Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of award-winning novels Even in Darkness and Hard Cider, lives, writes, cycles, swims, does fiber arts, and gardens in Ann Arbor and Northport, Michigan. She has degrees in English literature, art history, and speech-language pathology from the University of Michigan and worked with deaf and language disabled children. Even in Darkness is historical fiction based on a family story in 20th century Germany. Hard Cider is contemporary fiction set in northern Michigan. This day pass is free of charge to all members who paid for either the All Thursday Morning Lecture Series Package or the Distinguished Lecture Series and All Thursday Morning Lecture Series Package. Membership is not required for this day pass. Speaker’s Synopsis: The author will describe the path to her current career as a novelist, from her story-telling grandfather to work as a speech-language therapist and teacher. A love of narrative is the common thread. Fictional elements woven into family stories, personal experiences, research, and travel contributed to the writing of both her novels, and a third novel-in-progress. Stark-Nemon will address the challenges and rewards of embarking on an encore career as a novelist.
The 2019 Shakespeare in the Arb play is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s story of love and identity, mistaken and otherwise, brims with some of the bard’s most well-loved speeches and songs.
The performance dates and times: Thurs.-Sun., June 6-9; 13-16; 20-23, 6:30 pm.
Now in its 19th year, Shakespeare in the Arb is directed by Kate Mendeloff of the U-M Residential College, Carol Gray, and Graham Atkin, and performed by U-M students and community players. Matthaei-Nichols members receive a discount on tickets. Matthaei-Nichols members may reserve tickets through their online box office beginning in May, and reserve tickets for any performance up to 24 hours before show time and pick up at will call.
For member and non-member questions and information, visit mbgna.umich.edu
Shakespeare in the Arb came into existence in the summer of 2001, when Residential College Drama faculty member Kate Mendeloff was asked to direct an outdoor production as part of a three year Ford Motor Company grant for Arts in the Nichols Arboretum. She chose Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its structure — the characters were transformed by the power of the natural world. The production was such a popular success that Mendeloff remounted it the following summer, and “Shakespeare in the Arb” became an Ann Arbor tradition!
The unique experience of Shakespeare in the Arb comes from the environmental staging of the plays. There is no fixed stage; instead, the audience follows the action through different locations in the Arboretum. The staging takes advantage of the vistas and valleys, the special arrangements of the natural settings.
The wide open space of the Arb becomes a panoramic stage, creating a more realistic setting than if every scene was played out directly in front of you. As one critic commented, “The actors used the vastness of its Arb stage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.”
Every year, many UM students, alumni, and faculty members gather to act in Shakespeare in the Arb. The RC offers Spring term class credit to students who participate. The experience blends community, student, and professional-style participation in a theatrical production with the delicate ecology and beautiful environment of the Arb, providing dynamic educational value for participating students.
Auditions occur every April, with rehearsals starting in the Spring term. Performances occur over 3 weekends in June. For information about participation, please contact founder Kate Mendeloff.
To find information about this year’s production of Shakespeare in the Arb, go to Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) , or like Shakespeare in the Arb on Facebook for updates on the production!
As part of our ongoing Fiction at Literati Series, we welcome celebrated author and poet Ocean Vuong in support his debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.
About the book: Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, Nylon, The Week, The Rumpus, The Millions, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more, poet Ocean Vuong’s debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.
With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.
About the author: Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, winner of the Whiting Award and the T.S. Eliot Prize. His writings have also been featured in The Atlantic, Harper’s, The Nation, New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently lives in Northampton, Massachusetts. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is his first novel.
Mandy McGovern is joining us to share her debut cookbook, My Little Michigan Kitchen. After collecting cookbooks on her travels Mandy noticed Michigan was missing its own signature cookbook. She will be sharing little taste of some Michigan classics with us along with the stories behind the recipes.
Event Details
Seating at the event will be first-come first-served. This event will be a standing-room crowd, so if you require a seat for medical reasons, please contact us in advance to make arrangements.
About the Book
My Little Michigan Kitchen by Mandy McGovern features over 100 tried-and-true homestyle recipes, including Michigan classics: “Secret Ingredient” Tart Cherry Pie, UP North Pasties, Detroit Coney Dogs, Mackinac Island Fudge, Detroit Deep Dish Pizza, Boston Coolers, Smoked Whitefish Chowder, Hot Fudge Cream Puffs, and MANY more!
