Storytellers Guild members present a program of old tales and personal stories for grownups.
Free; donations accepted. annarborstorytelling.org, facebook.com/annarborstorytellers. 665-2757.
Storytellers Guild members present a program of old tales and personal stories for grownups.
Free; donations accepted. annarborstorytelling.org, facebook.com/annarborstorytellers. 665-2757.
Readings by U-M creative writing grad students, including fiction writer Sena Moon and poet Joseph Harms.
7 p.m., UMMA Auditorium, 525 S. State. Free. 615-3710.
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.
Traverse City writer Robert Downes, an entertaining veteran speaker who has written 3 adventure-travel books, presents a video-illustrated talk on the historical research behind his new novel Windigo Moon: A Novel of Native America. Signing.
7-8:30 p.m., AADL Westgate Branch West Side Room, Westgate shopping center, 2503 Jackson. Free. 327-8301.
Open mike storytelling competition sponsored by The Moth, the NYC-based nonprofit storytelling organization that also produces a weekly public radio show. Each night 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.
7:30-9 p.m. (doors open and sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m.), Greyline (except as noted), 100 N. Ashley. $10. 764-5118.
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 short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal host an open house for writers to connect with one another and/or work on their projects.
Readings by Kathleen McGookey, a widely published poet from the Grand Rapids area who recently published the prose poem collection Heart in a Jar, and Gregory Loselle, a Gabriel Richard English teacher (and former U-M Hopwood Award winner) who has published 4 chapbooks, including the recent About the House.Followed by a poetry and short fiction open mike.
7-9 p.m., Crazy Wisdom, 114 S. Main. Free. 665-2757
Sept. 28-30. A showcase of 7 short plays performed by local actors. Lili Bishop directs Alban’s Garden, Rich Espey’s drama about 2 neighbors in the aftermath of a murder in a gated community. Megan Wright directs The Creative Process, Dana Clark-Brock’s comedy about a writer struggling to find inspiration. David Galido directs Misfortune,Mark Harvey Levine’s dark comedy about a man who receives distressing news while at a Chinese restaurant with his wife. Michelle Weiss directs The Law Makers, Danielle Wirsansky’s drama that imagines a 1912 meeting of Emmeline Pankhurst and Millicent Garrett, the leaders of the British suffragette movement. Susan Morris directs Somewhere Between Lost and Found, Colby Halloran’s drama about the complex, fragile, and longstanding relationship between a well-intentioned woman and the homeless man she met on the street. Kelly Rose Voigt directs End Scene, Megan Baschak’s spirited comedy where the action is controlled by the narrator, until the characters he creates fight back. Peter Knox directs 940 Feathers, Tim Brennan’s drama about a memoirist with early onset Alzheimer’s and her husband who wants to help but would rather forget parts of their history.
8 p.m., Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron, Ypsilanti. $12 in advance by emailing pencilpointtheatre@gmail.com and at the door. pencilpoint.org, 480-2787.
Laz joins poet Jennifer Burd in support of the release of her new book, “Day’s Late Blue.” Jennifer is an award-winning poet whose haiku and lyric poems have been widely published in print and on-line journals, as well as in three previous books. Laz has set to music a number of her poems and will sing them at this event. In addition Jennifer and Laz will present haiku / flute improvisations on solo and jointly written haiku. Book signing to follow.
