Emerging Writers Network

Brain Candy - June 18, 2018

Just five days from now we'll be hosting Brain Candy from 7-9 p.m. at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn on Michigan Avenue.

 

This will be month two of the new monthly Arts/Reading Series where we bring together a poet, a prose writer, a musician and a visual artist to read, play, and show off their arts. The EWN is of the belief that most that are interested in one of these art forms is most likely interested in more than one, and maybe all four, and in the spirit of the original vision of the EWN, continue to attempt to build a community of artists and those that admire their works, and to develop this community across the various art genres.

This month's event will see:

Singer-songwriter Emma Guzman, known cat enthusiast, rumored star child and compelled by unknown forces, has always felt the need to express herself through music. Choosing to spend her time humming melodies and frantically scribbling lyrics in various notebooks and on random scraps of paper, she has quietly amassed a substantial collection of songs. Described by the Detroit Metro Times as a "song writing prodigy" and one of their top 15 artists to watch in 2016, Emma released her second album "Roots" on Backburner Records in 2017.

Michael A. Ferro's debut novel, TITLE 13, was published by Harvard Square Editions in February 2018. He was named as a finalist by Glimmer Train for their New Writers Award, won the Jim Cash Creative Writing Award for Fiction, and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Michael’s writing has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Born and bred in Metro Detroit, Michael has lived, worked, and written throughout the Midwest; he currently resides in rural Ann Arbor, Michigan. Additional information can be found at: www.michaelaferro.com.

Terry Blackhawk is the author of Escape Artist, winner of the John Ciardi Prize, The Light Between, three chapbooks, and two other full-length collections. She has awards from Poetry Atlanta, America, Marlboro Review, The MacGuffin and Nimrod International, which awarded her the Pablo Neruda Prize in 2010.  In 2015 she retired from Detroit’s InsideOut Literary Arts Project which she founded in 1995. Blackhawk is a 2013 Kresge Arts in Detroit Literary Fellow and now resides in Connecticut.

Detroit based artist Ryan Herberholz received his BFA from the Stamps School at University of Michigan and his MFA from Wayne State University. His main focus is acrylic and oil paintings based on various locations in Detroit. He has also completed several murals in the city and occasionally works sculpturally. Some of his work can be seen at http://ryanherberholz.com/index.html. His Artist Statement: “I stop my bike on a street corner to snap a photo, I try to imagine the past, present, and future occurring simultaneously – I never get a clear image. My paintings are confluent landscapes of memory, encounters, images, and reverie that attempt to form a nebulous cosmology of my neighborhood.”

 

 

Come on out Monday evening and hear a few songs, enjoy some artwork, and a couple of great readings. Join this developing community of artists and fans, and don't forget to wander around the store--Green Brain is a fantastic comic book store and a great home to this monthly (third Monday evening of every month) event.

Author Reading - Woodward Line Series - The Scarab Club - Detroit - 6/21/17

Tonight was the last reading of the 14th season of the Woodward Line Poetry Series, a series that has had a few different homes, but lately has met the third Wednesday of each month at the lovely Scarab Club in Detroit. Co-hosted for the last 13 years by James Hart III and Kim Hunter, the series brings authors (more frequently poets) in from all over the world while still making sure to show off the home town as much as possible. The reading tonight was in the main gallery of the club with the doors open wide out to the Scarab Garden with a nice little breeze coming in.

Tonight the readers were Kim Hunter, Bill Harris, and there was a short four song set by blues guitarist Howard Glazer.

Kim Hunter went first and while he's published a couple of books of poetry over the years, he read the beginning section of a short story. It was announced that he will have a collection of four stories published by Wayne State University Press next spring! Talking to him afterward he said that he's been working with the fantastic editor, Annie Martin, and that the stories are definitely on the longer side, and in fact one is probably actually a novella. He read the beginning section of "Antecedent Blues." I thought he said part I of VI, but might have been wrong on that. There was about a page of information and interest when the line "That's not our concern" was read and the story began to concentrate on a girl. Her parents were described and the father was a scientist, but any time he tried to describe what he did, his speaking had a narcotic-like affect on those he spoke to--they dozed off and nobody could understand what it was that he did (to a seriously negative level later on). Her mother was a writer, initially of a rather erudite nature, though later she had to attempt to become more mainstream. The story had quite a bit of humor and Kim did a fine job of reading.