About the Author
Mandy McGovern is the creator of Kitchen Joy, her blog where she shares her own tried-and-true recipes that her family loves. She strives to live by the motto that “Homemade is better than store-bought”, and it rarely lets us down. She has a love for learning more about food every day and sharing her excitement with anyone who will listen. Her favorite way to spend a weekend is with her husband and two daughters at their cabin in Northern Michigan.
After a successful career as a historian, author, and advocate for Racial Amity, Richard W. Thomas is returning home to his poetic roots. His new book Going Home to My Soul: Collected Poems and Narratives is a retrospective of his poetry from the ‘60s, full of the fire, passion and pain of that era. He was drawn to poetry and to the great tradition of speaking hard truth to a world in peril. His work was noticed by some notable poets of that era including Margaret Danner, Amiri Baraka and Langston Hughes.
This is part of a monthly series on the 2nd Thursday of most months in partnership with Les Go Social Media Marketing and Training. The event begins with an Open Mic session when area poets can read their own work or share a favorite poem by another author in a welcoming atmosphere.
The 2019 Shakespeare in the Arb play is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s story of love and identity, mistaken and otherwise, brims with some of the bard’s most well-loved speeches and songs.
The performance dates and times: Thurs.-Sun., June 6-9; 13-16; 20-23, 6:30 pm.
Now in its 19th year, Shakespeare in the Arb is directed by Kate Mendeloff of the U-M Residential College, Carol Gray, and Graham Atkin, and performed by U-M students and community players. Matthaei-Nichols members receive a discount on tickets. Matthaei-Nichols members may reserve tickets through their online box office beginning in May, and reserve tickets for any performance up to 24 hours before show time and pick up at will call.
For member and non-member questions and information, visit mbgna.umich.edu
Shakespeare in the Arb came into existence in the summer of 2001, when Residential College Drama faculty member Kate Mendeloff was asked to direct an outdoor production as part of a three year Ford Motor Company grant for Arts in the Nichols Arboretum. She chose Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its structure — the characters were transformed by the power of the natural world. The production was such a popular success that Mendeloff remounted it the following summer, and “Shakespeare in the Arb” became an Ann Arbor tradition!
The unique experience of Shakespeare in the Arb comes from the environmental staging of the plays. There is no fixed stage; instead, the audience follows the action through different locations in the Arboretum. The staging takes advantage of the vistas and valleys, the special arrangements of the natural settings.
The wide open space of the Arb becomes a panoramic stage, creating a more realistic setting than if every scene was played out directly in front of you. As one critic commented, “The actors used the vastness of its Arb stage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.”
Every year, many UM students, alumni, and faculty members gather to act in Shakespeare in the Arb. The RC offers Spring term class credit to students who participate. The experience blends community, student, and professional-style participation in a theatrical production with the delicate ecology and beautiful environment of the Arb, providing dynamic educational value for participating students.
Auditions occur every April, with rehearsals starting in the Spring term. Performances occur over 3 weekends in June. For information about participation, please contact founder Kate Mendeloff.
To find information about this year’s production of Shakespeare in the Arb, go to Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) , or like Shakespeare in the Arb on Facebook for updates on the production!
The 2019 Shakespeare in the Arb play is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s story of love and identity, mistaken and otherwise, brims with some of the bard’s most well-loved speeches and songs.
The performance dates and times: Thurs.-Sun., June 6-9; 13-16; 20-23, 6:30 pm.
Now in its 19th year, Shakespeare in the Arb is directed by Kate Mendeloff of the U-M Residential College, Carol Gray, and Graham Atkin, and performed by U-M students and community players. Matthaei-Nichols members receive a discount on tickets. Matthaei-Nichols members may reserve tickets through their online box office beginning in May, and reserve tickets for any performance up to 24 hours before show time and pick up at will call.
For member and non-member questions and information, visit mbgna.umich.edu
Shakespeare in the Arb came into existence in the summer of 2001, when Residential College Drama faculty member Kate Mendeloff was asked to direct an outdoor production as part of a three year Ford Motor Company grant for Arts in the Nichols Arboretum. She chose Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its structure — the characters were transformed by the power of the natural world. The production was such a popular success that Mendeloff remounted it the following summer, and “Shakespeare in the Arb” became an Ann Arbor tradition!
The unique experience of Shakespeare in the Arb comes from the environmental staging of the plays. There is no fixed stage; instead, the audience follows the action through different locations in the Arboretum. The staging takes advantage of the vistas and valleys, the special arrangements of the natural settings.
The wide open space of the Arb becomes a panoramic stage, creating a more realistic setting than if every scene was played out directly in front of you. As one critic commented, “The actors used the vastness of its Arb stage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.”
