Alistair MacLeod
A large island in the middle of nowhere off the northeastern edge of mainland Nova Scotia, populated by the descendants of Scottish Highlanders fleeing the invading English and of British Loyalists fleeing the American...
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Babes in Toyland
"I wrote frantically on the train all the way so we could have a script when I got back," said Hal Roach, who produced Babes in Toyland, a 1934 film adaptation of the Victor Herbert operetta that is every bit as busy...
Read MoreCedar Walton
Pianist Cedar Walton was one of many promising Bud Powell-inspired pianists working in New York when he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1961. He had already made a name for himself as a member of two of the finest...
Read MoreWomen in Astronomy: A History
At the top floor of the U-M Exhibit Museum, past the terrific mastodon and tiny moles, is the intimate, round planetarium room. Before the lights dim, you can survey from your comfy bench some of the projectors, mirrors, motors,...
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Cavafy’s world
Constantine Cavafy is the leading poet of modern Greek, although he never published a book in his lifetime or lived in Greece. He lived mostly in Alexandria, Egypt, a member of the Greek-speaking minority that was one of the...
Read MoreSteven Curtis Chapman
The youthful faithful already know all about Steven Curtis Chapman's appearance Thursday, March 14, at Hill Auditorium. Although contemporary Christian music doesn't register much on weekend things-to-do lists, he filled...
Read MoreAmbassadors of Rumba
Among fans of Cuban music, the city of Matanzas has long been known as a cultural mecca. Founded in 1693 by the Spanish as a port for the sugar cane industry, the city quickly became home to tens of thousands of African slaves....
Read MoreU-M Powwow
Asked to list their hometown's world-class attractions, most Ann Arborites could easily rattle off several, but very few would name one of Ann Arbor's most remarkable annual events: the U-M Powwow. Every March (March...
Read MoreTwyla Tharp Dance
Modern dance is a tricky term, often used as a catchphrase for nearly every nonclassical (read: nonballetic) theatrical dance style in Europe and America since the early twentieth century. Twyla Tharp challenges even that...
Read MoreAnne Waldman
Poet is almost too limiting a term to describe Anne Waldman: she seems to be a force of nature! She came from a family steeped in bohemian culture and moved quite easily into the artistic ferment of New York City in the...
Read MoreUncle Earl
Uncle Earl is the brainchild of two women, K. C. Groves and Jo Serrapere. Serrapere writes blues-tinged originals and made local music headlines last December when she won a slot on the Hill Auditorium program of Garrison...
Read MorePenelope and Anne Crawford
The discovery of a new work by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi is big news. In his twenty-six years of life poor Pergolesi wrote only a handful of works, a disproportionate number of which have established themselves as...
Read MoreCarlo Actis Dato
European improvised music is becoming well known in this country. German, Swedish, British, and Dutch jazz artists have found different routes to original styles, having long ago abandoned the imitation of American models, and...
Read MoreLaura Kasischke
I hate to do it, but I can't talk about Laura Kasischke's new novel, The Life before Her Eyes, without giving something important away — the beginning. Two young women, inseparable best friends, juniors in high...
Read MoreThe Ron Brooks Trio
The Bird of Paradise has been serving jazz seven nights a week for more than fifteen years, and throughout that time a trio led by bassist Ron Brooks, who owns the club, has been a featured attraction. But the band antedates the...
Read MoreValentine’s Ragtime Trot
I've never quite understood why Valentine's Day, being in February, is such a big thing. May, June — now those would be prime months for the coy deliverance of cards, chocolates, flowers, and protestations of...
Read MoreThe Art Oasis
The high-quality exhibit Contemporary Artists of Ann Arbor at the Art Oasis on Main Street tempted me to take one of the classes held in the studio space behind the gallery. If I did, I realized, some of my fellow students would...
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