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Immacule Ilibagiza, Rawanda Genocide Survivor, May 23rd |
Wednesday 23rd 2007f May 2007 |
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 Immacule Ilibagiza, a Rawandan genocide survivor shares her riviting story WEDNSEDAY, MAY 223rd, 2007 at 7:00 PM. She will give her presentation at The Detroit Film Theater, at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Tickets can be purchased online by calling 248-398-3400.
This event is being sponsored by WCCD, African-American Family, Black Women Contracting Association, Michigan Education Savings Program, DTE Energy and Book Beat. A portion of proceeds will benefit the LEFT TO TELL Charitable fund and the YES Foundation, a non-profit devoted to the promotion of literacy in our community. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Your purchase from Book Beat will help benefit the LEFT TO TELL Foundation.
In 1994, Immaculee Ilibagiza, a young Rwandan college student survived the genocide in her country by hiding in a small bathroom in the house of a Protestant priest with seven other women for 91 days.
 During this terrifying time, Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having truly discovered the meaning of unconditional love a love so strong that she was able to seek out and forgive those who murdered her family.
Four years after her ordeal, Immaculee emigrated to the United States and began working for the United Nations in New York City. She has established the Ilibagiza Foundation to help others heal from the long time effects of genocide and war.
About the book: In 1994, Rwandan native Ilibagiza was 22 years old and home from college to spend Easter with her devout Catholic family when the death of Rwanda's Hutu president sparked a three-month slaughter of nearly one million ethnic Tutsis. She survived by hiding in a Hutu pastor's tiny bathroom with seven other starving women for 91 cramped, terrifying days. This searing firsthand account of Ilibagiza's experience cuts two ways: her description of the evil that was perpetrated, including the brutal murders of her family members, is soul-numbingly devastating, yet the story of her unquenchable faith and connection to God throughout the ordeal uplifts and inspires. This book is a precious addition to the literature that tries to make sense of humankind's seemingly bottomless depravity and counterbalancing hope in an all-powerful, loving God."
- Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review, March 2006
(CBS) The genocide in Rwanda 12 years ago was the most efficient ever carried out. As correspondent Bob Simon reports, 800,000 people were slaughtered in 100 days. Thats a better rate than the Nazis ever achieved and it practically wiped out Rwandas minority tribe...Read more at 60 Minutes site: RAWANDAN GENOCIDE SURVIVOR RECALLS HORROR
"To me, Immacule was not only left to tell this mind-blowing story, but more than that, shes a living example of what we can all accomplish when we go within and choose to truly live in perfect harmony with our originating Spirit." -- Dr. Wayne Dyer. Read more of his comments at: AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY
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NOVELIST JOSEPH COULSON AT BOOK BEAT MAY 16th |
Thursday 17th 2007f May 2007 |
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NOVELIST JOSEPH COULSON READING
& BOOKSIGNING AT BOOK BEAT Detroit native Joseph Coulson will be reading from his new book OF SONG AND WATER, on WEDNESDAY, MAY 16th at 7:00 PM at the Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park, MI. Please call 248-968-1190. Praise for Joseph Coulson’s debut novel, The Vanishing Moon: “The novel at times achieves the quiet beauty of William Maxwell’s finest work—generous, episodic, elegiac but not sentimental.”—The Nation “Coulson writes with surpassing clarity and dignity . . . creating a somberly beautiful family saga.”—Booklist “The Vanishing Moon is a beautifully told story about family bonds, love, loss, and the power of memory over our lives. This is Joseph Coulson’s first novel, and I hope not his last.”—The Bloomsbury Review Joseph Coulson's first novel, The Vanishing Moon (2004), was selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program and won the Book of the Year Award, Gold Medal in Literary Fiction, from ForeWord Magazine. He currently lives in Boston. His new novel Of Song and Water was just published by ARCHIPELAGO PRESS
 Of Song and Water tells a tale of the Great Lakes, of singlehanded sailors and jazz musicians, of working-class dreams blighted by family duty, personal betrayals, and the untold violence between fathers and sons.
The story moves from the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Erie to the jazz bars of Detroit and Chicago, from 1920s Rivertown to present-day Humbug Marina, as it follows the life of Coleman Moore, a jazz guitarist who began his career with promise but who now finds himself adrift and in the company of ghosts: his mentor, a black jazz legend trying to live peacefully on the edge of a white town; his grandfather, a Prohibition rumrunner turned ruthless entrepreneur; and his first love, a clear-headed woman who refuses to live in the dark tunnels of the past. In language that evokes the riffs and rhythms of jazz and the sound and movement of the Great Lakes, Joseph Coulson's second novel is a profound Orphic journey, a story of hidden truths, unfulfilled dreams, and possible redemption.
"The jazz scenes crackle with energy and authority... Coulson moves fluidly between the past and the present, and the novel is ultimately quiet, affecting and redemptive." --Publishers Weekly “The novel itself is pervaded with the feel of jazz. Like the best of the smoky, slow-burn works, it unfolds with deceptively simple writing, the meaning and feeling building up almost unnoticed.” -- Matthew Tiffany, Quarterly Conversation
"Music and nearly magical evocations of a Midwest landscape shape Coulson’s debut, The Vanishing Moon (2004). In his second novel, he portrays a jazz guitarist with grievously injured hands and a complicated relationship with Lake Huron.... Love abandoned, violence sustained, guilt, grief, the transcendence of sailing and making music, all play in jazzlike counterpoint. Coulson's rhapsodic novel progresses from harsh equations of black and white to an exaltation of color. -- Donna Seaman, Booklist
 Joseph Coulson, novelist, poet, and playwright, was born in Detroit in 1957. His first novel, The Vanishing Moon (2004) was selected for the Barnes & Noble Great New Writers series and won the Book of the Year Award, Gold Medal in Literary Fiction, from ForeWord Magazine. Coulson is the author of three volumes of poetry: The Letting Go, A Measured Silence, and Graph. His first play, A Saloon at the Edge of the World (co-authored with William Relling, Jr.), a noir drama showcased by Theater Artists of Marin, won both popular and critical acclaim in the San Francisco Bay area. Coulson has been the recipient of a Gray Writing Fellowship (selected by Robert Creeley) and a Ph.D. in American literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo. A teacher for many years, he recently served as Editorial Director for the Great Books Foundation in Chicago. He now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Visit the author's website at: JOSEPH COULSON.COM
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From Scotland: Author K.M. Grant May 15th |
Tuesday 15th 2007f May 2007 |
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 The Book Beat is pleased to present young adult and fantasy author K. M. Grant, who will be giving a reading and autographing on Tuesday, May 15th, from 7:00-8:30 PM at the Baldwin Public Library located at 300 W. Merrill in Birmingham. The Book Beat is cosponsoring the author's visit with the Baldwin Public library. This will be Grant's first visit to the Detroit area. K. M. Grant is author of the action packed 'Granville Trilogy' which has just been completed with the newly released volume Blaze of Silver. You can purchase Blaze of Silver or her other books from Book Beat in advance, if you are unable to attend. Visit the author's website at: deGranville Trilogy to learn more about her, read interviews or participate in the author's blog.
