe then moved to Nunavut in 2017 for a job where he was able to isolate qualities that he wanted to mimic in his own characters and practice puppeteering. He then participated in workshops in Texas with puppeteers like Noel MacNeal, who appeared on Sesame Street and was one of the people who originally inspired Lowe to pursue puppeteering. 

Benton Lowe's puppet at Gage Park. Photo C/O Benton Lowe.

Benton Lowe's puppet at Gage Park. Photo C/O Benton Lowe.

“It was really cool kind of going full circle to be trained by them, because now I want to do what they inspired me to do,” said Lowe.

Puppetry is much more difficult than many might think, but Lowe has worked tirelessly to master the art form. A lot of energy has gone into making his puppetry style so seamless and his characters so relatable. 

“I’ve definitely tried to master the art of bringing characters to life and studying human behaviour, an example of that is breathing,” said Lowe, “This can really make a character stand out and come to life.” 

 Lowe then moved to Hamilton and found there to be little puppeteering around upon arriving. He has since worked hard to change this. He turned the Hamilton Public Library’s mascot, Scout the Fox, into a recognizable puppet. He has also appeared in TV commercials on CHCH for the city as part of its “Spend it Here” holiday shopping campaign and has been featured on the channel’s morning segment. The city has embraced what Lowe is doing and his puppets are recognized by many, particularly children. During the Santa Claus parade of 2019, onlookers recognized his puppets when he was featured on the BookMobile. 

“I could see the excitement of the kids . . . That’s when it really hit me the impact of the character. I didn’t fully know, like now, that I had brought this character to life,” said Lowe.

Lowe has big plans for the future of Hamilton. He wants the city’s puppeteers to become a source of pride for Hamiltonians. He is now thinking of collaborating with different people within the community to explore possibilities of shooting a local show using puppetry right here in the city, reminiscent of the Hamilton-shot puppet show “Hilarious House of Frightenstein”, which aired in the 70s. He hopes to put Hamilton on the map for its talented puppeteers and artists. 

“Hamilton really has the potential to create shows and entertainment locally in the city,” said Lowe. “[S]o I’m really collaborating with different people for a television series done locally in Hamilton and also not just shot locally and created locally, but done by local producers and even picked up by local broadcasters.” 

You can see more of Lowe’s puppets and video content via his Facebook and Instagram.

 

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