Bill Harris was up next. Bill has published a few titles as well as had many plays performed. He read a short story, "Tinhouse," and did so on his MacBook, announcing it was his first time reading off of a computer but he'd had a printing issue earlier in the day. The story was set in 1939 in an African-American barbershop with a bunch of men including the owner, and man behind the first chair, Tinhouse. The city was a fictional Midwestern city a little smaller than say, Detroit. The first thing noticeable was that it was funny--laugh out loud by most of the crowd funny on more than a few occasions. Next up was the control Harris had with his writing--ranging from long, windy, read 'til you're out of breath wonders followed up by four word zingers that needed no more effort. He had an issue or two with the computer screen and pages jumping on him, but, sign of a good story--nobody wanted him to just say "screw it," everybody wanted to hear the rest of the story. The story is part of a collection in progress.

Howard Glazer tuned up his guitar and played/sang for songs:

--Waitin' for the Train

--Deep (or Steam--couldnt' hear that well from where I was) Rollin' Blues

--tribute/cover of Muddy Waters' Can't Be Satisfied

--dedicated the last song, a protest song he wrote in 1979, when he incorrectly thought we could not have a worse administration, to "not my president." The song was "Jump and Shout"

Good stuff, especially the guitar playing. Was a nice way to end up the event. All three guys were very nice afterward, as was James in his hosting duties for the evening. Looking forward to season 15 to start up.

Author Reading - Trio of Authors at Literati - June 19, 2017

Went to Literati Bookstore tonight to see readings by Desiree Cooper, Robin Gaines, and Mary Kay Zuravleff. All three women were excellent readers, answered questions and signed books afterward, and were very interesting to chat with. Also met Kathy Bartson while I was there and learned a bit about Book Industry Charitable Foundation.

 

Mary Key read first from her latest, Man Alive! about a pediatric psychotherapist who is struck by lightning. She opened though by talking a bit about how this trio had been at Interlochen for a week and done a few readings together and promoting each other's works, and other books and talking to readers and booksellers and really enjoying the literary citizenship that had been going on. She was also wearing a skirt that needed a battery as it had a string of lights running through it. A very good reader, she made sure she was making a lot of eye contact and read from an interesting section with emphasis in the right areas. I ended up purchasing her debut novel, The Frequency of Souls, as I believe I'll end up reading all of her work and always like to go chronologically if possible.

 

Desiree read next and began by talking about there not being any sex in her story (there was in Mary Kay's reading) and then pointed out a friend that is the Director of Development for BINC (Book Industry Charitable Foundation)--a group I'd not heard of prior to this evening, but will be looking into very soon. She also was kind enough to talk about the EWN a bit before she read. From her collection, Know the Mother, she read the story "Soft Landing." She then read a new one titled "First Response" that leads one to believe the next collection is going to be fantastic!

 

Robin read last and laughingly suggested she felt like she should have been the warm-up act. She noted that she'd done music journalism prior to writing her novel and had interviewed just about every hair metal band that had come through the area back in the 80's and that's how bands did things--the lesser knowns went first, the evening working its way toward the bigger names. Then she began reading from Invincible Summers, her debut, and read a chapter about the protagonist and two of her friends skydiving for the first time that was really good--funny, insightful, and in-depth look at the main character and some of what drives her. And more funny.

 

Q: (Desiree) Flash fiction--why? Do yo write longer works?

A: Prior to writing fiction, Desiree wrote a newspaper column for 11 years and got very used to concisely getting her points across. Now when she gets going much longer than the standard length of a column, she loses her way, sees things get out of control, etc. Her direct statement--"It's ALL I can do."