Her books have received glowing reviews, are 'Booksense Top Ten Pics' and considered some of the best reading for young adults today. "Grant blends historical fiction with a horse story, makes it work and makes us want a promised sequel." --Chicago Tribune
"Its a story that that transcends boundaries of gender and genre." - Booklist, starred review
"A coming-of-age book in ancient mythic tradition... a ripping yarn of old." --Guardian
About the Books: Two brothers, the girl they both love, and one mythical horse take you on an epic adventure through the world of knights, fair maidens, Crusades, and courtly intrigue. In a world where a man's honor was worth dying for, and loyalty was a sacred oath, the de Granvilles must risk everything to save their family, their king, and their country.
About the Author: K.M. Grant grew up in a rambling country house in Lancashire, England. She's a journalist, author, and horse enthusiast who now lives in Glasgow, Scotland with her husband and children. At the age of fourteen, she adopted a horse named Miss Muffet who inspired the character Hosanna in her books. After the birth of her third child she returned to the University where she studied and fell in love with medieval history. "It was so full of wonderful stories of people both wicked and heroic, and horses played such an enormous part in their lives, that it was almost impossible not to write about them." In 2002 she began the Granville trilogy which has now been completed with the publication of Blaze of Silver.
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AMERICAN HERO: DIANE WILSON, TALK & BOOK SIGNING, THURS., MAY 10 |
Thursday 10th 2007f May 2007 |
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AUTHOR, PEACE ACTIVIST & AMERICAN HERO
DIANE WILSON, LIVE IN DETROIT DIANE WILSON, Author, founder of CODE PINK, Environmental & Peace Activist will speak on THURSDAY, MAY 10, at 7:00 pm in the General Lectures Building NW corner of Warren and Anthony Wayne Drive/ Third Avenue, Wayne State University Campus, in Detroit. This event is FREE and open to the public. Books will be available for signing at the event. Help us spread the word! This will be an exciting event and a great opportunity to see how one person can make a difference and truly change the world. This talk and booksigning are co-sponsored by the CENTER FOR PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES, Wayne State University and THE BOOK BEAT bookstore.
"We're losing ground. This planet is losing ground. So things need to happen and they need to happen quick. Our message should be loud and clearthere comes a time when the home needs protecting and the line needs drawing and anybody that dares cross it acts at their own peril." -- Diane Wilson
 Fourth-generation shrimper Diane Wilson had no idea how her life would change when she called a meeting in 1989 to discuss how expanding a plastics manufacturing plant might affect the environment in her coastal Texas county. She just wanted honest discussion of things anyone who lived in Calhoun County would care about: the impact of a Formosa Plastics expansion on the health of the people who lived there and on the livelihood of those who fished the bay.
Wilson couldn't know that her dog would be shot in her yard, she would become a pariah in her own community, and someone would attempt to sink her boat with her on it. She couldn't know that she, with just a high-school diploma and a dislike of chemistry, would become conversant in chemical compounds and their health risks, file her own legal briefs, and learn more about corruption of public officials than anyone wants to believe. She couldn't imagine that what she was starting was a new life path that would fortify her sense of purpose and draw international networks of support. As Wilson writes in her 2005 book, An Unreasonable Woman, "Risking one's life can be strangely liberating."
Praise about Unreasonable Woman, Diane Wilson's first book: "I believe the book will become a classic, not just of the environmental movement, but of American lit, as well. It is the rare, clear, moving voice of a working-class woman goaded into action against the greatest massed forces in the world today: globalized corporate greed backed by government power." --Molly Ivans “...An Unreasonable Woman will stand as one of this nation’s greatest works of nonfiction. I have never read a book quite like this one, and worry already that I might not yet again. This is one of the most powerful works of nonfiction I can remember reading in many years. In a cynical age, amidst such rampant loss and destruction, it’s easy to regard Diane Wilson’s book as simply a masterpiece, and to let it go at that. But we owe it more. This book inspires in us the courage to believe—to remember—we can still change the world.” —Rick Bass, award-winning author of The Hermit’s Story and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had "Texas is famous for its tall tales, but they pale in comparison to the true tale of Diane Wilson. Hers is a mind-bending story of corporate intrigue, government shenanigans and all-around political dirty tricks. This is a book about one of our greatest local heroes that could just give Texas a good name for a change." —Jim Hightower, author, Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush
Learn more about Diane Wilson's amazing odyssey at: AN UNREASONABLE WOMAN WEBSITE Read an online interview with Diane at AN UNREASONABLE WOMAN FOR THE EARTH
When Wilson told her story at the 2001 Bioneers Conference of environmental activists and scientists, she challenged listeners to become unreasonable in their defense of the Earth. A new group, Unreasonable Women for the Earth, immediately formed, and Wilson says members in eight countries supported her hunger strike against Dow Chemical. She co-founded another network of women activists, Code Pink for Peace, in 2002.
In December 2005, Wilson began serving a four-month jail sentence for civil criminal trespass when she chained herself to a Dow Chemical tower in August 2002. The jail term opened a new chapter in her activism, as she advocated for better conditions for other women imprisoned in the Victoria County jail. -- Source: AMERICANS WHO TELL THE TRUTH. Diane Wilson was one of 50 American Portraits featured in the Award winning book Americans Who Tell the Truth. "In 2001, there was a speaker at Bioneers named Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation fisherwoman from the Texas Gulf who discovered that her county was the most toxic in the country. She started educating herself and doing direct action. Through her activist work, she was able to get two zero-discharge agreements signed by multinational chemical companies.
