Literati is delighted to host the launch of Chris McCormick’s debut, Desert Boys.
A vivid and assured work of fiction from a major new voice, following the life of a young man growing up, leaving home, and coming back again, marked by the stark beauty of California’s Mojave Desert and the various fates of those who leave and those who stay behind. This series of powerful, intertwining stories illuminates Daley Kushner’s world–the family, friends and community that have both formed and constrained him, and his new lief in San Francisco. Back home, the desert preys on those who cannot conform: an alfalfa farmer on the outskirts of town; two young girls whose curiosity leads to danger; a black politician who once served as his school’s confederate mascot; Daley’s mother, an immigrant from Armenia; and Daley himself, introspective and queer. Meanwhile, in another desert on the other side of the world, war threatens to fracture Daley’s most meaningful–and most fraught–connection to home, his friendship with Robert Karinger. A luminous debut, Desert Boys traces the development of towns into cities, of boys into men, and the haunting effects produced when the two transformations overlap. Both a bildungsroman and a portrait of a changing place, the book mines the terrain between the desire to escape and the hunger to belong.
“This is a book about place, or really like so many books about place (Dubliners, Winesburg, Ohio) two places, in this case two Californias―San Francisco on the one hand; the less familiar but finely evoked small desert community from which the narrator originates on the other. But it’s also a book about shame, two shames, the shame of where we come from, and the shame of leaving it. Through a series of quietly intimate confessions we learn how torn the teller is between past and present, small town and big city, and McCormick captures this tension beautifully in the contrast between his laconic, but frankly feeling prose and his restless formal innovation. Wise and vulnerable by turns, this is a quietly stunning debut.”―Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl
Chris McCormick was raised in the Antelope Valley. He earned his B.A. at the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.F.A. at the University of Michigan, where he was the recipient of two Hopwood Awards. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Local short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal are joined by retired AADL librarian Shutta Crum, author of more than 1 bookd for kids, to discuss writing children’s books and getting them published. For adult and teen (grade 6 & up) fiction and nonfiction writers.
Nicola’s Books is an official Children’s Book Week store and we have put together a great Special Story Time for you. We will have local picture book authors Shanda Trent and Melanie Zwegers coming who will read their books and as a special treat The Library Mouse will also stop by for a visit! So bring you youngsters and have some fun.
Melanie M Zwegers is a writer and illustrator of children’s literature. She is a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated with honors and two degrees from the University of Michigan. She now lives and works in Northville, Michigan with the support and encouragement of her wonderful husband, family, and friends.
Shanda Trent has worked with young children for 30 years. She has read thousands of picture books–to her own daughters, to small groups of toddlers and preschoolers, and classrooms of elementary children. She knows what kids love, and what brings them back to a beloved book again and again. Her first book was ‘Farmer’s Market Day’ and her newest is ‘Giddy-Up Buckaroo’.
Every child can be a writer—and Library Mouse shows them how! Beloved children’s books author and illustrator Daniel Kirk wonderfully brings to life the story of Sam, a library mouse. Sam’s home was in a little hole in the wall behind the children’s reference books, and he thought that life was very good indeed; for Sam loved to read. He read picture books and chapter books, biographies and poetry, and ghost stories and mysteries. Sam read so much that finally one day he decided to write books himself! Sam shared his books with other library visitors by placing them on a bookshelf at night…until there came the time that people wanted to meet this talented author. Whatever was Sam to do? The joy of reading, writing, and sharing is brought to life in this warmhearted tale.
Literati is thrilled to support the launch of Victor J. Strecher’s Life on Purpose: How Living for What Matters Most Changes Everything.
A pioneer in the field of behavioral science delivers a groundbreaking work that shows how finding your purpose in life leads to better health and overall happiness. Your life is a boat. You need a rudder. But it doesn’t matter how much wind is in your sails if you’re not steering toward a harbor—an ultimate purpose in your life.
