Meijer supermarket company cochairman Hank Meijer discusses his new biography of the Republican senator from Grand Rapids who was instrumental in creating the Marshall Plan, NATO, and the U.N. Book sale, signing, and reception.
7 p.m., Ford Library, 1000 Beal. Free. 205-0555.
Sweetwaters and Toastmaster community members are creating a new Toastmasters Club at Sweetwaters! We will have 1 or 2 prepared speeches, showcase some of our (kind, encouraging and gentle) evaluations of the speeches, and some opportunities for people to have impromptu speaking fun. There will also be a chance for Q & A during the meeting too.
Come a little early and pick-up a beverage or snack from the cafe and have fun making new friendships with encouraging and supportive people!
Sweetwaters Washington St., 123 W. Washington St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Free.joshs@sweetwaterscafe.com https://www.facebook.com/events/1053675414768433/
Literati is thrilled to host author Daniel Wolff who will be sharing his new book Grown-up Anger. Daniel will be joined in conversation with fellow music writer David Marsh and there will be a special musical performance from Chris Buhalis!
About Grown-up Anger:
A tour de force of storytelling years in the making: a dual biography of two of the greatest songwriters, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, that is also murder mystery and a history of labor relations and socialism, big business and greed in twentieth-century America—all woven together in one epic saga that holds meaning for all working Americans today
When thirteen-year-old Daniel Wolff first heard Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” it ignited a life-long interest with understanding the rock poet’s anger. When he later discovered “Song to Woody,” Dylan’s tribute to his hero, Woody Guthrie, Wolff believed he’d uncovered one source of Dylan’s rage. Sifting through Guthrie’s recordings, Wolff found “1913 Massacre”—a song which told the story of a union Christmas party during a strike in Calumet, Michigan, in 1913 that ended in horrific tragedy.
Following the trail from Dylan to Guthrie to an event that claimed the lives of seventy-four men, women, and children a century ago, Wolff found himself tracing the history of an anger that has been passed down for decades. From America’s early industrialized days, an epic battle to determine the country’s direction has been waged, pitting bosses against workers, big business against the labor movement. In Guthrie’s eyes, the owners ultimately won; the 1913 Michigan tragedy was just one example of a larger, lost history purposely distorted and buried in time.
In this magnificent cultural study, Wolff braids three disparate strands—Calumet, Guthrie, and Dylan—together to create a devastating revisionist history of twentieth-century America. Grown-Up Anger chronicles the struggles between the haves and have-nots, the impact changing labor relations had on industrial America, and the way two musicians used their fury to illuminate economic injustice and inspire change.
Daniel Wolff is the author of The Fight for Home: How (Parts of) New Orleans Came Back; How Lincoln Learned to Read; 4th of July/Asbury Park; and You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke, which won the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award. He has been nominated for a Grammy and was named Literary Artist of 2013 for Rockland County, New York. A poet, songwriter, and essayist, he has helped produce a number of documentary films with director Jonathan Demme. He lives in Nyack, New York.
Dave Marsh is the author of the bestselling Bruce Springsteen biographies, Born to Run and Glory Days, and over a dozen other books, including Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who, Louie, Louie: The History and Myth, and The New Book of Rock Lists. A former editor of Creem and Rolling Stone, he currently edits the newsletter Rock & Roll Confidential.
Chris Buhalis is a singer and songwriter from Ann Arbor, MI
U-M history of medicine professor Howard Markel reads from his acclaimed new book about these Michigan brothers who revolutionized American notions of health and wellness. He also discusses the book with U-M English professor Michael Schoenfeldt.
5:30-7 p.m., 100 U-M Hatcher Grad Library Gallery, enter from the Diag. Free. 764-3166.
Readings by U-M creative writing grad students, including fiction writers Christina Kim and poet Chelsea Walsh.
7 p.m., UMMA Auditorium, 525 S. State. Free.
The Mark Webster Reading Series presents emerging writers in a warm and relaxed setting. We encourage you to bring your friends – a Webster reading makes for an enjoyable and enlightening Friday evening.
Nov. 17 & 18. RC students perform Theresa Rebeck’s 2011 Broadway drama about 4 young writers, their professor, and the tensions and romances that develop as they attend a 10-week intensive writing seminar.
8 p.m., Keene Theatre, East Quad, 701 East University. Free; donations welcome. 763-0176.
Literati Bookstore is excited to partner with the Michigan Chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators with a fun-filled reading with three Michigan childrens book authors!
Supriya Kelkar was born and raised in the Midwest. She learned Hindi as a child by watching three Bollywood films a week. After college she realized her lifelong dream of working in the film industry when she got a job as a Bollywood screenwriter. She has credits on one Hollywood film and several Hindi films. Ahimsa, inspired by her great-grandmother’s role in the Indian freedom movement, is her debut middle-grade novel. Supriya still lives in the Midwest with her husband, their three children, and a very hyper dog.
Amy Nielander lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, with her husband and two children. The Ladybug Race received international recognition as a Silent Book Contest finalist. It is her first picture book.
Deb Pilutti has many fond memories of summer vacations spent in Michigan. She has lived in Ann Arbor for most of her adult life and loves exploring Michigan with her husband, Tom, and their kids, Kyle and Jack. Deb is the author and illustrator of several books for children.
Nov. 4 & 18. All adults and teens in grade 9 & up invited to work on their novel for this nonprofit promotion (also known as National Novel Writing Month) challenging teens and adults to write a 50,000-word novel by the end of November.
1-3 p.m., AADL Westgate Branch West Side Room, Westgate shopping center, 2503 Jackson. Free. 327-8301.
Maureen Jennings joins us with her first Inspector Murdoch novel since 2010 on Saturday, November 18 at 2 pm. Kick off your holiday shopping with Maureen & Inspector Murdoch.
The Driftwood Shrine author, John Gendo Wolff, will discuss poetry by Americans like Emily Dickinson, and William Carlos Williams, highlighting the influence of Zen in their work. 45 minute duration, followed by Q&A.
https://www.driftwoodshrine.com
John Gendo Wolff, Sensei, is a Zen priest and teacher in the White Plains Asanga. He is the Dharma heir of Susan Myoyu Andersen, Roshi, and the Spiritual Director of the Great Wave Zen Sangha in Northern Michigan. He is a college professor of writing and literature with numerous publications of poetry and essays, and also a graduate of Huron High School in Ann Arbor.
Crazy Wisdom Bookstore & Tea Room., 114 South Main Street. Free. (734) 276-5979. Chris@wuigglemylegs.comhttps://www.driftwoodshrine.com
