All poets invited to compete in a poetry slam judged by a randomly chosen panel from the audience. The program begins with a poetry open mike and (occasionally) a short set by a featured poet.
8-11 p.m. (sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.), $5 suggested donation. A2poetry.com.
Includes a talk on the therapeutic power of memoir writing and a book signing of the author’s memoir, What You Feel Is Real.
Monthly open mike storytelling competition sponsored by The Moth, the NYC-based nonprofit storytelling organization that also produces a weekly public radio show. Each month 10 storytellers are selected at random from among those who sign up to tell a 3-5 minute story on the monthly theme. The 3 judges are recruited from the audience. Monthly winners compete in a semiannual Grand Slam. Space limited, so it’s smart to arrive early. September theme: Nerds and Geeks. $8. Doors open, and sign up start at 6.
Brian Freeman joins our book club on Wednesday, September 23 at 7 PM, to talk about his Jonathan Stride novel The Cold Nowhere as well as his new thriller, Season of Fear. He’ll also be presenting a PowerPoint: “Jonathan Stride’s Duluth.”
Reading by Ken Meisel, an award-winning Detroit-area poet whose recent The Drunken Sweetheart at My Door is a collection of surrealistic metaphysical poems about love. Followed by a poetry and short fiction open mike.
Local young adult fiction writer Lara Zielin and short story writer Alex Kourvo host an open house for writers to connect with each other and/or work on their projects.
Jon M. Stevens was born in Powell, Ohio, and grew up in the shadow of Ohio Stadium. He earned a master’s degree from U-M in 2004 and is currently a designer for an architecture firm in Ann Arbor. Ken Magee is an expert in Wolverine football history. He is a 30-year veteran of law enforcement, former chief of police for the University of Michigan, and a retired federal agent. A portion of this book’s proceeds will benefit the Ken Magee Foundation for Cops, which assists police officers permanently injured in the line of duty. They are the authors of The Game: The Michigan-Ohio State Football Rivalry.
Jon M. Stevens was born in Powell, Ohio, and grew up in the shadow of Ohio Stadium. He earned a master’s degree from U-M in 2004 and is currently a designer for an architecture firm in Ann Arbor. Ken Magee is an expert in Wolverine football history. He is a 30-year veteran of law enforcement, former chief of police for the University of Michigan, and a retired federal agent. A portion of this book’s proceeds will benefit the Ken Magee Foundation for Cops, which assists police officers permanently injured in the line of duty. They are the authors of The Game: The Michigan-Ohio State Football Rivalry.
Literati welcomes Robert James Russell for the launch of his western novel, Mesilla. Reading with Robert will be Chicago-based author Ben Tanzer.
A born and bred Michigander, Robert James Russell is the co-founding editor of the literary journal Midwestern Gothic, which aims to catalog the very best fiction of the Midwestern United States (an area he believes is ripe with its own mythologies and tall tales, yet often overlooked), as well as the micro-press MG Press. In 2013 he launched the online literary journal CHEAP POP, which publishes micro-fiction, 500 words or less.
Fascinated by regionalist literature and the intersection of place and relationships, his work has appeared in numerous publications, both print and online. His first novel, Sea of Trees, was published by Winter Goose Publishing in 2012. His first collection of stories, Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out, was released in April 2015 by WhiskeyPaper Press. His Western novel, Mesilla, will be released in September 2015 by Dock Street Press. He’s been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize, and was awarded an artist residency with the University Musical Society for the 2014-2015 performance season. He currently has a lecturer appointment at the U-M Residential College.
Ben Tanzer is the author of the books My Father’s House, You Can Make Him Like You, So Different Now, Orphans and Lost in Space, among others. Ben can be found online at This Blog Will Change Your Life, the center of his growing lifestyle empire. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two sons.
