Reading by this GVSU creative writing professor, a widely published poet whose 2014 book The Dead Wrestler Elegies, is an acclaimed collection of illustrated poems about professional wrestling and the toll it has taken on its stars. “Todd Kaneko’s The Dead Wrestler Elegies is some kind of miracle,” says NMU English professor and poet Matthew Gavin Frank. “The book succeeds as … myth-making and intervention, … and a meditation on everything from gender politics to the points at which we all, eventually, submit. Rarely has a book of poetry (even illustrated poetry) managed to be so profound while being so entertaining.” The program begins with open mike readings.
7-8:30 p.m., Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, 123 W. Washington. Free. 994-6663
A U-M Residential College creative writing alumna, Laura Hulthen Thomas heads the undergraduate creative writing program at the Residential College, where she teaches fiction and creative nonfiction.
A U-M Residential College creative writing alumna, Laura Kasischke’s book of poems, Space, in Chains, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. She teaches writing at U-M English and the Residential College.
Set in Michigan small towns both real and fictional, the stories in Laura Hulthen Thomas’s State of Motion take place against a backdrop of economic turmoil and the domestic cost of the war on terror. As familiar places, privilege, and faith disappear, what remains leaves these broken characters wondering what hope is left.
Laura Kasischke’s Where Now: New and Selected Poems showcases her probing vision that subverts the so-called “normal.” A lover of fairy tales, Kasischke’s command of the symbolic includes a keen attention to sound in her exploration of the everyday—whether reflections on loss or the complicated realities of childhood and family.
Literati is excited to welcome author Marta McDowell in support of her new book The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder
About The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House series is a classic coming-of-age story based on Wilder’s own family and the pioneer spirit of the time. Deeply rooted in the natural world, Wilder describes the plants, animals, and landscapes in such detail, they are practically their own characters. The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by New York Timesbestselling author Marta McDowell, explores Wilder’s deep relationship with the landscape. Follow the Wilder’s wagon trail starting in the Wisconsin setting of Little House in the Big Woods, through the Dakotas, and finally to Missouri. You’ll learn details about Wilder’s life and inspirations, discover how to visit the real places today, and even learn to grow the plants and vegetables featured in the series. The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a must-have treasure celebrating the American landscape through Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beautiful and wild life with original illustrations by Helen Sewell and Garth Williams and lush historical and contemporary photographs.
“This well-researched, sweeping book details the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and those who came before her. It is clear that the different landscapes shaped them, particularly Laura and ‘Pa.’ The original are of Garth Williams and Helen Sewell deepens the poignancy and power of Laura’s prairie, since today only one percent of it survives. Laura’s work has preserved it for us. This book preserves it for us.” —Patricia MacLachlan, author of Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal
“Lavishly illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, and, notably, a selection of Helen Sewell and Garth Williams’ illustrations from the Little House books. . . . the book is a feast of opportunity for dedicated Wilder fans and enthusiastic gardeners everywhere.” —Booklist
Marta McDowell lives, gardens, and writes in Chatham, New Jersey. She teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. McDowell also consults for public gardens and private clients. Her particular interest is in authors and their gardens, the connection between the pen and the trowel.
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
Literati is thrilled to welcome Annie Spence in support of her new book Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks
About Fahrenheit 451:
A Gen-X librarian’s snarky, laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving collection of love letters and break-up notes to the books in her life.
Librarians spend their lives weeding. Not weeds, but books! Books that have reached the end of their shelf life, both literally and figuratively. They remove the books that patrons no longer check out. And they put back the books they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties—everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly. We read her love letters to The Goldfinch and Matilda, as well as her snarky break-ups with Fifty Shades of Grey and Dear John. Her notes to The Virgin Suicides and The Time Traveler’s Wife feel like classics, sure to strike a powerful chord with readers. Through the lens of the books in her life, Annie comments on everything from feminism to culture to health to poverty to childhood aspirations. Hilarious, compassionate, and wise, Dear Fahrenheit 451 is the consummate book-lover’s birthday present, stocking stuffer, holiday gift, and all-purpose humor book.