When Diane spoke at Bioneers, she closed her remarks by paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw: "A reasonable woman adapts to the world. And an unreasonable woman makes the world adapt to her. So, I encourage you all to be unreasonable, because the world really needs us." At that, she got a huge standing ovation. All weekend long, women came up to her with tears in their eyes thanking her for what she had said. --Nina Simmons "mother of the bioneers movement" Source: CONSCIOUS ENLIGHTENMENT PUBLISHING
Thank you for your support! The Book Beat is an independent bookstore serving the Metro-Detroit area since 1982. We are located at 26010 Greenfield, in Oak Park. Please call: 248-968-1190 for more information or visit us online at:
THE BOOKBEAT.COM
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JOHN SINCLAIR & PUN PLAMONDON at BOOK BEAT, THURSDAY, May 3rd |
Thursday 03rd 2007f May 2007 |
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Join us at the Book Beat on Thursday, May 3rd at 7 PM for the reunion of two home-grown 1960s era radicals, co-founders of the White Panther Party, political activists and authors: John Sinclair & Pun Plamondon. Sinclair will read from the new reissue of GUITAR ARMY and Pun Plamondon will read from his book of memoir's LOST FROM THE OTTOWA. The Book Beat will be re-printing a new limited edition of MEDITATIONS, a work of poetry by Sinclair in homage to John Coltrane, first published by the Detroit Artists Workshop in 1966. The conspiracy trial of Plamondon & Sinclair woud reshape the Nation's wire-tapping laws in a landmark Supreme Court decision that would eventually lead to the resignation President Richard Nixon. Read a review of Guitar Armyin our 'backroom blog' at: THE LESSON OF GUITAR ARMY
Lawrence 'Pun' Plamondon has lived an incredible life from the FBI's ten most wanted to a respected Ottowa elder. Visit Pun's website at: PUN PLAMONDON There is also a good recap of Pun's incredible odyssey in a news report at: The Last Outlaw
John Sinclair has been central to the arts and politics of the Detroit area and beyond since founding the Artists Workshop in 1964. Highlights of the poet's life can be read at John Sinclair or you can follow his recent 'on the road' travels & listen to podcasts at: On the Road with John Sinclair
 | Cube images: Pun Plamondon by Leni Sinclair, Artwork by Gary Grimshaw, Cover of the new Guitar Army
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RAFE MARTIN at Oak Park Library, MONDAY, April 23rd |
Monday 23rd 2007f April 2007 |
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 Book Beat presents author and illustrator RAFE MARTIN, who will speak and autograph, Monday, April 23rd at 7:00 PM, at the Oak Park Library located at 14200 Oak Park Blvd., in Oak Park. This event is co-sponsored by the Book Beat and Oak Park Library. Rafe Martin titles can be viewed in advance now at the Book Beat. We can also take advance orders for people unable to attend. Please call 248-968-1190 for more information. UNESCO has named April 23rd as the International Day of the Book. Help us celebrate Book day together with Rafe Martin. Thank you for your support!
Rafe Martin is one of the best known storytellers in the United States. He will present his two latest books: Birdwing and The World Before This One. The Washigton Post has listed Birdwing, as "One of the Best Kids'Books" of 2005, saying, "Extraordinary... The Marvelous thing about Birdwing is that given its highly literary origins, it is so tough, colloquial, funny and moving."
--"A fairy tale adventure as inventive and soaring as Harry Potter and Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials" --Book Page, 2005
About Birdwing:Seven brothers are turned into swans, but when the spell is broken and the brothers are once again in human form, the youngest is left with a swans wing instead of an arm. Caught between the human and animal worlds, the boy grapples with loneliness and feelings of worthlessness, eventually learning to accept and even celebrate his wing. Award-winning author Rafe Martin has created a moving story about being different, and about the power that lies in embracing ourselves and our imperfections. The book is written in beautifully clear prose and is appropriate for young adults as well as anyone searching for inspirational literature.
About the Author: Rafe Martin is the author of over 20 books and the recipient of three American Library Association Notable Book Awards, Four Parent's Choice Gold Awards, two Anne Izard Storyteller's Choice Awards, an American Folklore Society Aesop's Accolade Award, several American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists," an IRA Teacher's Choice Award and many other awards of Distinction. His work has been cited in Time Magazine, Newsweek, U.S News and World Report and USA TODAY. The Women's National Book Association has honored him with their Lucille Micheels Pannell Award for his "unique creativity in bringing children and books together."
Visit RAFE MARTIN'S WEBSITE
Appearing every Monday in the Detroit News is a story by Rafe Martin, from the book Future Past: The Eagle Tales. Read the March 28th selection at Eagles Tales, Chapter Nine
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St. Jordi Day: Celebrate Love, Wine & Quality Lit at Book Beat April 22 |
Sunday 22nd 2007f April 2007 |
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 The Society of Sant Jordis La DIADA de SANT JORDI: Celebrate Books, Roses & Wine at Book Beat Sunday, April 22nd, 2007
On Sunday, April 22nd from 12 -5 pm the Society of Sant Jordi in collaboration with the Book Beat and Elie Wine Company of Royal Oak will bring the Catalonian celebration of Sant Jordi day to the metro-Detroit area.
WHAT IS IT? Every April 23rd, the streets of Barcelona, and other Catalonians cities, fill with red roses and book giving as the proud Catalonians celebrate the feast of their patron, Sant Jordi. Why does the Mediterranean city that inspired Picasso and the celebrated Catalonian architect Gaud overflow with flowers and books?
When spring is at its full power, the Barcelonans and visitors head outside to celebrate a cultural festival that merges a noble dragon slayer with the deaths of two literary lions.
The main event is the exchange of gifts between sweethearts--men give their novias roses, and women give their novios a book to celebrate the occasion. Roses have been associated with this day since medieval times, but the giving of books is a more recent marketing ploy. In 1923, a smart bookseller started to promote the holiday as a way to honour the nearly simultaneous deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare on April 23, 1616. Barcelona is the publishing capital of the Spanish-speaking world and this heady one-two punch of love and literacy was quickly adopted. Saint George is the patron saint of the six million inhabitants of Catalonia who allegedly slew a dragon about to devour a princess just south of Barcelona. Read more about the fiesta at DRAGON'S BLOOD & BOOKS- A SPRING FESTIVAL In 1995, UNESCO designated April 23rd, as International Book Day. See also the article: FIESTAS OF SPAIN: A DAY FOR LOVERS
Our friends at ELIE WINES in Royal Oak brought the first St. Jordi day celebration to Book Beat last year. It was an enthusiastic success, with Catalan poetry being read and delicious wines sampled, roses and books were joyously given away. This "World Day of the Book" with its Spanish origins and its link to romance and love, is something we at Book Beat and Elie Wines would like to continue to celebrate and promote as a yearly tradition.
This year we are opening up the tradition to ALL our customers. Help us celebrate "World Book Day" and "St. Jordi Day" this Sunday, April 22nd at 12-5 pm at Book Beat. . Buy a rose, buy a book, sample fine wine and meet people. We will have a great selection of poetry and quality literature available at bargain prices. There will be a large tent on the grounds next to the bookstore, tables filled with outstanding books, there will be poets reading, wine tasting, food, music and love in the air... celebrate Spring! FIESTA!
Photo above: Casa Batll, by Catalian architect Antonio Gaudi, completed in 1907, it is said to represent the triumph of Sant Jordi (St George) over the dragon, with roof tiles representing the dragon's back. Gaudi is one of the worlds genius architects whose masterpieces adorn Barcelona as jewels of the city.
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EARTH DAY IS APRIL 22nd |
Sunday 22nd 2007f April 2007 |
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Earth Day events are happening all over. See what you can do to help STOP GLOBAL WARMING!!
