Calendar

Jul
25
Wed
Toastmasters Meeting @ Sweetwaters
Jul 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Toastmasters is an international group devoted to helping each other grow in our abilities to give speeches. The Sweetwaters Toastmasters Club meets twice monthly. We are a fun and friendly group! Toastmasters also helps you develop leadership skills if you wish to do that. Come as many times as you want for free, and decide later if you want to join. In the meantime, come make new friends and have fun!
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea on Washington Street, 123 West Washington Street. Free. 323-286-3999. https://www.facebook.com/groups/TMSweet/

 

 

 

Jul
27
Fri
Shakespeare Scenes in the Arb @ Nichols Arboretum
Jul 27 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Shakespeare Scenes in the Arb has come again! Every year, veterans of Ann Arbor’s Shakespeare in the Arb come together for a free, casual performance of a variety of scenes from our favorite Shakespearean plays, in a tour of some less-seen spots in the beautiful Nichols Arboretum.

Shows begin at 6:30 PM on Friday, July 27th, and Saturday, July 28th. Audiences should collect outside the Arb’s Reader Center, and will be led on the path of the show. This year, we’ve got scenes from Julius Caesar, Richard III, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and King Lear!

The show should run about an hour. Be prepared for some short walks, and standing or sitting on the ground to view various scenes. You are welcome to bring blankets to sit on, as long as you don’t mind carrying them from scene to scene!

Poetry at Literati: Keith Taylor @ Literati
Jul 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Literati is pleased to welcome back poet Keith Taylor who will be sharing his new collection Ecstatic Destinations.

About Ecstatic Destinations:
In Ecstatic Destinations, Keith Taylor takes us on a walk through his neighborhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His joyous and often wry observations of chance encounters, his neighbors, parks, the history of his own backyard, plus the ever present traffic, spark us to reimagine both the layers of our own most intimate, if everyday environments and our place in them.

On the surface, the book can be said to start and end on a park bench. Keith walks all year and we can feel the passing of the seasons. We get his easy familiarity with his regular stops along the way, the neighbors he meets, everyone’s yards, their trees, and the sounds that surround it all. Night has set by the end; we have arrived.

Artist Mary Shea complements Keith’s journey of reflection and ecstasy with her cover paintings and interior drawings and prints.

Keith Taylor has published many books over the years: collections of poetry, a collection of very short stories, co-edited volumes of essays and fiction, and a volume of poetry translated from Modern Greek.

Jul
28
Sat
Shakespeare Scenes in the Arb @ Nichols Arboretum
Jul 28 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Shakespeare Scenes in the Arb has come again! Every year, veterans of Ann Arbor’s Shakespeare in the Arb come together for a free, casual performance of a variety of scenes from our favorite Shakespearean plays, in a tour of some less-seen spots in the beautiful Nichols Arboretum.

Shows begin at 6:30 PM on Friday, July 27th, and Saturday, July 28th. Audiences should collect outside the Arb’s Reader Center, and will be led on the path of the show. This year, we’ve got scenes from Julius Caesar, Richard III, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and King Lear!

The show should run about an hour. Be prepared for some short walks, and standing or sitting on the ground to view various scenes. You are welcome to bring blankets to sit on, as long as you don’t mind carrying them from scene to scene!

Jul
31
Tue
Skazat! Poetry Series: 2018 Ann Arbor Youth Poetry Slam Team @ Sweetwaters
Jul 31 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Readings by members of the 2018 Ann Arbor Youth Poetry Slam Team. The program begins with open mike readings.
7-8:30 p.m., Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, 123 W. Washington. Free. 994-6663.

Aug
2
Thu
Anthony DeBenedet: Playful Intelligence: The Power of Living Lightly in a Serious World @ Nicola's Books
Aug 2 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Local physician Anthony DeBenedet discusses his new book that explores the effects and benefits of qualities such as imagination, humor, and wonder. Signing. DeBenedet is also at Literati Aug. 14 (see listing).
7 p.m., Nicola’s, Westgate shopping center. Free. 662-0600.

Aug
5
Sun
Ann Arbor Poetry: Open Mike @ Espresso Royale
Aug 5 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Poetry open mike.
7-9 p.m. (sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m.), Espresso Royale, 324 S. State. $5 suggested donation. facebook.com/AnnArborPoetry.

 

Aug
6
Mon
Emerging Writers: Showing and Telling @ AADL Westgate
Aug 6 @ 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm

Local short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal discuss ways to create strong, catchy openings for novels, memoirs, and nonfiction stories. For all fiction & nonfiction writers grade 6-adult. Also, Kourvo & Neal host an open house for writers to connect with one another and/or work on their projects at 7 p.m. on Aug. 20.
7-8:45 p.m., AADL Westgate. Free. 327-4200.

 

Aug
7
Tue
The Moth Storyslam: Business @ Greyline
Aug 7 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Aug. 7 & 21. Open mike storytelling competition sponsored by The Moth, the NYC-based nonprofit storytelling organization that also produces a weekly public radio show. Each month 10 storytellers are selected at random from among those who sign up to tell a 3-5 minute story on a biweekly theme. August themes: “Business” (Aug. 7) & “Destiny” (Aug. 21). The 3-person judging teams 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 p.m.), Greyline, 100 N. Ashley. $8. 764-5118.

 

Aug
8
Wed
Callie Feyen: The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet @ Literati
Aug 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Literait is thrilled to welcome author and eduacator Callie Feyen who will be sharing her new book The Teacher Diaries: Romeo & Juliet.

About The Teacher Diaries: Romeo & Juliet:
What do teachers feel when facing William Shakespeare, tales of family feud, breathless kissing scenes-all in front of a class of teens who are keeping their heads down (and threatening to fall asleep or plot their next prank in the process)? We may never know what our own 8th or 9th grade teachers felt. But, on this count, educator Callie Feyen has done us a favor. She has written a poignant memoir-‘The Teacher Diaries: Romeo & Juliet.’ It begins with a kiss. Then, page by page, it reveals her generous, hopeful, and humorous heart. For teachers everywhere, this is a beautiful book to help them remember why they teach. For those of us who just love to get the juicy details of what someone in a challenging position really thinks, this book will satisfy (and sometimes make us laugh, or cry).

Callie Feyen likes Converse tennis shoes and colorful high heels, reading the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the Twilight series. Her favorite outfit has always been a well-worn pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, but she wants hoop skirts with loads of tulle to come back into style. Her favorite line from literature comes from Sharon Creech’s Absolutely Normal Chaos “I don’t know who I am yet. I’m still waiting to find out.” Feyen has been a middle school teacher, is the Teaching and Learning Editor and Children’s Editor for Tweetspeak Poetry, and serves as the At-Risk Literacy Specialist in the Ypsilanti Public Schools.

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