“…perfect for any bibliophile and terrifically funny. This book should appeal to readers who are looking for the next Texts from Jane Eyre, or those who enjoyed that concept but don’t especially like texting. It will also attract anyone who, upon walking into someone’s house, first side-eyes the bookshelves and instantly judges. VERDICT Highly recommended.” —Starred Review, Library Journal
Annie Spence has spent the last decase as a librarian at public libraries in the Midwest. She lives in Detroit with her husband and son. Dear Fahrenheit 451 is her first book.
Tonight Literati is thrilled to welcome authors Sharon Harrigan and Rick Bailey in support of their new memoirs Playing with Dynamite and American English, Italian Chocolate
About Playing with Dynamite
Sharon Harrigan’s father was larger than life, a brilliant but troubled man who blew off his hand with dynamite before she was born and died in a mysterious and bizarre accident when she was seven. The story of his death never made sense. How did he really die? And why was she so sure that asking would be dangerous? A series of events compel her to find the answers, collecting other people’s memories and uncovering her own. Her two-year odyssey takes her from Virginia to Detroit to Paris and finally to the wilds of northern Michigan where her father died. There, she discovers the real danger and has to confront her fear.
Playing with Dynamite is about the family secrets that can distance us from each other and the honesty that can bring us closer. It’s about a daughter who goes looking for her father but finds her mother instead. It’s about memory and truth, grieving and growing, and what it means to go home again.
About American English, Italian Chocolate
American English, Italian Chocolate is a memoir in essays beginning in the American Midwest and ending in north central Italy. In sharply rendered vignettes, Rick Bailey reflects on donuts and ducks, horses and car crashes, outhouses and EKGs. He travels all night from Michigan to New Jersey to attend the funeral of a college friend. After a vertiginous climb, he staggers in clogs across the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In a trattoria in the hills above the Adriatic, he ruminates on the history and glories of beans, from Pythagoras to Thoreau, from the Saginaw Valley to the Province of Urbino. Bailey is a bumbling extra in a college production of Richard III. He is a college professor losing touch with a female student whose life is threatened by her husband. He is a father tasting samples of his daughter’s wedding cake. He is a son witnessing his aging parents’ decline. He is the husband of an Italian immigrant who takes him places he never imagined visiting, let alone making his own. At times humorous, at times bittersweet, Bailey’s ultimate subject is growing and knowing, finding the surprise and the sublime in the ordinary detail of daily life
Sharon Harrigan has a B.A. in English from Columbia University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University. She teaches memoir writing at WriterHouse in Charlottesville. She has published over four dozen essays, reviews, and short stories. Her work has appeared in Virginia Quarterly Review, Pleiades, Slice, Narrative, Pearl, Prime Number, Silk Road, Mid American Review, Louisiana Literature, Apercus Quarterly, Rain Taxi, Hip Mama, Fiction Writers’ Review, Streetlight Magazine, Passing Through Journal, The Nervous Breakdown, and The Rumpus. She is a contributing editor at The Nervous Breakdownand at Silk Road Review.
Ricky Bailey is a professor emeritus of English at Henry Ford College in Michigan. He is the author or editor of several books on writing, including The Creative Writer’s Craft.
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.
Reading by this Tacoma poet who draws on his family’s experiences as African Americans from the rural south living in a white northern city to create poetry that combines the intimately personal and intensely political. He’s best known for his emotional and theatrical readings, described as “part fire-and-brimstone preacher, part aggrieved literary nerd, and part Captain America.” His new book, Up South, continues his exploration of the folklore, rituals, and ceremonies of African Americans in Tacoma. Preceded by a poetry open mike.
Espresso Royale, 324 S. State. $5 suggested donation. facebook.com/AnnArborPoetry
Local short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal are joined by children’s nonfiction author Virginia Loh-Hagan, who has published children’s books on everything from extreme mountain biking to starting a dog-walking business. She shares insights into writing aimed at young writers. For adult and teen (grade 6 & up) fiction and nonfiction writers. Also, Kourvo and Neal host an open house for writers to connect with one another and/or work on their projects at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16.
AADL Westgate Branch West Side Room, Westgate shopping center, 2503 Jackson. Free. 327-8301.