Every year, many UM students, alumni, and faculty members gather to act in Shakespeare in the Arb. The RC offers Spring term class credit to students who participate. The experience blends community, student, and professional-style participation in a theatrical production with the delicate ecology and beautiful environment of the Arb, providing dynamic educational value for participating students.
Auditions occur every April, with rehearsals starting in the Spring term. Performances occur over 3 weekends in June. For information about participation, please contact founder Kate Mendeloff.
To find information about this year’s production of Shakespeare in the Arb, go to Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) , or like Shakespeare in the Arb on Facebook for updates on the production!
The 2019 Shakespeare in the Arb play is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s story of love and identity, mistaken and otherwise, brims with some of the bard’s most well-loved speeches and songs.
The performance dates and times: Thurs.-Sun., June 6-9; 13-16; 20-23, 6:30 pm.
Now in its 19th year, Shakespeare in the Arb is directed by Kate Mendeloff of the U-M Residential College, Carol Gray, and Graham Atkin, and performed by U-M students and community players. Matthaei-Nichols members receive a discount on tickets. Matthaei-Nichols members may reserve tickets through their online box office beginning in May, and reserve tickets for any performance up to 24 hours before show time and pick up at will call.
For member and non-member questions and information, visit mbgna.umich.edu
Shakespeare in the Arb came into existence in the summer of 2001, when Residential College Drama faculty member Kate Mendeloff was asked to direct an outdoor production as part of a three year Ford Motor Company grant for Arts in the Nichols Arboretum. She chose Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its structure — the characters were transformed by the power of the natural world. The production was such a popular success that Mendeloff remounted it the following summer, and “Shakespeare in the Arb” became an Ann Arbor tradition!
The unique experience of Shakespeare in the Arb comes from the environmental staging of the plays. There is no fixed stage; instead, the audience follows the action through different locations in the Arboretum. The staging takes advantage of the vistas and valleys, the special arrangements of the natural settings.
The wide open space of the Arb becomes a panoramic stage, creating a more realistic setting than if every scene was played out directly in front of you. As one critic commented, “The actors used the vastness of its Arb stage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.”
Every year, many UM students, alumni, and faculty members gather to act in Shakespeare in the Arb. The RC offers Spring term class credit to students who participate. The experience blends community, student, and professional-style participation in a theatrical production with the delicate ecology and beautiful environment of the Arb, providing dynamic educational value for participating students.
Auditions occur every April, with rehearsals starting in the Spring term. Performances occur over 3 weekends in June. For information about participation, please contact founder Kate Mendeloff.
To find information about this year’s production of Shakespeare in the Arb, go to Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) , or like Shakespeare in the Arb on Facebook for updates on the production!
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. Bethany and Alex will also provide private, one-on-one critiques if you choose to have them read your work. Sharing your writing with other attendees is not required and is completely voluntary.
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? Consider submitting it to the library’s new imprint, Fifth Avenue Press.
We welcome journalist and professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Julien Gorbach, in support of his latest book The Notorious Ben Hecht.
About the book: In 1932, Hecht solidified his legend as “the Shakespeare of Hollywood” with his thriller Scarface, the Howard Hughes epic considered the gangster movie to end all gangster movies. But Hecht rebelled against his Jewish bosses at the movie studios when they refused to make films about the Nazi menace. Leveraging his talents and celebrity connections to orchestrate a spectacular one-man publicity campaign, he mobilized pressure on the Roosevelt administration for an Allied plan to rescue Europe’s Jews. Then after the war, Hecht became notorious, embracing the labels “gangster” and “terrorist” in partnering with the mobster Mickey Cohen to smuggle weapons to Palestine in the fight for a Jewish state.
The Notorious Ben Hecht: Iconoclastic Writer and Militant Zionist is a biography of a great twentieth-century writer that treats his activism during the 1940s as the central drama of his life. It details the story of how Hecht earned admiration as a humanitarian and vilification as an extremist at this pivotal moment in history, about the origins of his beliefs in his varied experiences in American media, and about the consequences.
About the author: Julien Gorbach spent most of his 10 years as a daily newspaper reporter on the police beat, covering drive-by shootings and murder trials, and publishing an investigative series on killings that remained unsolved because gangs had intimidated witnesses into silence. As a freelancer, he contributed to the Boston Phoenix, Time Out New York, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and the New Orleans Gambit, among other publications. He covered Hurricane Katrina for the Boston Globe. Gorbach earned a doctorate in media history at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2013 and is now an assistant professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
