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Genre: Not Genre-Specific
Venue Check Again
It’s time to take another look at Detroit’s literary friendly venues. I hope that these recent discoveries of mine are useful to you, and be sure to check out their upcoming events.
ZAB Cultural Collective is a community-driven coworking space on Detroit’s East Side. ZAB is a cozy, artistic space that has hosted writing workshops and performances, and has open mic nights on the first Saturday of every month at 7:00 PM. They offer Wi-Fi, tables, and free coffee and tea for working writers and artists. The space doubles as a retail contemporary art gallery featuring a wide range of local and traveling artists.
Motown Museum in Detroit’s New Center area has been home to Motown Mic: The Spoken Word, a poetry slam series dedicated to the Motown legacy and the next generation of creative artists, for the past four years. The museum recently hosted a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tribute performance by recent winners of the slam. In addition to the historic building, the museum is undergoing an expansion that will undoubtedly include additional performance space. Keep your eye out for this gem!
Eastern Market Brewing Co. is a craft brewery that opens its doors to an event called First Draughts every third Tuesday of the month, which is organized by Writing Workshops Detroit. The mission of First Draughts is to “bring writers out of the wilderness and into the community.” Writers meet other writers, talk literature, and share work. This is a great low stakes way to get involved with a tight-knit literary community.
If you find yourself at any of these venues, I would love to hear about your experience! You can also help spread good news about venues and literary events by tagging me on Twitter, @Detroitpworg, or listing them on our Literary Events Calendar.
Justin Rogers is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in Detroit. Contact him at Detroit@pw.org or on Twitter, @Detroitpworg.
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The Booksellers
Caption:
“A good bookseller absolutely is another kind of discoverer and thinker of history,” says Kevin Young in this trailer for The Booksellers. The documentary, directed by D. W. Young and executive produced by Parker Posey, explores the history, personalities, and business of bookselling in New York City.
Genre:
Reach Out to Me
Many writers know me in New Orleans. I’ve served on literary boards and coordinated festival events, and now I am a Poets & Writers Literary Outreach Coordinator. So, what’s that? Through a grant from the Hearst Foundations, Poets & Writers launched a pilot initiative in 2019 called the United States of Writing in three cities: Detroit, Houston, and New Orleans. Each city has a literary outreach coordinator to help spread the word to writers about the resources Poets & Writers has to offer and to contribute to and strengthen our literary community.
Although my job is less than part-time, I am very busy trying to encourage writers to apply for Readings & Workshops mini-grants, which provide funds for literary events in New Orleans (as well as in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Seattle, Tucson, Washington, D.C., all of California, and New York State). I try to attend as many literary events around the city as possible. Sometimes I make myself known, other times I’m in the back enjoying the event quietly. When I can’t get to an event, I try to make sure I tweet about it on Twitter, @NOLApworg, or post events on P&W’s Literary Events Calendar.
I enjoy reporting about literary events in New Orleans to the P&W staff and to you all through this blog. One thing is for sure: Literary scenes are not one-size-fits-all. Regional culture influences local literary scenes in cities across the country. Detroit is not Houston. Houston is not New Orleans—and you know what? That’s a good thing! Every city contributes to the national literary landscape, and I am committed to working in a way that is authentic to New Orleans.
My job is also to find out what I don’t know. So if you have a question, an event, or a recommendation, or if you want to organize a gathering in New Orleans, let me know. I’m here for you, New Orleans.
Kelly Harris is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in New Orleans. Contact her at NOLA@pw.org or on Twitter, @NOLApworg.Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners, Macmillan CEO and Librarians Debate Embargo, and More
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Literary Variety
As a Detroiter who lives in the world of poetry, I see an abundance of poetry workshops, open mics, and other events that come about regularly, and there are even more happening as we approach National Poetry Month in April. As I learn more about the poets in this city, I also learn more about where writers of other creative writing genres thrive. I want to take this opportunity to highlight two spaces—one that makes room specifically for storytellers and another that has been home to a variety of artists.
The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers was founded in 2012 by Satori Shakoor, and the monthly series features one of the oldest literary art forms: the oral tradition of storytelling. I find myself impressed each time I attend an event. From the smooth production to the storytellers that I am introduced to, I always know I will be served up a unique offering of creativity. I highly recommend their events for novice writers and seasoned writers alike. You can see their next event on February 14 at 8:00 PM at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
The Scarab Club is neatly tucked between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Wright Museum in Midtown Detroit. The over one hundred-year-old building is home to visual arts in the form of paintings, tapestries, and mosaics built directly into its walls. You can also enjoy the visual, literary, and performing arts of local artists through their eclectic programming. Recent events have featured poet Naomi Long Madgett, comics artist and journalist Laura Kenins, and author and editor Maya Schenwar. The exhibitions and events of this historic space are always inspiring.
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