Deeply Personal: Saba Keramati sifts life and the world in her new poetry collection, “Self-Mythology”

WRITTEN WORD PREVIEW INTERVIEW

Portrait of Saba Keramati on the left and the book cover of Self-Mythology on the right.

Saba Keramati writes about the hopes, dreams, characteristics, and experiences that form the self but that also stir up more mysteries in her new poetry collection, Self-Mythology

 

Keramati, born in America, writes from the perspective of being an only child of political refugees, her Chinese mother and Iranian father. Her poems probe how holding many identities results in feeling not fully one of them. The first poem, “THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO SAY THIS,” conveys the pang of these distinctions: “I have to write this poem in English / I do not speak my mother’s language / I do not speak my father’s language / I am not grateful for this country.” These circumstances and the desire to claim an identity, while at the same time chafing against the divisions of self, set the foundation for the collection that asks, “Who am I being today? / … / You’ll always be wrong, and I’ll always be / here, chameleoning myself / with every shift of the light.” 

 

Self-Mythology is forthright about its focus on the poet, but the poems also look outward. A series of centos, poems with all their lines borrowed from others, are sprinkled throughout the book, and each is called “Cento for Loneliness & Writer’s Block & the Fear of Never Being Enough, Despite Being Surrounded by Asian American Poets.” The third such poem contains lines like “I hold things I cannot say in my mouth—” and “There is mythology planted in my mouth which is like sin. / I cannot help but know the words.” In addition to these recurring centos, poems also reflect on attempts to learn a language, miscarriage, what it is like to be in a relationship, fire season in California, social media, astrology, and 9/11. 

 

Moments of revelation emerge in Self-Mythology. In “Chimera,” the speaker listens to the radio and hears lyrics conveying a thought that had earlier seemed original to the poet: 

Friday Five: Cloudburst, Sam Watson, Same Eyes, Michael Skib, Chris DuPont

MUSIC REVIEW FRIDAY FIVE

Cover art for the music in Friday Five.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features psych-rock by Cloudburst, R&B by Sam Watson, synth-pop by Same Eyes, techno-rock by Michael Skib, and dreamy balladry by Chris DuPont.

Illustrating Freedom of Speech: "An Ungentle Art: Pat Oliphant and the American Tradition of Political Satire"

VISUAL ART REVIEW INTERVIEW

Richard Nixon by Pat Oliphant. Image from the Clement Rare Manuscript Library..

Pat Oliphant, Richard Nixon, charcoal sketch, 2008. Courtesy of the Wallace House Center for Journalists.

Journalists are the white blood cells of democracy, and their ability to report news and share opinions without repercussions is one of the best measures of a free society's hardiness.

 

The right to employ comedy and satire freely is another solid assessment of a democracy's health, and the Clements Library's online and in-person exhibition An Ungentle Art: Pat Oliphant and the American Tradition of Political Satire is a compelling reminder of illustrative journalists using humor to make a point.

 

The University of Michigan exhibition—produced with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum and loaned original art from the Wallace House Center for Journalists—ties into a multi-event program this semester on how the arts interact with presidential politics during this election year.

 

“I think using Clements Library materials to help people think about the democratic processes in the country, and how we have historically talked about elections is important,” says Paul Erickson, the director at Clements. 

Lakeside Romance: Erin Hahn Completes Her Spicy Trilogy with New “Catch and Keep” Novel

WRITTEN WORD INTERVIEW

 

A portrait of Erin Hahn and the cover of "Catch and Keep."

 

With the release of a new friends-to-lovers romance this month, Catch and Keep, Ann Arbor author Erin Hahn completes her spicy trilogy. The novels in this series are dual point-of-view and feature couples in the same friend group. Prior installments were Built to Last and Friends Don’t Fall in Love.

 

The main roles in Catch and Keep go to Josiah Cole, also known as Joe, and Maren Laughlin, whom Joe calls “Jig” for her penchant for fishing. Couples Shelby & Cam and Craig (Huck) & Lorelai from the previous books of the trilogy make cameos in this third novel.

 

Many years after knowing each other while growing up, Maren and Joe immediately take notice when they run into each other again. The location where they reconnect is the same place where they interacted in their youth: Cole’s Landing Resort, a lakeside getaway in Wisconsin. Joe’s parents own the resort, and Joe now works and raises his kids there.

 

Maren grew up going to the resort and vacationed and developed her excellent fishing skills on the lake. In a flashback to an earlier visit, Maren reflects that there is, “Just … something about this place. It makes me feel right. I’m more myself here than anywhere else in the entire world.” It takes a special place to have that effect. Maren and Joe’s shared appreciation for the location becomes part of their fast-growing spark.

Hoop Dreams: Mike Rosenbaum's new book tracks 30 years of University of Michigan basketball

WRITTEN WORD PREVIEW INTERVIEW

U-M basketball fans will get to hear perspectives about the team’s past and its present at 6:30 pm Monday at Literati Bookstore, when sports writer Mike Rosenbaum will talk about his book University of Michigan Basketball, 1960-1989: From Cazzie Russell to the NCAA Title alongside past U-M players Tom Staton and Antoine Joubert, and current U-M basketball play-by-play radio personality Brian Boesch.

