One of the country’s top regional antiquarian fairs, up to 40 dealers (including many new this year) from 12 states offering manuscripts, vintage photos and prints, antique maps, and a wide array of old, rare, curious, and fine books, including first editions, lots of collectible children’s books, fine leather bindings, modern poetry, Michigan history, travel & exploration, illustrated books, photography, antique maps, cookbooks, and more. Also, representatives of one of Michigan’s finest bookbinders exhibits its handiwork and answer questions about book preservation and restoration. Admission charge benefits the U-M Clements Library. Photo: Myra Klarman.
11 a.m.-5 p.m., Michigan Union Ballroom. $5 donation. annarborbookfair.com. 995-1891.
Readings by featured poets, preceded by a poetry open mike.
Reading by John Buckley, a recent U-M creative writing MFA.
7-9 p.m. (sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m.), Espresso Royale, 324 S. State. $5 suggested donation. facebook.com/AnnArborPoetry.
Literati is delighted to welcome Josh Malerman back to the store in support of his new novel, Black Mad Wheel.
From the author of the hit literary horror debut Bird Box (“Hitchcockian.” —USA Today) comes a chilling novel about a group of musicians conscripted by the US government to track down the source of a strange and debilitating sound.
The Danes—the band known as the “Darlings of Detroit”—are washed up and desperate for inspiration, eager to once again have a number one hit. That is, until an agent from the US Army approaches them. Will they travel to an African desert and track down the source of a mysterious and malevolent sound? Under the guidance of their front man, Philip Tonka, the Danes embark on a harrowing journey through the scorching desert—a trip that takes Tonka into the heart of an ominous and twisted conspiracy.
Meanwhile, in a nondescript Midwestern hospital, a nurse named Ellen tends to a patient recovering from a near-fatal accident. The circumstances that led to his injuries are mysterious—and his body heals at a remarkable rate. Ellen will do the impossible for this enigmatic patient, who reveals more about his accident with each passing day.
Part Heart of Darkness, part Lost, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking new novel plunges us into the depths of psychological horror, where you can’t always believe everything you hear.
Josh Malerman is the acclaimed author of Bird Box, as well as the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band The High Strung. He lives in Michigan.
Reading by this Grand Valley State University creative writing professor, a widely published poet and former Grand Rapids Press assistant sports editor whose most recent collection is Ha Ha Ha Thump. The program begins with open mike readings.
7-8:30 p.m., Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, 123 W. Washington. Free. 994-6663
Readings by Joliet Junior College English professor Bill Yarrow, a widely published poet who edits the Blue Fifth Review, and Zilka Joseph, a local poet known for her vividly figured explorations of the natural world whose latest collection is Sharp Blue Search of Flame. Followed by a poetry and short fiction open mike.
Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and teaches literature at San Francisco State University. Her writing includes essays, academic papers, reviews and short stories. Her first novel, In Dependence, was published by Legend Press, London, Cassava Republic Press, Abuja, and Weaver Press, Harare. Sarah sits on the boards of Hedgebrook and San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora. She is a Patron of the Etisalat Prize for Literature and host to OZY’s video series “Write.” Her second novel “Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun” was shortlisted for the 2016 Goldsmiths Prize. She lives in San Francisco, CA.
Celebrate spring with the fresh crop of books from the Wayne State University Press! A panel of local authors will be on hand to read from their new publications and sign copies, including Laura Thomas and Keith Taylor. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is recommended. Register online (http://gplib.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=51672&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2017%2F05%2F01) or in person, beginning Wednesday, April 26.
Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Refreshments for this event are sponsored by the Grosse Pointe Library Foundation, as part of the ongoing Write On Pointe programming series.
Reading and discussion of several poems. Followed by collaborative writing games and exercises. Snacks & socializing.
8-10 p.m., Argus Farm Stop, 325 W. Liberty. Free. onepausepoetry.org, 707-1284.
All-star storytelling showdown featuring the last 10 winners of the Ann Arbor Storyslams, the monthly open mike storytelling competitions sponsored by The Moth, the NYC-based nonprofit storytelling organization that also produces a weekly public radio show. This year’s theme: “Breaking Ground.”
8 p.m., The Ark, 316 S. Main. $25 in advance at themoth.org and at the door. 761-1451.
Dr. Anan Ameri is the founding director of the Arab American National Museum (AANM), the only cultural institution in the United States that documents, preserves and presents the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans. She joined the Museum’s parent organization ACCESS in 1997 and retired from AANM in 2013.
Anan Ameri was born in Syria and grew up in Amman, Jordan, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology at the University of Jordan. She also holds an M.A. in Sociology from Cairo (Egypt) University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit. Before immigrating to the U.S., Ameri worked as a television producer and as an educator and community organizer in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Prior to her ACCESS/AANM tenure, she was executive director and national president of the Palestine Aid Society of America in Washington, D.C.; a Fellow at the Bunting Institute, Radcliffe College; and a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
Under her aegis, AANM has received numerous awards, among them a national Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for exemplary youth after-school programs. Ameri herself has been honored many times, receiving recognition as a “Michiganian of the Year” from The Detroit News; a “Woman of Wayne” from her alma mater Wayne State University; and “Arab American Businesswoman of the Year” from the Arab American Women’s Business Council. In 2016, she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Ameri is a respected author and editor with several titles to her credit, including Telling Our Story: The Arab American National Museum (2007, AANM); Arab Americans in Detroit: A Pictorial History (2001, Arcadia); and Etching Our Own Image: Voices from the Arab American Art Movement (2007, Cambridge Scholars Press). She was a contributing author and co-editor of The Arab American Encyclopedia (2000, UXL) and the school textbook Daily Life of Arab Americans in the 21st Century (2011, Greenwood Press).