 

Q:Where do ideas come from?

A: (Mary Kay) For this particular novel, the article by Oliver Sachs in the New Yorker about a man struck by lightning that could suddenly hear symphonies in his head and learned to play the piano. There was a line in the article that she kept coming back to as it was what drives her own fiction. It was "transcribing music in his head."

A: (Desiree) She writes from a standpoint of empathy and therefore writes to put the readers in situations that they have to come to conclusions--she does not like (at all) talking heads, people telling her how to think, and she does not do so with her writing.

A: (Robin) While interviewing the many hair band members, she found their answers monotonous and/or boring and continuously found herself thinking "wouldn't it be good if he said XXX or YYY" and realized that she needed to be writing those scenarios out as fiction for herself.

 

Q: Not so much a question, but a point by Mary Kay based on one of the answers--what about research?

A: (Mary Kay) She writes first and then does a little research to see how close she was--see if there was some tightening that might need to be done. But she has a three click rule when researching, otherwise there are some deep rabbit holes one can dig into.

A: (Desiree) Unless you're a former journalist. Then you research way too much before you start to write.

Author Reading - Robert Fanning at Literati in Ann Arbor

9/9/2006--that's when I met Robert Fanning, at Xhedos Cafe in Ferndale at a reading by Christina Kallery and Norene Cashen. A week later I was watching him read from his The Seed Thieves, and meeting Peter Markus for the first time. While we know we bumped into each another a time or two in the next few months, it seems we've not seen each other since then. But I've read is work since then, and emailed or FB messaged with him through the years and so it really didn't seem like a decade until really taking a close look. So it was nice to see him both in person, and from a seat in the audience this evening as he was at Literati to read from his latest, Our Sudden Museum (Salmon Poetry, 2017).

What I remembered very quickly is what a good reader Robert is. He gives good introductions to his work, and reads them with emotion, and almost seems to be seeing something fresh within his own work each time he reads. Literati's John gave a fantastic introduction and then Robert talked about having graduated from Michigan and how coming to Ann Arbor was a lot like putting on a favorite flannel shirt--you just know it's going to be good. He mentioned that the book dealt with a lot of autobiographical things from the last 10-15 years of his life--a span where he lost his father, a sister and a brother (the brother to suicide) while also seeing the birth of his son and daughter.

1) Poets at the Gym--inspired by a conversation with the professor in the office next to him at CMU, upon hearing that Robert was headed to the gym and noting that "Poets don't go to the gym." It's a lighter toned poem than many others in the collection, to a degree--while at the gym, the poet is "visited" by the ghost of various poets that, as Robert put it, found creative exit plans from their lives.

2) Buddhist Temple Ravaged by Ants--a poem inspired by a news headline (the actual title of the poem itself) that actually serves as a prelude to the title--the war is about to begin when the poem ends.

3) Watching My Daughter Through the One Way Mirror of a Preschool Observation Room--inspired by just that

4) Staying the Night--a poem I'm not sure I could read aloud. Robert's sister died after a 12-13 hour open heart surgery and he, his wife, and other relatives spent the night in her Royal Oak apartment. Little things like thinking how the peach in her refrigerator outlived her, and slowly moving his mouth around the entire outer ring of her bedroom drinking glass for a last kiss are the type of events that happen.

5) A Consideration of Potential Afterlives and the Ontological Interrelations of All Beings at Bedtime, or the Ladybug--a funny, poignant poem about Robert's relationship with his young son (and a note on this event that was recently brought up by his son, nearly a decade later) and with death, and a touch on religion. This might be the poem where I realized just how much different it is to hear Robert read his work than to read it. At least not having heard him for a decade--reading it again tomorrow with his voice fresh, I think would make for a different read than when I got the book two months ago.

6) My Father Watches His Daughter Taken Away--inspired by a moment at his sister's funeral when his father's car was driving by Robert after the service and Robert was carrying his, at the time, 3 year old daughter. Seeing his father watching his daughter being taken away while he was carrying his own daughter hit him.

7) The Book of Knots--Robert discussed how a couple of his brothers were Boy Scouts and how he was jealous of this fact after sticking around the scouts for about ten minutes before realizing he couldn't do it. His brother committed suicide, by hanging himself, and the poem takes the premise that he most likely learned how to tie that knot while in the Boy Scouts, maybe even to earn a merit badge.

8) The Beam--the house that the Fanning family lives in was built in 1876 and a contractor explained to Robert how houses knew things about the families that lives in them. And he mentioned that he came from a large family, 8 kids with the 2 parents and that he could tell from the cadence, the pressures the house creaks and groans, who was walking around. The Beam is about the one his brother utilized.

9) Our Footfalls--the one where I realize that I've merged two stories in my description of the poem above--whoops.

10) Of Bricks and Vertebrae--a poem that Robert really hadn't intended on reading and decided to.

11) First Snow--inspired by dropping his five year old, at the time, Gabriel off at school during snow and having him simply run off from the car with no worries.

12) In a House Swept Away by the Sea--inspired by a trip to Hawaii where they were standing by a pool on one side, the ocean on the other and a monstrous downpour--one that it seemed fitting to read on this very rainy night in Ann Arbor.

A nice atmosphere as just under 20 people showed up for a mid-week reading in pretty lousy weather--many old friends, students, teachers, etc. of Robert's from over the years. I will say that it seems a little unfair that a decade ago, I'm pretty sure I still had a little hair and am not sure that the majority of what I had was gray; meanwhile, Robert looks pretty much the same as the last time I saw him read. That aside, it was a great decision to have headed out to see him this evening. If you get a chance...

Keith Taylor is too f&*king popular

Some might call it a perfect storm: the first reading at a new bookstore  (Literati in Ann Arbor), a brand new chapbook by a local author (Keith Taylor) and some nice weather (almost 50 degrees). They would be wrong. That is in no way a valid explanation--I didn't hear the post-mortem voice of Mark freaking Wahlberg telling me that things were all right. Instead I had Steve Gillis texting me "No Fucking Parking." A perfect storm would not have caused the parking structure across the street from Literati to have a big ZERO on the sign that shows how many available parking spots remain some twenty minutes before 8 p.m. (I've never seen that sign under 30). It wouldn't explain that the city block sized, eight story, parking structure two blocks away from Literati that must have spots in the four figures showing 34 available spots fifteen minutes before 8 p.m.

There's really only possible reason for all of this and it's that Keith Taylor is too fucking popular. By the time I parked and hustled down 7.5 flights of stairs and two blocks north back to Literati it was a few minutes after 8 p.m. and there was a crowd milling about outside the store of between 10 and 15 people. Not waiting at the corner to cross with the light, but standing outside this new bookstore, looking in the window. Upon entering the store and seeing the small sign with Keith's name and an arrow pointing down the stairs, I glanced in that direction and noted that the stairs were most likely seeing fire protection laws violated (but let's keep that between me and you four people glancing at this if you've lasted this far). Apparently the entire downstairs was packed--I don't know for sure as trying to go down those stairs was just not going to happen. There were actually more people milling about upstairs, waiting for the reading to end so they could get a glimpse of Mr. Taylor, than I've seen at probably 97% of the readings I've attended in my life (note--the only ONE I know for sure that had at least as many people? Keith Taylor was one of the readers).

I can only assume Keith was amazing. He has been every time I've been fortunate to get in to see him without camping out beforehand like I was attending a One Direction concert. Who knows though, maybe he read an essay about why Calgary's 14 degree spring days are superior to Ann Arbor's crisp fall football Saturdays. I heard muffled clapping through the floor and finally found myself getting a little claustrophobic upstairs as it got to the pont where you could not move without bumping into somebody. I decided to buy a book and wander around outside for a bit. I picked up  70% Acrylic 30% Wool by Viola Di Grado, translated by Michael Reynolds (Europa Editions, 2013) and hit the street. I wandered over to West End Books and found three Cynthia Ozick titles I'd yet to purchase (yes, I finally wrote down the titles I already had): Heir to the Glimmering World; The Cannibal Galaxy; and Art & Ardor: Essays. I walked back by Literati but it was still really crowded. I decided to come up and "see" Keith Taylor via his website. The man is simply too f*&king popular.

Reading Review - Hobart in Ann Arbor (ie, Matt and Jessica Bell's Going Away Event)

 

Host Aaron Burch rocks the megaphone

How big of an event was last night's reading in Ann Arbor, a Hobart reading that took place in the basement at Ashley's? A) Steve Gillis was there, B) Aaron Burch (pictured to the left), the host of the event, felt the need (okay, really he just thinks it's cool) to use a megaphone to speak over the crowd noise while introducing the readers, and C) people came from Ohio.

 

Elizabeth Ellen, in the middle of her own touring for her wonderful story collection, Fast Machine, read a short story to lead things off.

 

She was followed by Eugene Cross, who came in from Chicago and read from his debut story collection, Fires of Our Choosing, for which Matt Bell was the editor--Eugene spent a fair amount of time explaining how Matt had made the book a better collection of better stories with better sentences.

 

Did I mention how crowded the basement was? Packed. Dwayne and Jessica from Absinthe: New European Writing were there. Kyle Minor was there. Robert James Russell of Midwestern Gothic was in attendance as well. So was David McLendon, mastermind behind Unsaid. Mary Gillis was there. David Andrew Speer was there. Joe Sacsteder was there

Amanda Goldblatt reading from a Work in Progress

from EMU. Jessica Bell was there. Zack Ravas was there.  I'm going to stop there because there were many more, some I most likely know and other I don't, but now I'm at that point where I could start to feel bad for not

Matt Bell (what's that in his hand?)

remembering somebody I should.

 

 

Amanda Goldblatt read after Eugene Cross and even though she didn't read from her incredible Catalpa (go order it now--you'll thank me), instead reading from a work in progress, her work was still mesmerizingly good.

And Matt Bell wrapped things up reading from a co-written novel from his past (it's a bit shady so I'll leave the title behind, suffice to say there's a lot of writing that will remind you of Beckett) and a short section from his forthcoming  novel, In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods (I was so damn close to having this title correct without looking--I for the "In").

Really the only negative to the evening is knowing that 30 to 36 hours after it was completed, that Matt and Jessica would be on their way to making Marquette, MI a better place.

Reading Review - Absinthe Festival of International Film & Writing

The fine folks at Absinthe have come back after a year or so hiatus to get their Festival of International Film & Writing back into what plans to be an annual affair.

Last night I was able to attend the writing portion of the first night's events, catching reading from Benjamin Paloff, Chris Tysh, and Dunya Mikhail, as well as a short q&a session afterward.

The event is held in Farmington, MI, at the Masonic Hall, and it was really a nice set-up. There were probably close to 50 people in attendance, which all three writers commented upon. Dwayne Hayes, founder of Absinthe Arts 21, the 501(c)3 (that's right folks, you can donate and see it become a tax deduction) created to promote and provide access to international art and writing, was the host and MC for the evening.

Paloff read from both a collection of poetry he'd translated (Lodgings: Selected Poems of Andrzej Sosnowski), but also from a just released book he'd translated (Transparency by Marek Biencyzk), which is a book length essay on, well, transparency. He compared Sosnowski's work to that of Ashberry, and  read three of the poems and then the first section from the essay. Both were very interesting--I do believe I'll find myself ordering the essay.

Chris Tysh read next, maybe a dozen or so pages from what she's calling a transcreational effort. She's reworking French novels into verse--what she read from was based  on a novel by Duras that she  had reworked into verse couplets. It too was very interesting, both the description of the idea, and the writing itself.

Dunya Mikhail read three poems from her collection, The War Works Hard, and then noting that because Benjamin had told her he'd read her book, she would read some new work. She noted though that she wrote her poetry in Arabic, and did not consider her own translations to be the best translations of her own work--it was very interesting, she believes that when translating, one must be true to the work, but this is something she doesn't find herself very capable of doing when the original work is her own--it's her own, so she feels free to tweak when changing the language. But she ended up reading a few more of these new, uncollected poems, including reading the last one both in Arabic, and then in English, to give the audience a flavor of the different languages, the different rhythms, etc.

All three poets (and the MC) came across as very likeable and approachable and it seemed that the crowd all was enjoying what they'd come out to see. Were it not for surprise tickets to a Tiger/Yankee game this evening, I'd be back to see the reading froms Mariela Griffor, Anca Vlasopolos, and Jeffrey Angles this evening.

Shit Just Keeps Coming and Coming

It's an unfortunate fact, but not all great authors are great readers/performers. This, however, is not a statement you will think if you get the opportunity to attend a reading by any of the quartet that read at the Detroit Artists Market last night. The title of this post comes from third reader, John Rybicki, who noted that at great readings like this you just need a break, that poetry is a form of prayer and has the ability to overwhelm you and because shit just keeps coming and coming at you, you need a bit of a break. Fortunately, last night, none was to be had.

Norene Smith was first up, after a quick intro to the evening by Nancy Sizer, the DAM Director, and then an introduction of Norene by Peter Markus. I've had the pleasure of reading Norene's work and seeing her read in the past and enjoyed it, but last night she transformed into something truly amazing. Peter's introduction included bits about magic and a whale, and a huge grin broke over Norene's face and she noted how strange it was that Peter would mention these as they encompassed two of her planned topics. She began with a quote from Alan Moore about magic and literature and then proceded to weave some magic of her own, sharing poems, stories about recent visits with Bhuddist  Monks and chanting, and the poems these visits have inspired and a poem about a recent visit home by her daughter. Again, I've seen Norene read before and enjoyed it, but last night she seemed more confident, to enjoy the experience more, and again was simply mesmorizing.

Anna Clark was next up and she had possibly the most difficult job of the evening. While later reader, Peter Markus, also writes fiction, the stories he would read are typically under five pages and frequently only 1 or 2 in length. So, where the others were reading short works to fall into and get captured quickly, Anna read a longer short story, which is truly hard to pull off. She was also the new girl to the crowd last night--most there had seen the others read their work, were maybe more familiar with it. Anna had to win over the crowd that for the most part may not have known all that much about her. And to her absolute credit, she did just that. Reading a story about the making of a fairy tale that felt like a fairy tale itself, everybody in the crowd hovered on every word. It's a story I look forward to seeing in print soon.

Next up was John Rybicki and why he isn't a Poet Laureate of something huge I have no idea. John ranted and raved for the first ten minutes of his time about stories from his past, the greatness of Peter Markus, and many other things and each story was so personal, so impossible not to feel the passion behind it--he's what I think a Poet Laureate should be. I'm one that comes to poetry dragging my heels, not always feeling I get it and why spend time doing that if there's a work of fiction I'll dig right under the poetry collection on the pile. John Rybicki had me coming home looking for a poetry collection to read. He's a writer that peels back his own skin to let you see what's inside and makes you want to come back over and over. I cannot imagine how exciting it would be to have him for a teacher.

Last up was Peter Markus, and as he began to read stories from his new work, We Make Mud, I was sent back in time to a reading at Book Beat. I'd gone to see another writer, and in fact had never heard of Peter Markus. He pulled out this big yellow satchel with scores of paper in it and read four or five stories of these wonderful brothers, and this dirty river, and their dirty river town, and a girl, and fish,  and stars and the second he was done I more or less ran to the podium and asked him where he was published, where I could find more of these stories to swim in. Beyond writing simply incredible and unique work, Peter may be the single best reader I've seen. He's so in tune  with his own writing, which beyond the words on the page have an acoustical life to them, that you can't help being caught up in every word, every rhythm, every syllable.