“I’m leading the event,” said Rosenbaum, who grew up in Oak Park, and graduated from U-M with a communications degree in 1980. “So I’ll probably go over a few stories that [Staton and Joubert] talked about for the book … and then we’ll probably have a discussion about this year’s team. Brian’s close to the team. He’s interviewed all the coaches, and he can give us some insight on what’s going on … and talk about what to expect with the new coach [Dusty May].”

Staton and Joubert are just two of the more than 40 people Rosenbaum interviewed for his book, which has been years in the making.

Friday Five: fling ii, Lily Talmers, Othercast, Ben Zucker, Scoops Lively

MUSIC REVIEW FRIDAY FIVE

Cover art for the music featured in Friday Five.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features neokraut psych-rock by fling ii, folk-pop by Lily Talmers, ambient from Othercast, experimental soundscapes by Ben Zucker, and glitchtronica by Scoops Lively.

Fifth Avenue Press Spotlights Nine Local Authors and Their New Works at A2 Community Bookfest

WRITTEN WORD PREVIEW INTERVIEW

The Fifth Avenue Press and A2 Community Bookfest logos.

Whether it’s a picture book, a poetry collection, or a fantasy novel, Fifth Avenue Press is ready to share a compelling array of new releases from local authors.

 

The Ann Arbor District Library’s imprint is launching nine new publications across several genres during a November 3 book-release reception at the Downtown location.

 

As part of A2 Community Bookfest, the Fifth Avenue Press reception will include author readings and meet-and-greets along with opportunities to purchase books and get them signed by the authors.

 

Started in 2017, Fifth Avenue Press assists local authors with creating print-ready books at no cost and ensures they retain all of their rights.

 

As part of that partnership, the library distributes ebooks of the authors’ works to patrons without paying royalties. The authors also can sell their books in various formats and keep all of the proceeds.

 

Sped-Up Fever Dream: Elevator Repair Service’s stage adaptation of James Joyce's "Ulysses" condenses the epic novel into an epic play

THEATER & DANCE REVIEW

A previous ERS production of Ulysses. Photo courtesy of UMS.

A previous ERS production of Ulysses. Photo courtesy of UMS.

I don’t have a ton of specific fears, but if pressed to name a few, I’d go with snakes, climate change, overdrafting, mass shootings, and the epically baffling big novels of James Joyce.

 

So kudos to the University Musical Society (UMS) for helping me confront that last fear this past Sunday, via the Elevator Repair Service’s stage adaptation of Ulysses, which was at the Power Center in Ann Arbor on October 19-20.

 

The much-studied, fever-dream doorstop of a novel—clocking in at nearly 800 pages—unfolds almost entirely within the confines of June 16th, 1904 (reportedly the date of Joyce’s first sexual encounter with future wife, Nora). Since the book debuted in 1922, Joyce’s life and work have been celebrated annually on June 16th, a day called Bloomsday, named for the character at the center of Ulysses, ad man Leopold Bloom.

Tabloid Tunes: U-M's production of "Bat Boy" is a tragicomedy musical with a high body count

THEATER & DANCE REVIEW

Aaron Syi as the titular character carries a heavy load in U-M's production of Bat Boy.

Aaron Syi as the titular character carries a heavy load in U-M's production of Bat Boy. Photo by Peter Smith.

When a stage musical’s inspired by a campy, 1990s tabloid story about a half-human, half-bat boy who’s discovered in a West Virginia cave—I mean, you just go in expecting a weird show, right?

 

But nothing can truly prepare you for the level of weird achieved by Bat Boy, staged October 10-20 by U-M’s musical theatre department at the Encore Theatre in Dexter.

 

With music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe, and a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, Bat Boy follows the titular character as he’s housed, and socialized by, a local veterinarian’s family. Buttoned-up wife and mother Meredith Parker (Aquila Sol) is the first to emotionally connect with Bat Boy (Aaron Syi), naming him Edgar and teaching him to speak. Teen daughter Shelley Parker (Stephanie Reuning-Scherer) is initially disgusted by Edgar but comes to love him, too, while her father, Dr. Parker (Jamie Martin Mann), jealously watches his emotionally distant wife lavish maternal love upon Edgar. 

 

The show, particularly the first act, has been somewhat streamlined (a good thing) since I first saw it many years ago, but its high body count, black tragicomedy core—think Heathers crossed with a bewildering nature documentary—remains intact. 

Friday Five: Dr. Pete Larson, The Rabbit Sons, Kylee Phillips, Gostbustaz, Normal Park

MUSIC REVIEW FRIDAY FIVE

Cover art for the music featured in Friday Five.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features techno by Dr. Pete Larson, power-pop by The Rabbit Sons, indie-folk by Kylee Phillips, hip-hop by Gostbustaz, and flannel-flying punk by Normal Park.