Local short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal discuss valuable writing lessons to be learned from reading our favorite books. For adult and teen (grade 6 & up) fiction and nonfiction writers. Also, Kourvo and Neal host an open house for writers to connect with one another and/or work on their projects at 7 p.m. on Feb, 18.
One MFA student of fiction and one of poetry, each introduced by a peer, will read their work. Tonight: Joah Berg and Scott Seres.
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.
Stephen Berrey reads from his new book The Jim Crow Routine, followed by a discussion with Angela Dillard and audience Q&A.
The South’s system of Jim Crow racial oppression is usually understood in terms of legal segregation that mandated the separation of white and black Americans. Yet, as Stephen A. Berrey shows, it was also a high-stakes drama that played out in the routines of everyday life, where blacks and whites regularly interacted on sidewalks and buses and in businesses and homes. Every day, individuals made, unmade, and remade Jim Crow in how they played their racial roles—how they moved, talked, even gestured. The highly visible but often subtle nature of these interactions constituted the Jim Crow routine.
In this study of Mississippi race relations in the final decades of the Jim Crow era, Berrey argues that daily interactions between blacks and whites are central to understanding segregation and the racial system that followed it. Berrey shows how civil rights activism, African Americans’ refusal to follow the Jim Crow script, and national perceptions of southern race relations led Mississippi segregationists to change tactics. No longer able to rely on the earlier routines, whites turned instead to less visible but equally insidious practices of violence, surveillance, and policing, rooted in a racially coded language of law and order. Reflecting broader national transformations, these practices laid the groundwork for a new era marked by black criminalization, mass incarceration, and a growing police presence in everyday life.
About the Author
Stephen A. Berrey is assistant professor of American culture and history at the University of Michigan. His research explores the relationship between racial practices and everyday culture in the twentieth-century U.S.
Angela D. Dillard is the Earl Lewis Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies and in the Residential College. She specializes in American and African-American intellectual history, particularly around issues of race, religion and politics—on both the Left and the Right sides of the political spectrum.
The Author’s Forum is a collaboration between the U-M Institute for the Humanities, University Library, & Ann Arbor Book Festival.
Additional support for this event provided by the departments of Afroamerican and African History, American Culture, History, and the Residential College.
Do you have a desire to write your own novel, but don’t quite know where to get started? Local author Emlyn Chand is the founder and president of Novel Publicity, a company that provides marketing, editing, and design services for all authors, regardless of their paths to publication.
During this session she will provide insight into how to hone your writing craft, make writing a priority, navigate self-publishing, identify and promote your author brand, and stand out in a crowded market.
Emlyn has published fiction across multiple genres and writes for youth to adult audiences. Emlyn’s first novel, Farsighted, won the prestigious Writer’s Digest Self-Published Novel of the Year award in 2012 for the YA category. The majority of her books have been published under her pseudonym Emlyn Chand, but she has recently started releasing books in her legal name, Melissa Storm.
This month we will host a full hour of Open Mic when area poets can read their own work of share a favorite poem by another author. This is a monthly poetry series held on the second Thursday of each month.
Storytellers Guild members present a program of old tales and personal stories for grownups.
annarborstorytelling.org, facebook.com/annarborstorytellers. 665-2757.
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. February theme: Love Hurts. $8. Doors open, and sign up start at 6.
Come with questions, a work in progress, or an empty notebook. All writers are welcome in this casual, supportive environment. Authors Bethany Neal and Alex Kourvo will be on hand to answer questions and give encouragement. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your fellow Ann Arbor writers as well as get feedback from published authors. This is a monthly meet-up that welcomes all writers to ask questions, connect with other writers, or simply have a dedicated time and place to work on their projects.
Do you have a completed manuscript? Bring your work to a Meet-Up to be in consideration for the library’s new imprint Fifth Avenue Press fifthavenue.press.
One MFA student of fiction and one of poetry, each introduced by a peer, will read their work. Tonight: Francis Santana and Cab Tran.
