What Dread is a little chapbook with big ideas, great sensitivity and boundless wonder. Zilka Joseph’s last book, Lands I Live In, looked inward to her cultural identity and what it means to experience the duality of being from two different places: the U.S. and India. 

This new collection sets its gaze outward as it contemplates oceans, wild animals and warrior women.  Sometimes witty and sharp as the tooth of one of her tigers, other times ruthlessly piercing as the scorpion’s sting, Joseph is one of those who writes poems because she must. In her verses, there’s a palpable struggle. Each shining line is hard won, not only through work and examination, but also by a mad and fearless search for truth. 

Still, there’s a beautiful friction, a different kind of duality in these poems, as Joseph’s identification with what is untamed and wild is illuminated by the mythological glow of goddesses and the transcendent glories of love.

 A mix of romance, feminism, dream and archetype, What Dread is a tiny door into vast and “wild places.”

You can click here to purchase the book through Amazon.  You can also use the comments to ask any questions that you may have for the author, and I will forward them on to her.

Upon discussion of the comic, it is often decided that the form is to be considered lesser than, a genre for children or the regressed adult. Such names as Frank Miller, Alan Moore and R. Crumb are left out during study of both artistic and literary classics, although their works have been considered as such by a small but devoted audience.   The focus here is the connection between and of the visual arts and the printed word, with one which we are current. Instead of the turning of the page, we are clicking our way through our experiences of the two.   “Serious” conversation and analysis of comics is typically confined to the internet forums of retainer-hindered basement dwellers, bickering over the rendering of Wonder Women’s tits.    Images are received as stimuli; our unconscious mind first perceives the whole, eliciting the emotional response felt when viewing art.    It is after these reactions subside that we are able to begin an individual analysis of their parts, marking the beginning of consciousness.   These two reactions occur milliseconds apart, but they are distinct processes.   In an attempt to create space between the two, local enthusiasts have gathered monthly to facilitate a discussion of the graphic novel, creating an environment where the criticism of art and literature come together in the Nerdy Book Club, an event held by Ferndale’s Detroit Comics.

The small façade, sitting north of Marshall on the south side of Woodward holds monthly gatherings discussing titles chosen by the members of the group.  Greeted by Brian Kelly, co-owner of the shop with his wife Lori, we were directed to two folding tables centered between the Superman red walls and the continuous racks of titles neatly organized on black metal grids.  A cooler of beer sat adjacent and the table was stocked with cookies and other homemade edibles.   As we scanned the ink and print of hundreds of titles, recalling our affection we felt as strangers amongst friends and were quickly welcomed by the diverse crowd for a discussion of Kyle Baker and Robert Morales’ “Truth: Red White and Black”.  As the sharpie fumes from the nametags filled our sinuses, the December meeting of the Nerdy Book Club commenced, beginning with a round of introductions. Tonight’s moderator, a man going by “El Presidente”, his mouth full of celery and carrots, opened with criticism of the artwork which resembled the gait of a warming horse.

In the years leading up to World War 2 in Tuskegee, Alabama the U.S. Public Health Service conducted a series of experiments on the natural progression of untreated syphilis among impoverished black sharecroppers. These men were never told they had the disease nor treated despite the discovery of penicillin as an effective cure. The experiments raised serious ethical concerns which resulted in the informed consent and proper reporting of results which are uniform in any modern study. These events were the historical basis for “Truth”. Steve Rogers, Captain America, was a Superhero created from a military created super-serum, an advanced solider born during the struggle against the Nazis. However, this serum was not untested. A squadron of black soldiers was the first experimental subjects as the serum was perfected. All but one did not survive the process and only Isaiah Bradley was successfully enhanced thus becoming the first Captain America, a Truth.

The subject matter of the novel allowed for a candid discussion of race amongst the diverse room. The self proclaimed Nerds then began on topic which all had an opinion. One member of the group, Dr. Fritsch, fresh off the acceptance of his dissertation, expressed the difficulty in obtaining black participants in non-invasive surveys. Without the environment of the club, this sentiment may have never surfaced, a reflection of the public’s reluctance to confront cultural differences which elicited a response from all members of the group. Personal recounts of being discriminated against and the consequences of living in a racially homogenous culture were related as the audience learned from the differing experiences of their peers. We were on our second beer, the cookie tray had been nearly emptied and the atmosphere was light and friendly despite the seriousness of the subject. The idea of a paranoid culture in America was presented by one of the women in the group, explaining how due to decades of institutionalized racism, the black community, stories abound, had lost faith in the establishments of the State. This stood in contrast with another member who, by living in a rural community, had little experience outside his culture which created an ignorance of the tensions prevalent elsewhere. The topic was unreal to his world.