While the greatest philosophers have pondered purpose for centuries, today it has been shown to have a concrete impact on our health. Recent studies into Alzheimer’s, heart disease, stroke, depression, functional brain imaging, and measurement of DNA repair are shedding new light on how and why purpose benefits our lives. Going beyond the fads, opinions, and false hopes of “expert” self-help books, Life on Purpose explores the incredible connection between purposeful living and the latest scientific evidence on quality of life and longevity. Drawing on ancient and modern philosophy, literature, psychology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and neuroscience, as well as his experience in public health research, Dr. Vic Strecher reveals the elements necessary for a purposeful life and how to acquire them, and outlines an elegant strategy for improving energy, willpower, and long-term happiness, and well-being. He integrates these core themes into his own personal story—a tragedy that led him to reconsider his own life—and how a deeper understanding of purposeful living helped him not only survive, but thrive.
Illuminating, accessible, and authentically grounded in real people’s experiences, Life on Purposeis essential reading for everyone seeking lasting improvement in their lives.
Dr. Victor J. Strecher received his PhD at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 1983. Since 1995, Dr. Strecher has been a Professor in the UM School of Public Health and until 2009, Director of Cancer Prevention and Control at the UM Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Strecher founded the UM Center for Health Communications Research, a collaborative research-focused organization of scientists, software engineers, and artists. Through this Center, Dr. Strecher has been a leading investigator on over $45 million in grant-funded studies of health-related behavior change programs. In 1998, Dr. Strecher founded HealthMedia Inc., an Ann Arbor-based company that has grown to over 185 employees, developing and disseminating award-winning tailored health interventions for health promotion, disease prevention, behavioral health, and disease management to millions of users. In 2008 HealthMedia Inc. was purchased by Johnson & Johnson as their initial investment in the area of wellness and prevention. Currently, as Director for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, Dr. Strecher is helping the University of Michigan disseminate research to the real world, improving the public’s health nationally and globally.
Literati is proud to partner with The Neutral Zone to present an Open Mic Night for writers ages 19 and under!
Gina Luttrell is an Associate Professor of Public Relations and Social Media at Eastern Michigan University with over 15 years of experience in the communications field. Her extensive background includes strategic development and implementation of public relations and social media, advertising, marketing, crisis and corporate communications.
Every 1st & 3rd Sun. All poets invited to compete in a poetry slam judged by a randomly chosen panel from the audience. The program begins with a poetry open mike and (occasionally) a short set by a featured poet.
7-9 p.m. (sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m.), Espresso Royale, 324 S. State. $5 suggested donation. facebook.com/AnnArborPoetrySlam.
Monthly 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 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.
2016 topics:
June 21: “Fathers.”
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7:30-9 p.m. (doors open and sign-up begins at 6 p.m.), The Circus, 210 S. First. $10. 764-5118.
Literati is pleased to host Teen Spirit, an award-winning publication of the Skyline High School Writing Center. Teen Spirit is a literary magazine that allows the entire school’s creative community to exhibit their writing, artwork, and multimedia creations.
This event will feature several exceptional Skyline student writers reading their fiction, poetry, and essays from Teen Spirit publicly for the first time.
An editorial board comprised of students in the Skyline Writing Center curate, layout, and editTeen Spirit. This year’s editorial board consists of general editors Celia Arsen (‘16), Leah Bauer (‘16), Kelsey Carpenter (‘16), and Christopher Morgan-Martin (‘17), art editors Star Su (‘17) and Eleana Tworek (‘16), and promotions directors Anna Dang (‘17), Ella Horwedel (‘16), and Kaelan Oldani (‘16) .
The first two editions of Teen Spirit (‘13 and ‘14) received a superior rating from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), which is the competition’s highest possible rating. The third edition of Teen Spirit (‘15) received an excellent rating from the NCTE, which was the magazine’s third consecutive top-five finish.
The Skyline Writing Center is a student-centered peer tutoring and mentoring organization that provides high quality writing support to students every hour of every school day. Each year, 35 qualified juniors and seniors are trained to work with all students on a wide variety of genres at any stage of the writing process. Since its founding in 2012, the Writing Center has made more than 4,000 student contacts.
Jeffrey Austin, a Skyline English teacher, is the program’s founder and director.
Twitter: @Skyline_WC
Website: tinyurl.com/skylinewc
Facebook: Skyline Writing Center
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.
