Susan Cattaneo continues her residency at Union Tavern on May 16, with the final show scheduled for June 13. — Photo by Nate Dow

By Blake Maddux

In addition to being a professor at Berklee College of Music for almost 20 years, Susan Cattaneo has released five albums of what her website’s bio describes at “New England Americana with a twang.” In 2018, she received a Boston Music Awards nomination for Americana Artist of the Year, won the CT (Connecticut) Folk Festival Songwriting Competition, and was a finalist at the Kerrville (Texas) New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters.

Join the Friends of the Somerville Public Library for their massive 5-day marathon of a book sale May 8 through May 12. Whether you’re after chemistry or children’s books, fiction or foreign languages, romance or recipes (plus DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks), they’ve got you covered. All items cost just $1, and FSPL tote bags will be on sale for $10 to help you bring your haul home. For more information, visit www.somervillepubliclibrary.org.

Parish Council President of Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church Diane Karavitis and Father Anthony.

By Courtney Young

You don’t have to be able to pronounce all the names of food on a menu in order to be appetized by them. In the case of annual Gyro Day at Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Somerville, the advertising for this special day could be done solely through the wafts of delicious gyros and kabobs cooking from the tents outside the church.

This year’s installment of PorchFest will be hitting the city this coming weekend. Those who have, in the past, taken notice of the event – and it is an event that is rather difficult not to notice – usually have fairly strong opinions of approval or distaste for the goings on.

Eagle Feathers #178 – Brick by Brick

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

If you live or work in a house or building constructed of brick, the odds are you share a sense of warmth, comfort, security, and shelter you might not necessarily get from another type of construction. Brick is down to earth. It has ancient roots and its origins go back over 7,000 years.

Storytellers from throughout the region will face off with their best true stories at Massmouth’s championship finale, the Big Mouth Off, Thursday, May 9, at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square.

This year’s finalists, who have advanced through multiple rounds of competition, will tell true stories on diverse themes such as About Last Night and Going Solo, in their quest to be named Big Mouth Off champion.

On December 9, 2018 Worcester Fire Fighter Christopher Roy lost his life fighting a fire. He left behind a 9-year-old daughter, Ava Roy.

Kenny Manzi is doing a fund raiser to try and help with the future of this little girl. The Amazing Sensations have agreed to donate their time and perform at this fund raiser.

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I ran into Somerville-area poet Charles Coe at the Cambridge Public Library the other day. He is a man about my age, who was roaming the space with his signature causal gait, taking in the whole scene. I didn’t see him hooked to the usual digital hardware, no texting finger dances … he was there … in the moment. As fate would have it, he gave me his new collection of poetry Memento Mori. It starts out with a quote by Marcus Aurelius, “Use your numbered days to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”

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Megan Normandin is a Literature and Creative Writing teacher at Fitchburg High School and an adjunct instructor at Fitchburg State University. She has been featured in the UMass literary magazine, Jabberwocky, and has performed her poetry at the Community Poetry Cafe in Fitchburg, Boston Poetry Slam in Cambridge, and Moonlighting: A Queer Open Mic in Jamaica Plain. Megan lives in Woburn with her partner, Erika, two kids and one dog.

By State Senator Patricia Jehlen

Many of the bills I file are based on local people’s experiences and local needs. In November, Peter DeMarco wrote a moving and disturbing Globe Magazine account, Losing Laura, of his wife’s death from an asthma attack while trying to get into the Somerville Hospital Emergency Department.