The Hummingbird Global Writers’ Circle is an international reading series started by Dr. Debotri Dhar, CEW Visiting Scholar (2015-17) and Lecturer in Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan. The aim of this literary initiative is to bring writers and communities together in different parts of the world to foster a love of books, to discuss the craft of writing, and to promote creative dialogue and global understanding in small ways. The name was inspired by the tiny hummingbird which builds its home with just a few drops of nectar, a root here, a leaf there, and a little bit of sky.
The Circle’s themed readings by established and emerging writers are free and open to the community. The theme for the first event of the Circle is feminism/ gender, to be held on Monday August 21 (3-5 pm) at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The writer-speakers for this session are Linda Gregerson, Laura Hulthen Thomas, Mike Ferro and Debotri Dhar (writer bios below), who will read from their poetry and fiction, followed by conversation /Q&A.
Light refreshments will be served. All members of the community are welcome to attend, however, RSVP is required. If you wish to hear our speakers read from their work, share tips, and engage in conversation, please RSVP to debotri@umich.edu.
Barbara Cohn’s new book, The Detroit Public Library, is a photographic tour of the Detroit Public Library’s rich art and architectural history.
Ann Arborite Paul Dimond discusses his experiences doing research for his historical novel set in Ann Arbor and northern Michigan in the 1st half of the 20th century. He is joined by his wife, Marty, who wrote the poems by the titular character that appear in the novel. Signing.
7-8:30 p.m., AADL multipurpose room (lower level), 343 S. Fifth Ave. Free. 327-4555.[
Native Detroiter Jessica Care Moore discusses her visual art installation and collection of poems that honors the life of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Texas in 2015, 3 days after being arrested during a traffic stop.
5:10 p.m., Michigan Theater. Free. 668-8463.
Heather Ann Thompson (U-M Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, and History) reads from her Pulitzer Prize-winning book Blood in the Water, followed by a conversation with Angela Dillard (U-M Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies) and then audience Q & A and book sale & signing.
About the book:
On September 9, 1971, nearly 1,300 prisoners took over the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York to protest years of mistreatment. Holding guards and civilian employees hostage, the prisoners negotiated with officials for improved conditions during the four long days and nights that followed.
On September 13, the state abruptly sent hundreds of heavily armed troopers and correction officers to retake the prison by force. Their gunfire killed thirty-nine men—hostages as well as prisoners—and severely wounded more than one hundred others. In the ensuing hours, weeks, and months, troopers and officers brutally retaliated against the prisoners. And, ultimately, New York State authorities prosecuted only the prisoners, never once bringing charges against the officials involved in the retaking and its aftermath and neglecting to provide support to the survivors and the families of the men who had been killed.
Drawing from more than a decade of extensive research, historian Heather Ann Thompson sheds new light on every aspect of the uprising and its legacy, giving voice to all those who took part in this forty-five-year fight for justice: prisoners, former hostages, families of the victims, lawyers and judges, and state officials and members of law enforcement. Blood in the Water is the searing and indelible account of one of the most important civil rights stories of the last century.
Local journalist Micheline Maynard interviews Bakehouse managing partners Frank Carollo and Amy Emberling about their new cookbook, which features 65 of their most popular recipes. Bakehouse treats and drinks.
4:30-6:30 p.m., Zingerman’s Greyline, 100 N. Ashley. $75 (includes one autographed copy of the book). Reservations required. 663-3663.
The presentation discusses three projects for social change based in Liverpool UK, Johannesburg South Africa, and with Chippewa communities of the Upper Peninsula and Canada. Two of the projects focus on activism against gender-based violence and one explores Black identities in international context. Gonzalez discussed how social activist interventions can manifest as performance-based projects, academic writings, or public scholarship. Community-based activism requires ongoing engagement with partner organizations working for common goals.
If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Center for World Performance Studies, at 734-936-2777, at least one week in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, author of The Virgin Suicidesand Middlesex, is joined by local novelist Claire Vaye Watkins in a discussion of Fresh Complaint, his new collection of short stories about characters that range from a failed poet who turns to embezzlement to a high school student whose drastic decision upends the life of a middle-aged physicist.
7 p.m., Michigan Union Ballroom. Tickets $28.62 (includes a copy of the book) in advance at brownpapertickets.com/event/3080004. 585-5567.
Literati is excited to host a panel discussion of the new book #exstrange: A Curatorial Intervention on Ebay
About #Exstrange
#exstrange: a curatorial intervention on eBay presents the #exstrange exhibition project, which transformed one of the largest marketplaces on the web — eBay — into a site of artistic production. This book documents artworks, reveals the aftermath of auctions and correspondences between artists and bidders, and features essays by lead curators Marialaura Ghidini and Rebekah Modrak, cultural critic Mark Dery, journalist Rob Walker, media and material culture scholar Padma Chirumamilla, guest curator Gaia Tedone, and artist and writer Renee Carmichael.
Over 80 contemporary artists and designers created “artworks as auctions” for #exstrange between January 15 and April 15, 2017, each using the elements of the auction listing–descriptive text, images, pricing, and categories–as tools of production.
Works include artist Lucy Pawlak’s collaboration with the Beat Officer to sell a series of clay objects as missing evidence from unexplained events in Mexico; IOCOSE’s sale of instant protests in the category “Specialty Services” where buyers chose the protest mantras, and outsourced performers demonstrated; and Susanne Cockrell & Ted Purves’ offering of a stick-gun with the memory of their son’s play in “Entertainment Memorabilia.”
Panel Participants:
Rebekah Modrak, Co-curator of #exstrange, and Associate Professor, Stamps School of Art & Design, University of Michigan.
Sophia Brueckner, #exstrange artist, and Assistant Professor, Stamps School of Art & Design, University of Michigan.
Masimba Hwati, #exstrange artist, and MFA candidate, Stamps School of Art & Design, University of Michigan.
Fred Feinberg, #exstrange guest curator, and Professor of Marketing and Statistics, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
Padma Chirumamilla, wrote the essay “Guarantees and Ghosts: Breakdowns in Everyday Life” for the #exstrange book, and PhD candidate, School of Information, University of Michigan.
Former U-M planner Fred Mayer, a founding member of the Society for College and University Planning, discusses his 2015 book. In conjunction with the Clark Library exhibit Creating a Campus: A Cartographic Celebration of U-M’s Bicentennial, which runs through Dec. 20 on the 2nd floor of the Hatcher Grad Library.
6 p.m., 100 U-M Hatcher Grad Library Gallery, enter from the Diag. Free. 647-0646.