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Recent Praise for Local Independent Bookstores |
Saturday 21st 2007f April 2007 |
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On April 21st, 2007, writer Marta Salij of The Detroit Free Press recently wrote: ESCAPE THE CHAINS: Browsing the shelves has added allure in independent bookstores The following excerpt is the section about Book Beat:
Book Beat, Oak Park
"For art books -- especially non-Western art -- and new literary fiction, few stores come close to Book Beat. Be sure to look high and low on the crowded racks; treasures can be found on every shelf. The children's section goes far beyond the usual authors in chain stores, and the store stocks the very best greeting cards. Really -- the best. The only possible, tiny flaw in spending a Saturday there is that the strip mall where Book Beat is located isn't on par with the charm of some local downtowns. But you're there for the books, right? 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park, 248-968-1190. Open 10-9 Mon.-Fri, 10-7 Sat. and noon-5 Sun." Read the entire Free Press article on local Detroit area independents at:
target=_"blank"> ESCAPE THE CHAINS YES! Thank you Marta! |
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STEVEN KELLOGG AT BALDWIN LIBRARY APRIL 18th |
Wednesday 18th 2007f April 2007 |
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 Mark this date! Wednesday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m.Meet the author/illustrator Steven Kellogg in person! Kellogg will appear at the Baldwin Public Library, 300 W. Merrill in Birmingham, call 248-647-1700 for more information. Books available for purchase and signing. Limited seating. Author and illustrator Steven Kellogg is best known for his children's picture books about Pinkerton the Great Dane, his series of "color" mysteries for younger readers, and his adaptations of American legends, such as those about Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, and Mike Fink. He is applauded for his humorous texts and detailed, action-filled drawings. "One reason for the popularity Kellogg enjoys is that children sense he's laughing with them when they explore his tenderly comic, always surprising stories and pictures." More info online at BALDWIN PUBLIC LIBRARY Learn more about the author and his fabulous award-winning picture books at: STEVEN KELLOGG The Book Beat will be supplying books for this event. Stop by soon and check out Kellogg's wonderful titles beforehand. Let us know if you can't make the signing, we can arrange to have books inscribed for you. |
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POETRY WORKSHOP at Baldwin Library |
Tuesday 17th 2007f April 2007 |
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| Join children's poet Sara Holbrook Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at the Baldwin Public Library 300 W. Merrill, Birmingham. Phone 248-554-4670 to register for this event. Sara Holbrook is teh author of The Dog Ate My Homework, Wham! A Poetry Jam, and Which Way to the Dragon. The workshop will be followed by a POETRY SLAMTACULAR 7-8:00 PM. You must call to register, performance will be for grades 3rd-8th. For more information contact: Baldwin Public Library |
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EARTH CIRCLE April 14th |
Saturday 14th 2007f April 2007 |
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| Saturday, April 14th, 12-6 PM Celebrate Earth Circle: an event to honor our homes and our hearts, This Early Earthday Celebration will be held at: Plowshares Peace Center & Gallery, 33 E. Adams, Detroit, MI 48226 for more info Ph:313-963-7575 There will be a showing of 'An Inconvenient Truth' and a discussion of "What can we do?" 12:30-3 PM -- a FREE event for all ages. |
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Thomas Pynchon AGAINST THE DAY Reading Group |
Monday 09th 2007f April 2007 |
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 Book Beat will be helping sponsor a monthly or bimonthly/ occasional reading group for those interested in discussing Thomas Pynchon's epic novel AGAINST THE DAY. The next meeting will be held at Book Beat on Monday, May 21st at 7:00 PM. We wil dscuss through pages 272. If you would be interested in attending this discussion group and would like more information, please RSVP the bookstore, via phone 248-968-1190 or email. We are offering a reading group discount of 20% off on this title.
Pynchon himself describes Against the Day as 1,000 pages of "stupid songs, strange sexual practices ... obscure languages" and "contrary-to-the-fact occurrences".
Read a review of Pynchon by Ian Rankin from the Guardian at:
PYNCHON / GUARDIAN
For links to reviews in Bookforum, The Nation, The New Yorker, The Guradian, The LA Times, New York Review of Books, etc., click on: Against the Day, THE COMPLETE REVIEW "Authorial sympathy in Pynchon's novels always lies on the "transcend all questions of power,"� countercultural side of the struggle; that's where the good guys --the oddballs, dropouts, and hapless dreamers -- tend to gather. But his books also dramatize the perception that resistance to domination can develop into its own regime of domination. The tendency of extremes is to meet, and perfection in life is a false Grail, a foreclosure of possibility, a kind of death. Of binaries beware." -- Louis Menand, The New Yorker
In "Against the Day," his sixth, his funniest and arguably his most accessible novel, Thomas Pynchon doles out plenty of vertigo, just as he has for more than 40 years. But this time his fevered reveries and brilliant streams of words, his fantastical plots and encrypted references, are bound together by a clear message that others can unscramble without mental meltdown. Its import emerges only gradually, camouflaged by the sprawling absurdist jumble of themes that can only be described as Pynchonesque, over the only time frame Pynchon recognizes as real: the hours (that stretch into days) it takes to relay one of his sweeping narratives." -- Liesl Scillinger, New York Times
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Book Beat Reading Group Selection for April |
Sunday 01st 2007f April 2007 |
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The Book Beat reading group has been meeting for about the past ten years every last Wednesday of the month (except for December) to discuss quality lit from around the globe. Our focus is primarily fiction, but on occassion we read young-adult novels, art crit, history, fantasy and graphic novels. The book group is free and open to the public.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 25, at 7:00 PM. We meet at Gayles' Chocolates on Washington Street in Royal Oak. We will be discussing An Unreasonable Woman by Diane Wilson
"For the American environmental movement, An Unreasonable Woman could not come at a better time. Citizens across the political spectrum are growing alarmed at the Bush administration's rollback of protective legislation for water, air and national parks. This book does for environmentalism what All the President's Men did for government reform. Watch for the movie." --San Diego Union-Tribune
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
When Diane Wilson, fourth-generation shrimp-boat captain and mother of five, learns that she lives in the most polluted county in the United States, she decides to fight back. She launches a campaign against a multibillion-dollar corporation that has been covering up spills, silencing workers, flouting the EPA, and dumping lethal ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride into the bays along her beloved Texas Gulf Coast.
In an epic tale of bravery, Wilson takes her fight to the courts, to the gates of the chemical plant, and to the halls of power in Austin. Along the way she meets with scorn, bribery, character assassination, and death threats. Finally Wilson realizes that she must break the law to win justice: She resorts to nonviolent disobedience, direct action, and hunger strikes.
Wilson’s vivid South Texas dialogue resides somewhere between Alice Walker and William Faulkner, and her dazzling prose brings to mind the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, replete with dreams and prophecies.
Visit CHELSEA GREEN/ UNREASONABLE WOMAN for pictures, blog posts, radio interviews, podcasts and new artcles on Diane Wilson's Peace Activism.
Stay Tuned: The Book Beat will be hosting a book signing for Diane Wilson on May 10th, the time and place TBA. This book can be purchased from us online at: An Unresonable Woman We can accept orders in advance for signed and inscribed copies now.
"...An Unreasonable Woman will stand as one of this nation's greatest works of nonfiction. I have never read a book quite like this one, and worry already that I might not yet again. This is one of the most powerful works of nonfiction I can remember reading in many years. In a cynical age, amidst such rampant loss and destruction, it's easy to regard Diane Wilson's book as simply a masterpiece, and to let it go at that. But we owe it more. This book inspires in us the courage to believe --to remember --we can still change the world."
--Rick Bass, award-winning author of The Hermit's Story and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had
"What a terrific book. I don't often gush, but this book had me fascinated from the first page and whomper-jawed half the time. A voice like Diane Wilson's - working class woman with five kids - is so rare. For one thing, if you have five kids and a job, not to mention a battle with an international chemical company on your hands, it's hard to get around to writing. And to write this well is a stunning achievement."
-- MOLLY IVINS, Nationally syndicated political columnist and author, most recently, of "Who Let the Dogs In?" |
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YA AUTHOR LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON, Southfield Library, March 26 |
Monday 26th 2007f March 2007 |
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 Book Beat is pleased to present award winning young adult author Laurie Halse Anderson who will speak and autograph books at the Southfield Public Library on Monday, March 26th, from 7:00-8:30 P.M. The Southfield Public Library is located at 26300 Evergfreen in Southfield. Anderson's new book TWISTED will be available along with her backlist titles. This event is co-sponsored by the Book Beat along with the Southfield Public Library.
�Laurie Halse Anderson is the undisputed bard of suburban American high school society. Chillingly, TWISTED takes 21st Century technology and smashes it into timeless issues of alienation and betrayal to illustrate how a young person's life can be mangled at breakneck speed. Reality may bite, but perception just might tear you to shreds. The last line of defense for our hero is the same as it's always been � character.� � Chris Lynch, National Book Award Finalist and author of the Michael L. Printz Honor Book, Freewill,
ABOUT TWISTED: High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background�average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn�t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father�s boss�s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy�and Tyler�s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world. In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler�s pitchperfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author�s award-winning, widely read work.
Laurie Halse Anderson, the award-winning and New York Times best-selling author of Speak and Prom tackles a very controversial subject in her latest young adult novel, TWISTED (Viking Children�s Books .99; Ages 12 and up): what it means to be a good man in today�s world. A darkly funny portrayal of the pitfalls of teenage notoriety, the story follows the senior year of Tyler Miller, a young man with a recent reputation for troublemaking which draws both bullies and queen bees into his social orbit � with both farcical and poignant results.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of Speak, arguably one of the most important young adult novels published in the past decade. A tough, tender, yet wryly amusing story of a teenage outcast, the book garnered wonderful reviews and multiple honors and awards, and was made into a movie starring Steve Zahn, Elizabeth Perkins and D. B. Sweeney. Speak was a National Book Award Finalist, a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book for excellence in young adult literature, and was named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, School Library Journal and Horn Book. Laurie�s other young adult books include ALA Best Book for Young Adult winners Catalyst and Fever 1793, and the New York Times best-selling novel, Prom. Learn more about the author at: LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON"
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CALDECOTT HONOR ARTIST & AUTHOR SIGNING AT BOOK BEAT |
Thursday 15th 2007f February 2007 |
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 Author/Illustrator Brian Selznick made a last minute unplanned stop at the Book Beat this Valentine's Day and signed all our stock of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a charming and wonderful "Novel in Words and Pictures."You can purchase a signed first edition of this future classic, (while supplies last) at the store or from our online shop, click : THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET Read our review of this masterful book in the Backroom: CINEMATIC TOUR OF GENIUS The beginning of the story called The Invention of Hugo Cabret unfurls like a miniature silent film — even though it is a book, written and illustrated by Brian Selznick.
The opening pages of the children's book don't have any words, just black-and-white drawings on a black page. In fact, finely detailed pencil drawings — unaccompanied by text — fill more than half the book's 500-plus pages.
Selznick, a well-known illustrator, has employed an experimental form in Hugo Cabret: He says the pictures pick up where the prose leaves off — and propel the story forward.
Listen to an NPR interview at THE INTIMATE CINEMATIC WORLD OF HUGO CABRET |
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RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK FEB. 12-18 |
Monday 12th 2007f February 2007 |
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 You cannot do an act of kindness to soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Random Acts of Kindness week is February 12-18th. At the Acts of Kindness site you can create a community website (there are 785 in Michigan), read discussion boards, gain inspiration, share ideas and learn how to pass kindness onto others. Become a member, it is all offered free of charge.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation inspires people to practice kindness and to pass it on to others. We provide free educational and community ideas, guidance, and other resources to kindness participants through our website at www.actsofkindness.org.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is the United States delegate to the World Kindness Movement, an organization that includes various nations. People in these countries promote kindness within their countries' borders and are creating a global network of kindness and compassion.
As people from different cultures and from all walks of life are joining to spread kindness, they are creating a powerful, synergistic action throughout the world. Please join us in bringing kindness and compassion to our local and global communities!   |
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Chinese Artist & Illustrator YongSheng Xuan at Book Beat |
Sunday 11th 2007f February 2007 |
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 The well-known Chinese artist-illustrator YongSheng Xuan will appear at the Book Beat on Sunday, February 11th, from 3:00-4:00 PM, and will be available to autograph books and prints. In a special pre-Chinese New Year celebration, a selection of Mr. YongSheng's artwork will be on display and for sale in the Book Beat gallery. This exhibition has been extended through the month of March. This event is free and open to all ages. Please call 248-968-1190 for more information.
YongSheng Xuan is a multi-talented artist born in Shanghai, China in 1952, and educated at the renowned at the Central Arts and Crafts University in Beijing. Xuan has been widely praised for his ability to bridge cultural gaps with his unique and compelling style. His work includes the award winning titles The Laziest Boy in the World, Ten Suns: A Chinese Legend, and The Rooster's Antlers: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac. He is also the illustrator of the successful Ying Chang Compestine series which includes; The Story of Chopsticks, The Story of Noodles, The Story of Kites and The Story of Paper.
Xuan came of age during the cultural revolution in China when his father, an architect and designer, was imprisoned for three years beginning in 1966. Xuan's love of art also came from his grandfather, a well-known folk art craftsman. "I would spend hours watching my grandfather work... I was so fascinated that I couldn't help offering to help.... He would make a rabbit lantern or a kite for us... I've never met anyone that matched my grandpa's talents." Vist Xuan's website at: YongSheng Xuan - Illustrator and Artist |
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Poetry Reading Sunday, January 28th at Book Beat |
Sunday 28th 2007f January 2007 |
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 Please join us at Book Beat, Sunday, January 28th at 2PM. for an afternoon of poetry with Mariela Griffor, Anca Vlasopolos and Terry Blackhawk. We are very happy to present Mariela's first collection of poetry EXILIANA.
Live, love and fight with the same fervor of those
who know that life at any moment can go extinct."
excerpt from "Love in a Time of War," Exiliana.
Mariela Griffor was born in the city of Concepcion in southern Chile. She attended the University of Santiago and the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Griffor left Chile for an involuntary exile in Sweden in 1985. She and her American husband returned to the United States in 1998 with their two daughters. They live in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. She is co-founder of The Institute for Creative Writers at Wayne State University and Publisher of . Her work has appeared in periodicals across Latin America and the United States. Griffor Holds a B.A in Journalism and an M.A. in Communications from Wayne State University. She will be reading from her first book Exiliana on sale now at the Bookbeat. Read an interview with Mariela at The Detroiter.Com Mariela Griffor Interview Read the December 20th, 2006 cover story of the Metro Times that featured the article: An Exile's tale of Christmas by Mariela Griffor.
In her collection of poetry, EXILIANA, Mariela Griffor expresses her innermost thoughts in words of not her mother tongue in rich, beautiful, passionate verse unlike any other documentary or memoir produced that reflects upon the devastation, loss and casualties- both mortally and emotionally -- of civil unrest. Griffor's first loss was her fiance. Her second loss was after her and her unborn child's quick and subsequent flight out of Chile to escape the threat of her own arrest. As a 24-year-old woman, she took haven in Sweden, a land of cold and endless nights, where she was left to ponder the "what-ifs" of an abruptly aborted romance, the welfare of her family and friends, the fate of her FPMR compatriots, and the land of mountains and eucalyptus she had always known as home. Even in the privileged and exclusive community of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., which she now calls home, Griffor's heart and soul remains in exile.
 Anca Vlasopolos has published a detective novel, a memoir, various short stories, over 200 poems, the forthcoming poetry collection Penguins in a Warming World, and the forthcoming non-fiction novel:The New Bedford Samuari. She will be reading at Book Beat from her new collection of poetry Penguins in a Warming World. In these 66 poems, Anca Vlasopolos describes life and loss, ecology and extinction, in heart-breakingly beautiful images that cause readers to catch their breath at every line. The subject matter ranges from nature, both beautiful and blighted, to blighted urban areas like Detroit (sometimes beautiful in their blight), to characters (actual, fictional, mythological), to the poet's mother. Like all good poetry, it explores the human condition; like all great poetry, it offers insights into that condition that surprise the reader with a truth suddenly revealed. Sample Anca's poetry now from these links at: ANCA VLASOPOLOS HOME INDEX
Anca Vlasopolos was born in 1948 in Bucharest, Rumania. After a sojourn in Paris and Brussels, at fourteen she immigrated to the United States with her mother, a prominent Rumanian intellectual and a survivor of Auschwitz. Anca is a professor of English and comparative Literature at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She is married to Anthony Ambrogio, a writer and editor; they have a biological daughter, Olivia, and an adopted daughter, Beatriz, who came to them from Guatemala in 2000 when she was 10. Anca Vlasopolos is one of Detroits finest poets. Her poems reach out to the greater world of art and literature while she maintains a rich urban perspective and spirit." M.L. Liebler
 Terry Blackhawks poetry collections include Trio: Voices from the Myths (Ridgeway Press); Body & Field, (MSU Press); Escape Artist (BkMk Press), winner of the 2002 John Ciardi Prize; and a Greatest Hits chapbook from Pudding House Press. Blackhawks poems have appeared in many journals with reviews of her books in Calyx, Poet Lore, Booklist, ForeWord and American Book Review. In 1992-1993 she received a National Endowment for the Humanities sabbatical award to study Emily Dickinson and later published several articles in An Emily Dickinson Encyclopedia (Greenwood Press).
In 1995 she founded InsideOut Literary Arts Project, a writer in schools organization. She has received the Foley Poetry Prize, an artist-in-residence grant from Michigan Council for the Arts, the Michigan Governors Award for Arts Education, a Detroit Metro Times Progressive Hero Award and the United Black Artists Pioneering Teacher in the Arts Award. Terry Blackhawk is a graduate of Antioch College and serves on the board of its alumni association. She holds a Ph.D. in Reading and Language Arts Education from Oakland University and is a founding board member of WITSA, the national Writers in the Schools Alliance. She is releasing her book The Dropped Hand published by Marick Press, this April. Read an interview with the author at BkMk Press Interview with Terry Blackhawk
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Premier Showing of Through the Same Door: Inclusion Includes College, Jan. 21st at BHS |
Sunday 21st 2007f January 2007 |
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Join our community in the Premier Showing of Through The Same Door:Inclusion Includes College, A film by Paul Rosen Winner of the 2006 TASH Image Award for the Positive Portrayal of People with Disabilities
Sunday, January 21, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.
Berkley High School Auditorium, 2325 Catalpa (SE corner of 11½ mile and Coolidge)Berkley, MI 48237
This new film documents the journey of a Berkley School District student and his community as they challenge us to re-examine what we believe possible. Micah Fialka-Feldman wanted to go to college. Micah has a cognitive disability. Micah attends Oakland University. Come see how it happened and learn how it’s done.
Who is invited? Family, friends, advocates, professionals, students, parents . . . anyone who hopes to create an inclusive community.What will happen? The program includes viewing the 25-minute film followed by brief remarks from Elizabeth Bauer, State Board of Education member, on why universal education works for all of us.
Informal opportunities to network and learn (or just schmooze): Local agencies and advocacy groups will share resources and materials. Many people who have been involved in Micah’s journey will be available to share what they have learned as well.
To order your copy of the DVD visit: THROUGH THE SAME DOOR For more information: Dance of PartnershipRich Feldman & Janice Fialka at ruaw@aol.com or 248.546.4870
Co-sponsored by:Berkley Schools, Everyone Together, Dance of Partnership and United Cerebral Palsy: Metro Detroit
“This video shows us living, breathing inclusion in action. A must-see for all students, teachers, parents & the community. I plan to show it to all of the future teachers. Thank you for making this film. We all need it.” –Mara Sapon-Shevin, Ed.D. Syracuse University.
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I HAVE A DREAM : Honor Dr. King |
Monday 15th 2007f January 2007 |
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 Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, view and write your own vision of peace at PEACEPOD Just finish the statement by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with your own thought : "I Have a dream.." and share it with others. Peace to all, celebrate peace. Visit THE KING CENTER and listen to speeches, tributes and learn more about Dr. King's legacy.
"Every King holiday has been a national "teach-in" on the values of nonviolence, including unconditional love, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, which are so desperately-needed to unify America. It is a day of intensive education and training in Martin�s philosophy and methods of nonviolent social change and conflict-reconciliation. The Holiday provides a unique opportunity to teach young people to fight evil, not people, to get in the habit of asking themselves, "what is the most loving way I can resolve this conflict?"
