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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Local journalist Micheline Maynard interviews Bakehouse managing partners Frank Carollo and Amy Emberling about their new cookbook, which features 65 of their most popular recipes. Bakehouse treats and drinks.
4:30-6:30 p.m., Zingerman’s Greyline, 100 N. Ashley. $75 (includes one autographed copy of the book). Reservations required. 663-3663.
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.)
