Learn Meditation, Celebrate Poetry at Westfield Memorial Library

(March 26, 2018) – On Wednesday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m., the Westfield Memorial Library will present “Meditation: An Antidote for Stress,” and on Saturday, April 14 at 2:00 p.m., there will be a poetry reading by seven poets published in Tiferet Journal. The library is located at 550 East Broad Street.

Meditation will be presented by Jim Rose, a retired Johnson & Johnson executive. In this session participants will explore the healing power of meditation and learn how to create peace in their life in spite of the stress around them.

“The stresses and tensions of life do not just affect our mind,” wrote Mr. Rose about his program. “This simple technique can be practiced daily for health, serenity and joy. Meditation helps us to physically relax and it puts us in a state where we feel more peaceful. The problems of the world no longer have the same effect on us.”

Mr. Rose has 35 years of experience in Human Resources management, employee development and conflict resolution. He was recognized by Human Resources Executive magazine as one of the top HR executives in the U.S.

He currently provides workshops and training to groups throughout the world where he connects meditation and spiritual development to important aspects of our lives. Mr. Rose has been meditating for over 30 years and now focuses much of his time on his own spiritual development and in helping others who wish to do the same.

The poetry reading features seven poets who have been published in New-jersey based Tiferet Journal. Tiferet publishes high quality prose, poetry and art that further meaningful dialogue about what it is to be humane and conscious in today's often divisive world.

Readers are Robert Carnevale, Nancy Lubarsky, Michelle Ortega, Bob Rosenbloom, John McDermott, Donna Baier Stein and Adele Kenny. Free and open to the public, the reading will be followed by a reception and Open Mic.

Robert Carnevale is the former assistant coordinator of the Dodge poetry Festival. His poems have appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and other magazines and anthologies.

Nancy Lubarsky has been an educator for more than 35 years and is currently superintendant of schools in Mountainside, N.J. An award-winning poet, she is the author of two poetry collections, most recently The Only Proof.

Michelle Ortega is founder and President of Communicare Ltd., Inc. and has been a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist since 1993.

Bob Rosenblooom, an attorney and former stand-up comic, is the author of Reunion and a first place winner in the 2017 Allen Ginsberg Awards. His poems have been widely published in journals and anthologies.

John McDermott is a Dodge Foundation Poet and professor emeritus who taught at Union Country College for many years. He has also taught in China and Japan. Author of The Long Way Home, he won the first place Carriage House Poetry Prize in 2016.

Donna Baier Stein is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, and poet whose work has been widely published. The founding publisher of Tiferet Journal, she is the author of several books, most recently Letting the Rain Have its Say.

Adele Kenny is the founding director of the Carriage House Poetry Series and Tiferet’s poetry editor since 2006. Among other awards, she has received poetry fellowships from the NJ State Arts Council and Kean University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

The Meditation program is open to Westfield Memorial Library and MURAL cardholders. (MURAL cardholders belong to the 43 libraries that are part of the Middlesex Union Reciprocal Agreement Libraries. Visit www.wmlnj.org and click on the “About Us” tab to see if your library participates.) To register, visit the library’s website at www.wmlnj.org, click on the Online Calendar, or call 908.789.4090 option 0. The poetry program is open to the public and requires no advance sign up.

Founded in 1879, the Westfield Memorial Library—the community’s destination for discovery and ideas—engages minds, entertains spirits and facilitates lifelong learning for people of all ages. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information call 908.789.4090, visit the library’s website at www.wmlnj.org, and sign up for the monthly e-newsletter “Library Loop,” or stop by the library at 550 East Broad Street for a copy of the award-winning quarterly newsletter “Take Note.”

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