On the King holiday, young people learn about the power of unconditional love even for one's adversaries as a way to fight injustice and defuse violent disputes. It is a time to show them the power of forgiveness in the healing process at the interpersonal as well as international levels.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not only for celebration and remembrance, education and tribute, but above all a day of service. All across America on the Holiday, his followers perform service in hospitals and shelters and prisons and wherever people need some help. It is a day of volunteering to feed the hungry, rehabilitate housing, tutoring those who can't read, mentoring at-risk youngsters, consoling the broken-hearted and a thousand other projects for building the beloved community of his dream.
Dr. King once said that we all have to decide whether we "will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. Life's most persistent and nagging question, he said, is `what are you doing for others?'" he would quote Mark 9:35, the scripture in which Jesus of Nazareth tells James and John "...whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant; and whosoever among you will be the first shall be the servant of all." And when Martin talked about the end of his mortal life in one of his last sermons, on February 4, 1968 in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, even then he lifted up the value of service as the hallmark of a full life. "I'd like somebody to mention on that day Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others," he said. "I want you to say on that day, that I did try in my life...to love and serve humanity. -- from the King Center.org
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Happy New Year Peace Pilgrim |
Tuesday 02nd 2007f January 2007 |
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 Peace Pilgrim 1908-1981
From 1953 to 1981 a silver haired woman calling herself only "Peace Pilgrim" walked more than 25,000 miles on a personal pilgrimage for peace. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." In the course of her 28 year pilgrimage she touched the hearts, minds, and lives of thousands of individuals all across North America. Her message was both simple and profound. It continues to inspire people all over the world.
"This is the way of peace:
Overcome evil with good,
and falsehood with truth,
and hatred with love."
....Peace Pilgrim
There are video, text and audio documentaries available on line at Peace Pilgrim Learn more about this fascinating woman and her crusade for peace. "Never underestimate the power of a loosely knit group working for a good cause. All of us who work for peace together, all of us who pray for peace together, are a small minority, but a powerful spiritual fellowship. Our power is beyond our numbers." -- Peace Pilgrim
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Tracy Gallup King Cat Paintings opens Saturday, 6-9 PM, Nov. 25th |
Saturday 25th 2006f November 2006 |
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 A reception for artist Tracy Gallup will be held at the Book Beat on Saturday night, November 25th from 6-9 PM. We are very pleased to present a collection of new Tracy Gallup paintings that illustrate her newly published book King Cat. We will have copies of King Caton hand, that can be inscribed and personalized. We will also have a special in-store live appearance by the ghost painter for Mr. Petticomb, (a character featured in King Cat.) This is a great opportunity to give a beautiful and personalized gift, or to that special cat lover on your holiday gift list. The exhibition will continue at the Book Beat gallery through January 31st, 2007.
Tracy Gallup has worked as an artist for twenty-six years after receiving a BFA degree from Eastern Michigan University and a MFA degree from Syracuse University. She has designed a line of dolls which have been sold at gallery, boutiques and museum shops across the country. She is also the illustrator of The Beastly Banquet, published by Dial Books in 1997. Ms. Gallup's book, King Cat, is a magical and imaginative journey into the mind of those precious and miniature kings of our backyard jungles. King Cat is a small gem of an art book that will be a treasured addition for children's book collectors, cat fanciers and a favorite storytime book for a child's bedtime. Signed copies can be pre-ordered from our online shop at King Cat. You can also call us at 248/968-1190 to reserve signed or inscribed copies before the event.
Ms. Gallup will be releasing three new books with Mackinac Island Press in the spring of 2007 and is quickly garnering national attention and comparisons to some of the classic author/illustrators of children's books.
Preview the book King Cat now at King Cat Preview
Read more about the art of Tracy Gallup in our backroom blog: The Art of Tracy Gallup |
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Christopher Paul Curtis YA Book Signing Wednesday, Nov. 15th |
Wednesday 15th 2006f November 2006 |
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www.christopherpaulcurtis.com
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 Newbery Award winning author Christopher Paul Curtis will be speaking and signing at Pierce Middle School Auditorium in Grosse Pointe on Wednesday, November 15th at 7:00 PM. Advanced registration and FREE tickets are required for admission. You may pick up tickets in person at Book Beat or at any branch of the Grosse Pointe Public Libraries. Book Beat will be suppling books for this event. You may preview and purchase titles at Book Beat in advance if you cannot attend in person. Call 248/968-1190 for more information.
Winner of both the Newbery Award and the Coretta Scott King Medal, Christopher Paul Curtis has become one of the most important voices in children's literature today. His new book, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money is available now!
Born in Flint, Michigan, Christopher Paul Curtis spent his first 13 years after high school on the assembly line of Flints historic Fisher Body Plant #1. His job entailed hanging car doors, and it left him with an aversion to getting into and out of large automobilesparticularly big Buicks.
Curtiss writingand his dedication to ithas been greatly influenced by his family members, particularly his wife, Kaysandra. With grandfathers like Earl Lefty Lewis, a Negro Baseball League pitcher, and 1930s bandleader Herman E. Curtis, Sr., of Herman Curtis and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, it is easy to see why Christopher Paul Curtis was destined to become an entertainer.
Christopher Paul Curtis made an outstanding debut in childrens literature with The Watsons Go to Birmingham1963. His second novel, Bud, Not Buddy, is the first book ever to receive both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Author Award.
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Storytellers in Birmingham Tuesday, Nov. 14th |
Tuesday 14th 2006f November 2006 |
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 Once Upon a Time will be an an enchanted evening event with area writers and storytellers including Wong Herbert Yee, Tracy Gallup, Jim Benton, Denise Rogers and more. Join us TUESDAY, November 14th from 7:00-9:00 PM at the Community House, 380 South Bates Street in Birmingham. There will be snacks, a roaring fire, storytelling and lots of great books at this pre-holiday celebration of storytelling and the art of the children's book. Shop for children's books, puppets and storytelling gift ideas. Meet Michigan authors who will be on hand to sign books. Relax and listen to stories by the StoryTellers Guild, Cash Wine bar and cheese and fruit table. Cosponsored by The Stortellers Guild and Book Beat. For further information call 248/644-5832 or the Book Beat at 248/968-1190. |
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Newbery Award Winner Linda Sue Park |
Monday 13th 2006f November 2006 |
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 Linda Sue Park will be in the Detroit area for a brief visit and will sign books for Book Beat customers while she is here. This is a wonderful opportunity for families and collectors to purchase signed books by an acclaimed Newbery Award-Winning Author. Books make great gift giving ideas! To reserve your personalized copies we must have the order in before Monday November 13th, to order, simply stop by, call us or request a PDF order form and we will email you a copy ASAP. Vist the authors website and learn mre about her books at: Linda Sue Park |
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Gary D. Schmidt YA Author Monday, November 13th |
Monday 13th 2006f November 2006 |
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 Meet "Battle of the Books" author Gary D. Schmidt Monday, November 13th at 7:00 PM at Seaholm Little Theater, 2436 W. Lincoln Road, in Birmingham. Gary is the winner of two prestigious book awards for children and young adult literature: 2005 Newbery Honor Book, 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book. He is the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Schmidt will be disussing how this incredible story came to be written, answering your questions and sharing writing tips. This event is co-sponsored by the Birmingham School district and the Friends of the Baldwin Public Library. Books will be provided by the Book Beat.
