Poetry and Music Come Together at the Library Tonight

5 Things You Need to Know Today:

1. Poetry! The Amherst Town Library will present Spring Poets: Barbara Allen to Blackbird tonight at 7. Once upon a time, poetry and song were inseparable. The break up came during the Renaissance. In England, two great Romantic poets, Wordsworth and Coleridge, engineered reconciliation with the publication of Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This radical work merged the ballad form with the plain spoken lyric of the heart. English language poets were freed to feel once again, to sing once again, of common themes in the common tongue. NHHC Presenter John Perrault brings his guitar to sing and recite a few of the early ballads, plus a line of lyrics from Burns to Wordsworth, Keats, Frost, Dickinson to Dylan, and Mary Oliver to Lennon & McCartney, in a salute to the romantic tradition. Register now.

2. Watch the thaw. Forest officials are strongly advising visitors to Mount Washington's Tuckerman Ravine to be prepared for spring thaw. Falling ice has injured, and even killed, many visitors. Check avalanche advisories before heading out.

3. Patch Fact: Divine wind? Japan was saved from invasion twice because of storms. Both times the Mongolians tried to invade the island nation, typhoons destroyed most of their fleets.

4. Congrats! Felicia Weber of Amherst received the Certificate for Academic Excellence in the Major Field of Humanities from Clearwater Christian College during a special presentation held on campus Monday, April 22, 2013. This recognition is based upon academic achievement and character. Felicia is a senior at CCC with plans to graduate in May 2013 with a degree in Humanities. Felicia is a homeschool graduate and the daughter of James and Beth Weber of Amherst.

5. Weather Report: Today: Sun and a few passing clouds. High 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: A few clouds from time to time. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable.