Literary Events

M.L. LIEBLER & THE MAGIC POETRY BAND will be at Shaman Drum Bookshop (see 27 Wednesday)

1 Friday

"Readers are Winners " Party: Little Professor 6 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. Celebration to congratulate all participants in the Reading Rainbow Contest and to award the grand prizes. 662-4110

"First Fridays" Poetry Reading: Galerie Jacques 8:30 pm, 616 Wesley. Three Detroit poets will read: AURORA HARRIS, VIEVEE, and KIM WEBB. 665-9889

2 Saturday

Children's Hour: Borders 11 am, 612 E. Liberty. Hello and Goodbye to summer, school and lots of other things. 668-7652

5 Wednesday

Rec Ed Book Club: Little Professor 7:30 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. This month's book is "Slaughterhouse 5" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Susan, 761-6954

Poetry Slam: The Heidelberg 8 pm, 215 N. Main. Featured poet and open mike, $3. 663-7758

6 Wednesday

African American Book Club: Little Professor 7 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. This month's book is "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler. Audra Asher (9am-3pm), 662-4110

8 Friday

Publication Celebration: Shaman Drum 4-6 pm, 315 S. State. Reception for the publication of "Manufacturing Inequality: Gender Division in the French and British Metal-Working Industries, 1914-1939," by LAURA LEE DOWNS. She offers a critique of both economics and feminism as frameworks for understanding gender discrimination in industry. Downs, Associate Professor of History at U-M, will be on hand to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

9 Saturday

Children's Hour Borders 11 am, 612 E. Liberty. Miss Jackie sings and teaches games from her book, "500 Five Minute Games: Quick and Easy Activities for 3-6 Year Olds." 668-7652

10 Sunday

Zonta International of A2, Special Story Hour: Little Professor 3-4 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. In honor of Grandparents Day - grandparents, read to your grandchildren; or grandchildren, read to your grandparents. Patricia Wulp, 971-4021.

Mystery Book Club: Little Professor 6:30 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. Little Professor's "Murder on the Second Sunday" Book Group will gather to discuss this month's titles - "Caveman's Valentine" by George Dawes-Green and "Mallory's Oracle" by Carol O'Connell. New members are always welcome. Margaret Yang, 769-4879

12 Tuesday

Reading: Borders 7:30 pm, 612 E. Liberty. PETER ROBINSON, author of the Inspector Banks series, will read from and sign copies of his latest novel, "Final Account." This latest novel explores the execution-style murder of a wealthy, duplicitous accountant living in the north of England. Robinson is a winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Best Novel Award. 668-7652

13 Wednesday

Reading: Shaman Drum 8 pm, 315 S. State. JONIS AGEE will read from her newest collection of short stories, "A .38 Special and a Broken Heart." Marge Piercy has said of her short stories, ". . .they will stay with you all day. Agee has a clear and unsentimental eye for our cruelties, our wishes, our attempts to love and our attempts to be free." Her novels "Sweet Eyes" and "Strange Angels" were named Notable Books of the Year by the New York Times Book Review. This fall Agee joins the creative writing faculty at U-M. She will be on hand after the reading to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

14 Thursday

Publication Celebration: Shaman Drum 4-6 pm, 315 S. State. Reception for the publication of "Technology in the Hospital: Transforming Patient Care in the Early Twentieth Century" by JOEL D. HOWELL, M.D. Drawing on the actual medical records of more than 2,000 patients, Howell traces the ways in which medical technology was used and examines how the resulting changes in medical practice raised issues of gender, culture, and economics. One critic called the book "a seminal study in the history of medicine." Howell, a faculty member in the Departments of Internal Medicine, History, and Health Services Management and Policy at U-M, will be on hand to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

Poet VIEVEE will be at Galerie Jacques (see 1 Friday)

Reading: Borders 8 pm, 612 E. Liberty. CARL HlASSEN, author of "Tourist Season," Native Tongue," and "Strip Tease" will read from and sign copies of his new novel, "Stormy Weather." Hiassen is Metro columnist for the Miami Herald, writing on such subjects as rapacious development, egregious business practices and corrupt politicians. "Stormy Weather" deals with many of these same topics - it presents an apocalyptic panorama of South Florida, in the wake of a devastating hurricane. 668-7652

15 Friday

After Hours Poetry Series: Shaman Drum 8 pm, 315 S. State. Reading by MARIANNE BORUCH, author of three acclaimed books of poetry, including "Descendant," and most recently of a collection of essays about poetry, "Poetry's Old Air." Boruch s an Associate Professor of English at Purdue University. She will be on hand after the reading to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

16 Saturday

Children's Storyhour: Little Professor 11 am-noon. 2513 Jackson Rd. Stories and activities. 662-4110

Children's Hour: Borders 11 am, 612 E. Liberty. Hear about imaginary places. 668-7652

Poetry Reading: Rainbow Writers' Salon 4-6 pm, Dominick's, 812 Monroe. The featured reader is YOUSUF ZAIGHAM, an emigre Indian poet bringing a taste of his passionate, irrevrent dictum and manic rage against the butchery in Bosnia. He will read from his first English language collection of poetry, "Other Voices, OtherDreams."Open mike to follow. Kate, 677-2914

17 Sunday

Stilyagi Air Corps Club: Little Professor 5 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. This month's book is "Earth" by D. Brin. Chad Childers, 390-2369

Bill Messner-Loebs Signing: Little Professor 7-9 pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. Come meet the author of 'The Maxx" comic books - as seen on M-TV. 662-4110

THE GHOULS are part of Shriekfest! at the Green Room (see 19 Tuesday)

18 Monday

Discussion and Booksigning: Borders 7:30 pm, 612 E. Liberty. KENT BICKNELL, editor of Louisa May Alcott's "A Long Fatal Love Chase," will talk about and sign copies of this newly published book. Bicknell, a school administrator and teacher, is also a collector of manuscripts, letters and autographs. Through a series of events, he purchased an unpublished manuscript of a Louisa May Alcott romance novel, "A Long Fatal Love Chase." Originally commissioned to be run as a serial in a popular magazine, "Love Chase" was rejected as being "too long and too sensational." Though Alcott tried to tone it down, it was never published. Bicknell, in a new role as editor, restored it to its original form for publication. 668-7652

19 Tuesday

Reading: Borders 7:30 pm, 612 E. Liberty. NICHOLAS DELBANCO, director of the U-M MFA Writing Program and administrator of the Hopwood Awards program, will read from his new novel, "In the Name of Mercy." This is a dark, chilling medical drama which explores the fine line between mercy killing and murder. It is also a behind-the-scenes look at how health care professionals deal with the subject of euthanasia. Delbanco examines the controversial public and private issues associated with terminal illnesses, health care, grief, guilt and the question of whether and when life should be intentionally ended. A reception follows the reading. 668-7652

SHRIEKFEST!: The Green Room 8:30 pm (doors at 8 pm), 206 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsi. An evening of spoken word and music. Performers include: VIEVEE, a Detroit poet whose startling imagery is as striking as her rhythmic rant; Ypsilanti's DAMON NURNBERG, with chord-driven songs and frenetic stories; LARRY FRANCIS, the A2 Poetry Slam host whose biting humor, shrewd perception, and unbounded energy step far beyond the bounds of "poetry reading" as we know it; REBA DEVINE, A2's legendary poet/fiction writer, presenting cryptic tales; and at midnight, THE GHOULS, a three-piece instrumental band rising from the grave with the most terrifying dance beat you've ever heard, $3. 482-8830

Author JONIS AGEE will be at Shaman Drum (see 13 Wed)

20 Wednesday

Drop-In Book Club: Aunt Agatha's 8 pm. 213 S. 4th Ave. Author Loren D. Estleman will be present. 769-1114

Reading and Book Signing: Shaman Drum 8 pm, 315 S. State. CRAIG LESLEY will read from his third novel, "The Sky Fisherman." Terry Tempest Williams calls Lesley "one of America's finest storytellers" and "an empathetic force in fiction." The story is set in an Oregon small town where love, death, and a boy's coming of age flow beneath a surface of hard work and confrontation with the forces of nature. After the reading, Lesley, who is a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, will be on hand to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

21 Thursday

Publication Celebration: Shaman Drum 4-6pm, 315 S. State. Reception for the publication of "Social Change and the Family in Taiwan," edited by ARLAND THORNTON and HUI-SENG LIN. This work is the recipient of two prestigious awards: the 1995 Otis Dudley Duncari Award for distinguished scholarship in social demography and the 1995 Goode Distinguished Book Award for the most outstanding contribution to family scholarship. Thornton is a Professor of Sociology and Research Scientist at U-M. Lin is chief of the Research and Planning Division of the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Family Planning. Thornton along with several contributors to the volume will be on hand to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

Reading and Booksigning: Borders 7:30 pm, 612 E. Liberty. P.J. O'ROURKE will read from his new book, "Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut ." This book takes the reader from the wacky fun of the revolutionary barricades to the serious business of the nineteenth hole. It chronicles O'Rourke's development from radical hippie to staunch conservative. 668-7652

20 Wednesday

Publication Celebration: Shaman Drum 4-6 pm, 315 S. State. Reception for the publication of LINDA GREGERSON's "The Reformation of the Subject." This ground-breaking study examines the cultural contradictions that gave birth to the English Protestant epic. An award-winning scholar and poet, Gregerson has also published a collection of poems, "Fire in the Conservatory." Gregerson is an Associate Professor of English at U-M. She will be on hand to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

23 Saturday

Children's Hour: Borders 11 am, 612 E. Liberty. Songs and rhymes with the Borders Bunch. Come to laugh and sing. 668-7652

Children's Storyhour: Little Professor 11 am (see 16 Sat)

A Very Special Poetry Event: Shaman Drum 8 pm, 315 S. State. GEORGE BORNSTEIN, Professor of English at the U-M, has discovered dozens of never-before-published poems by William Butler Yeats. Today we celebrate their publication in a book edited by Bornstein called "Under the Moon: the Unpublished Early Poetry." Distinguished poets THOMAS LYNCH, THYLIAS MOSS, KEITH TAYLOR, RICHARD TILLINGHAST, and others offer homage to the master by reading these poems that for so long have been unavailable. Bornstein will be on hand after the reading to sign books and share refreshments. 662-7407

24 Sunday

Poetry Reading: Del Rio Bar 1:30-4:30 pm, 122 W. Washington. Join the FEED THE POETS GROUP for an afternoon of poetry from the area's finest poets. There will also be one hour of open mike reading for those brave souls yet to achieve recognition. Interested poets should contact the Del Rio for scheduling arrangements or further information. 761-2530

Science Fiction Oral History Club: Little Professor 3-5pm, 2513 Jackson Rd. NancyTucker, 429-3475

26 Tuesday

Reading and Booksigning: Borders 7:30 pm, 612 E. Liberty. KAYE GIBBONS, author of "Ellen Foster, A Virtuous Woman," will read from her new novel, "Sights Unseen." This novel describes, in flashback through the eyes of Hattie, the summer and fall of 1967 when she was twelve and living in Bend of the River, NC. Her beautiful, psychotically volatile mother, Maggie, was temporarily committed to the psychiatric ward at Duke University and a near-miracle occurs: for the first time in two decades Maggie becomes stable on medication. Gibbons tells this story of family dislocation in restrained prose of unflinching clarity. 668-7652

27 Wednesday

Poetry Reading and Book Signing: Shaman Drum 8pm, 315 S. State. M.L. LIEBLER and the MAGIC POETRY BAND perform their topical poetry and groove music. They are joined by acclaimed New York performance poet BARRY WALLENSTEIN. Liebler teaches at Wayne State University. His latest book is "Stripping the Adult Century Bare." The Magic Poetry Band is Tom Voiles on sitar/flute, Jim Carey on drums, and Matt Nikkari on bass. Wallenstein's most recent book is "Love and Crush" and his performance poetry has been released on CD and LP, most recently "In Cased You Missed It," featuring jazz great Arthur Blythe. 662-7407

28 Thursday

Presentation: Borders 7:30 pm, 612 E. Liberty. ADRIA RENKE, a private tutor in Phoenix, Arizona, and publisher of the "Easy Home Tutoring" newsletter, will present some pointers and answer questions from her new book, "Easy Home Tutoring: A Parent's Guide." Renke has developed techniques for parents to use in solving their children's basic learning and homework problems. Parents should come with questions for Renke to answer. 668-7652

Reading and Book Signing: Shaman Drum 8 pm, 315 S. State. Myra McLAREY will read from her novel, "Water From the Well." Ron Hansen calls it "a celebration of the goodness and heroism in the lives of the white and black folk that history overlooks," in this case, rural Arkansans. McLarey, a native of Arkansas who now teaches writing at Harvard University and Bard College, will be on hand after the reading to sign books and share refreshments. This is her first published novel. 662-7407

30 Saturday

Children's Hour: Borders 11 am, 612 E. Liberty. 668-7652

Children's Storyhour: Little Professor 11 am (see 16 Sat)