If you would like to purchase signed and personalized books for gift giving, please contact the Book Beat at 248/968-1190 and our friendly staff will be able to take your order over the phone.
Book Description: It only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town will let him forget that he's a minister's son, even if he doesn't act like one. But then he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves. Despite his father's-and the town's-disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie, and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine's rocky coast. The two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner's father, want to force the people to leave Lizzie's island so that Phippsburg can start a lucrative tourist trade there. Turner gets caught up in a spiral of disasters that alter his life-but also lead him to new levels of acceptance and maturity. This sensitively written historical novel, based on the true story of a community's destruction, highlights a unique friendship during a time of change. |
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Nov. 4th: Marlene Dietrich Celebration With J.David Riva |
Saturday 04th 2006f November 2006 |
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 Join us at the Southfield Public Library on Saturday, November 4th from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. when Book Beat will present a special program in celebration of the Marlene Dietrich, one of the most glamorous and brilliant Hollywood movie stars and entertainers. Dietrich's grandson, J. David Riva will present his book of interviews: A Women at War: Marlene Dietrich Remembered, a beautiful new 192 page illustrated book celebrating a side of Dietrich seldom seen. There will also be a short selection of movie clips presented from some of Dietrich's most famous films. This program is cosponsored by the Book Beat and the Southfield Public Library. The Southfield library is located at 26300 Evergreen Road, Southfield, Michigan 48076. Please call Book Beat at 248-968-1190 or more information or to reserve a book.
Marlene Dietrich's conflicted personal journey from Berliner to American soldier during World War II is as intense as any role she played on-screen and perhaps accounts for her ability to inspire so many through drama and song. In this collection of interviews and photographs, the many facets of Dietrich’s personality and of her life during World War II are recounted by those whose lives she touched, including Rosemary Clooney, Burt Bacharach, Cher, Hildegard Knef, and Maria Riva. Together with extensive historical documentation, these interviews help readers understand Dietrich's inner struggles and private motivation as well as her political and social legacy.
Each interview affords the reader a "mini-documentary" of the time period when that individual first came into contact with the actress. From the front lines of battle to concert halls, from film studios to Dietrich's kitchen, we see her in many environments and gain a perspective on her character, political views, and taste for nonconformity. In stories recounted by American GIs, studio heads, Nazi hunters, and fellow entertainers she publicly decries Nazism, helps a military journalist’s career, sings a German lullaby for an Israeli audience, and cooks a steak for a young songwriter. Many photos are included to bring the interviews to life.
International filmmaker and documentarian J. David Riva produced, directed, and conducted all of the interviews that appear in this book. He is the grandson of Marlene Dietrich.
A special screening of THE BLUE ANGEL will be held at 8:00 pm the DFT on Thursday, November 2nd, with a book reception held from 6-7 pm. For details Detroit Institute of Arts
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International Day of Peace Sept., 21, 2006 |
Friday 01st 2006f September 2006 |
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 The International Day of Peace is Thursday, September 21st, 2006. It is a world day recognized by the United Nations. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm was the sixth governor to recognize this day. Please forward this information to anyone you think would like to celebrate this day. Thank you and Be in Peace.
Southfield Peace Center: The Peace Center will have a 24 Hour prayer vigil beginning @ 6:00 a.m. 4x6 cards of peace submitted by the congregration will be read with prayers. Noon - Prayers, rededication of Peace Pole, and ringing of bells. 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. A documentary "Reuniting the Children of Abraham" will be shown followed by discussion and raction . Christians, Muslims and Jews will be in attendance. 54 churches in the Detroit West District are encouraged via an Annual Conference resolution to also observe the day.
Visit the Southfield Peace Center
At the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, MI, 9/21/2006
Start Time: 7:00 PM., Corinne Stavish shares captivating tales from around the world. Special appearance by St. James Episcopal Children's Choire. Free tickets in the Youth Room. Baldwin LIbrary is located at 300 W. Merrill, Birmingham, ph: 248-554-4670. The Baldwin library will have a week long peace celebration, for more info visit their website. Baldwin Library
What can you do for peace? JOIN THE COUNTDOWN
TO HUMANITY'S FIRST GLOBAL HOLIDAY
An ever-expanding number of people worldwide, representing a wide variety of religious and spiritual traditions, have committed to the task of working with other like-minded individuals and groups for an International Day of Peace Vigil with the following objective:
"To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September 2006 in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world."
This global 24-hour spiritual observation for peace is meant to demonstrate the power of prayer and other spiritual practices in promoting peace and preventing violent conflict. These worldwide spiritual observances will also help raise public awareness of the International Day of Peace and directly support the establishment of a global ceasefire. Individuals and groups are invited to support this worldwide initiative by committing to hold a 24-hour vigil on 21 September 2006.
Please register your commitment on the International Day of Peace Vigil website at Peace Vigil Website
Also Visit :International Day of Peace
Another peace link at: Peace One Day Join the Peacetrain!
Visions of Peace 2006
What is happening in your city? Visit: Peace Day in Michigan peace illustration by Tracy Gallup, 2006.
Peace Dove puppet flying at Dearborn Schools, photo by Wendy Sample.
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!! |
Tuesday 22nd 2006f August 2006 |
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| Can you spare 2 hours a week to help a child? 40% of America's third graders do not read at grade level... Join the the Detroit Jewish Coalition for Literacy (DJCL) and help us reverse this trend. For more information about volunteering, contact DJCL Project Coordinator Phyllis Jarvis at: 248-642-5393 ext. 8 or e-mail jarvis@jfmd.org. |
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Blue Balliet & Book Beat Interviewed on WDET |
Sunday 28th 2006f May 2006 |
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On Sunday, May 28th, Celeste Headlee of W-DET public radio, interviewed author Blue Balliett ( The Wright 3 and Chasing Vermeer) and Colleen Kammer from Book Beat. Here is a link to the program "Front Row Center." When you get there (at the WDET "Front Row Center" site) click down to Sunday 5-28-06, and press listen : FRONT ROW CENTER
We still have signed copies of The Wright 3 and Chasing Vermeer, if you're interested the can be purchased from us online at: THE WRIGHT THREE and also at CHASING VERMEER We also are stocking some wonderful 3-D pentominoes (which are featured in The Wright 3 Pentominoes are great learning skill toy/tools that will help in improving problem solving, perspective, art design and mathematics, suitable for all ages. These high quality pentominoe
cubes can also be seen or bought from us online at: 3-D PENTOMINOES |
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