What brought these four particular authors together? InsideOut Literary Arts Project. Each of these four is teaching poetry or fiction to students in Detroit through IO. If they are nearly as good in the classroom as they are in an art gallery, those are some lucky kids.

Overall, it was the type of reading that makes every one that wasn't quite what you were hoping for worth attending for a shot at a an hour and a half of this type of enjoyment.

A Series to Attend

I believe the Happy Endings Reading Series, hosted by the lovely and talented Amanda Stern, has been mentioned here at the EWN before.  This time it's both a celebration and, well, a different celebration.  The Happy Endings Reading Series is soon to be moving - after this fall season, the series is moving to Joe's Pub in January (a necessarily larger venue!).

I've had the extreme pleasure of attending exactly one HERS event and it was fantastic.  Looking over this line-up, it's one of the rare times I wish I lived elsewhere for a period of time.  That premiere reading looks astounding, and readers here know I'd love to be at the October 22 reading with Keith Lee Morris and Deb Olin Unferth as I've raved about their work here before.  Not to mention Porter Shreve, and last of all, but certainly not even close to least, Allison Amend!!!!! (Who, by the way, just might have the nicest looking website welcome page of any author right now).

So, the final season goes as such:

September 10

SEASON 6 PREMIERE

Darin Strauss
Andrew Sean Greer
Hannah Tinti

with music from
Moby

September 14

Brooklyn Book Festival

Porochista Khakpour
Said Sayrafiezadeh
Manil Suri

with music from
Nina Katchadourian

September 24

Roland Kelts
Linda Robertson
Porter Shreve

with music from
Howard Fishman

October 8

CANCELLED for YOM KIPPUR


October 22

Deb Olin Unferth
Cristy Road
Keith Lee Morris

with music from
Bronwen Exter

November 12

Sadia Shepard
Ben Markovits
Sana Krasikov

with music from
Randy Kaplan

November 19

Alice Elliot Dark
Stacy D'Erasmo
Allison Amend

with music from
Jamie Leonhart

December 10

Ammon Shea
Marion Winik
Joan Wickersham

with music from
TK

December 17
LAST SHOW EVER at HAPPY ENDING
TBA

Happy Ending Bar
302 Broome Street
Between Forsyth and Eldridge
212-334-9676


Look for a hot pink awning with the words Health Club on it


J,M,Z,F to Delancey
B,D to Grand Street

A Recommended Event to Attend (If you're in L.A. or close by that is)

A Highly Recommended event hits your neck of the woods tomorrow evening at Skylight Books!  It's Jonathan Evison reading from his acclaimed All About Lulu and there are rumors of jello shots, hot dog cake, Appalachian buffet (whoops, I believe the aforementioned hot dog cake is part of this, technically), and even some free beer.

Beyond all that food and drink, Jonathan is probably the guy I walked out of BEA having been most excited to have met for the first time, and considering I was able to shake hands for the first time with the likes of Callie Miller, David Francis, Frank Turner Hollon, Cory Garfin, Edan Lepucki, and others I've just offended by leaving them off of this list????  He was pretty damned exciting to have met. 

I've just finally dug out the box of books I had a friend mail back to me after BEA and am halfway through AAL and pretty much loving it. 

So, again, the highest of EWN recommendations to go out and support a great guy, great author, great publisher (Soft Skull) and fantastic store (Skylight Books)!

Details about the store's location and event's timing can be found here.

A recent interview via LAist and Callie Miller can be read here.

And a video from a recent store appearance of Jonathan's can be viewed via Soft Skull and YouTube here.

If it was only 1000 miles away, I'd be all over the trip, but 2000?  Well, I'm still hoping JE hits Ann Arbor in the future.

Go, say hi to everybody else there for me and have a blast!