Local Historian Dale Leslie Discusses Where Notables Lived in A2
Where Notables Lived in A2 is a fascinating photo-lecture where Dale Leslie shares the residences and backgrounds of several well-known writers and poets who lived in Ann Arbor.
Dale R. Leslie is a life-long Ann Arbor resident, former local businessman and U-M alumnus who recalls his mother telling him, "Famous people like visiting Ann Arbor because they can blend with the town's citizens without being noticed."
And Dale adds, "Yes, and some chose to reside here for an extended period."
Included in his talk are:
• Harriet Arnow, author of The Dollmaker (lived on a farm on Nixon Road);
• W.H. Auden, one of the great poets of the 20th Century (lived at 504 Brooklyn);
• Joseph Brodsky, Nobel prize-winning Russian poet and essayist (lived on 308 Wesley);
• Robert Frost, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (lived on 1223 Pontiac Trail);
• Robert Hayden, the first U.S. Congress African American Poet Laureate (lived at 1201 Gardner);
• Arthur Miller, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (lived at 411 N. State);
• Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (lived on 1314 Broadway).