South End Weekends: Art, Music, and Book Signing
Every weekend, the South End has a lot of different events to offer. Here are a few of your best bests for this weekend. Do you have something going on? Post it to our South End Patch News
South End Weekends: Art, Music, and Book Signing
Every weekend, the South End has a lot of different events to offer. Here are a few of your best bests for this weekend. Do you have something going on? Post it to our South End Patch News
New Book to Feature Notable South End Residents
If you had to consider the most well-known, infamous, or even unsung members of the South End community, who would you pick? South End Historical Society Executive Director Hope Shannon has set out to answer that very question. Shannon has signed with Arcadia Publishing to set author a book entitled Legendary Locals of Boston’s South End. The book will focus on both former and current South Enders that have had a lasting impact on the community. “It’s not just the heroes, it’s the unsung heros – the barber that everyone knows, or the pharmacist who would lend to you on credit,” Shannon said. “I’m looking to feature the people you know from your community in Villa Victoria, SoWA, Eight Streets, Chester Square, Ellis and others,” she said. One neat aspect of the project is that Shannon is welcoming community input and suggestions from South End residents. The finished book will feature 150-200 paragraph-long profiles. Suggestions will be accepted until April 19. “This book is a product of the community,” said Shannon. “I’m the one writing it, but I don’t want it to be just a historian’s point of view. It needs to be a portrait of what the community thinks is important.” To submit a person to profile, email Shannon at hope.shannon@southendhistoricalsociety.org, call 617-536-4445, or fill out the suggestion form found at www.southendhistoricalsociety.org/legendarylocals. The book should be printed and published by early 2014. It will be on sale through the South End Historical Society and through several South End retailers. Although, Shannon said the idea isn’t to turn a huge profit on the book. “It’s just for the community and for us to have,” Shannon said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Local Author Selling Children’s Book on Dogs in South End
When author and journalist Scott Fayner was trying to decide what his next project would be, he looked around him. And saw dogs. Lots of dogs. That’s because at the time, Fayner was working at a dog daycare facility. Talk about drawing inspiration from your daily life. Fayner said he grew up with dogs and knew a lot about dogs, so the idea just seemed natural to him. “I wanted to help children learn from a young age about breeds and their characteristics and energy levels, so when they grow up they’ll have a better knowledge about which ones to choose,” he said. “If you have a breed like a Jack Russel Terrier in an apartment when you work all day they will ruin your house, and they end up in pounds, so it was a great project to help try to prevent that.” His new book, written with co-author Katie Bazaz, is called the ABCs of DOGs, and takes children through all the different dog breeds from A-Z, with two dogs for each letter of the alphabet. On the last page is a place for children to imagine their own type of dog breed with the characteristics that they like the best. Fayner met his co-author Bazaz, through their job at the dog daycare center. Although Fayner had experience with writing, Bazaz did not, and neither had any experience with publishing. “Katie had never been a part of something like this, but and she was really great,” Fayner said. “I never could have done this without her.” Through his work on the book, Fayner said the most interesting thing he learned was more about smaller breeds of dogs. “I’ve always liked big dogs, so I looked at smaller breeds as one type, like they were all the same,” he said. “But they really are not and have all different personalities.” “I also learned it’s not easy to write a book,” he said. The book is currently on sale atSooki, a women’s clothing and boutique store owned by Fayner’s mother, Suzan Griffith. Fayner said besides Amazon.com, the store is the only place where you can find his book right now, and based on how passionate South End residents are about their dogs, he thinks it’s a good fit. “The South End community is passionate about their dogs and treating them properly,” he said. “It’s a good way for young people to get started loving dogs, and maybe they’ll want a career working with dogs one day.” And maybe it isn’t just for kids. “What’s funny is that a lot of adults read it and they’re like, ‘I learned so […]