“What World are you living in?” was the response to this naivety. The room understood the quip and chuckled in understanding.

The allotted time had passed quickly and El Presidente signaled that now was the time for the final round robin of questions. This time, we were prompted to name our favorite black superhero and to state whether our opinion of the book had changed through discussion. Somewhat unfamiliar with superheroes in general, we both independently arrived at Lando Calrissian. For the record, Daniel has expressed a desire to change his answer to Geordi La Forge. The Detroit Comics Nerdy Book Club had succeeded in discussing the graphic novel as an important work of literature and art focused on an area often difficult to analyze. As we left, we felt lucky to have sat in on this club and its small subculture.

The next meeting is January 21st from 7-9pm to discuss Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea and on that date, Avengers Assemble!

Detroit Comics is located at 23333 Woodward Ave. Ferndale, MI. More information can be found at http://www.detroitcomics.com

Dan and John publish Le Jolie Rogue, a quarterly independent publication of artistic expression covering  literature, the visual arts or any other form of printed expression.

Dreams fascinate. We think about them. We tell our friends about them. We try to assign meaning, believing that hidden somewhere within them is a little key to who we are. If we could just understand the damn things we might find that lost wallet or the secret to why we don’t like cilantro. Who knows, we might find God!

To dive deeper, Public Pool asked eight writers, thinkers and entrepreneurs to journal their dreams. We then asked eight artists to respond to these dreams, using them as a springboard for their own visual translation.

Nocturnal Translations details our dreamers, their dreams and the artists who have worked hard to render them. Join us on opening night and see the results.

ARTISTS / DREAMERS
Glenn Barr / Muffy Kroha
Nina Bianchi / Toby Barlow
Faina Lerman / Sarah Peters
Clinton Snider / Mitch Cope
Andy Krieger / Steve Cherry
Elliot Earls / Steve Hughes
Anne Harrington Hughes / Torya Blanchard
Nicola Kuperus / Phillip Cooley

Dreamy food and a finely brewed beer provide by the good folks at Traffic Jam.

Public Pool
3309 Caniff St.
Hamtramck, MI

At Pontiac’s Creative Arts Center from May 1 to May 15, 2010
The reception will be held on Saturday, May 1 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Exposed: The Art of Getting Published is a multi-media exhibit hosting the works of John Cohassey and Steven Mitchell. The reception is a “meet and greet” artist event. John and Steven will conduct a question and answer session exposing methods they employed to become published in the world of art.

Since the early 1990s, John Cohassey, has written music CD liner notes, and over fifty entries on blues and jazz for Gale Research Inc.  His articles have appeared in the Detroit News as well as trade jazz and blues magazines. His first book, Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson (Wayne State University Press, 1998), which chronicled the glory years of Black Detroit, won an award of merit from the Historical Society of Michigan. John was also a consultant for the History Channel’s 2007 documentary, Hippies. In 2008 John published his second book American Cultural Rebels:  Avant-garde and Bohemian Artists, Writers and Musicians from the 1850s through the 1960s (McFarland Co. Inc.).

Steven Mitchell began his photography career in 2003.  His “Off the Wall” collections are known industry-wide and sold in national-chain department stores as well as through independent retailers.  Steven’s images are the blending of media.  They are “a recipe of flavors and colors found in the world around us.  I blend and knead the various elements of the art world that result in an explosion of the senses,” stated Mitchell.  Steven recently began Mindgasmz, a GREEN greeting card collection sold Michigan-wide. The cards pair Steven’s “Off the Wall” photographer with his “Off the Wall” sense of humor.  They project a delicious slice of life without the calories.

The Creative Art Center is located at 47 Williams Street in Pontiac, one block south of Huron (M59) and one block west of Woodward Avenue southbound.  There is free, lighted parking in the Center’s lot on pike Street, behind the Center.

Spring art classes can breathe new creativity into life, or help one retool for a career transition. Underscoring that the BBAC provides “art for all,” the spring roster includes 153 classes for adults as well as children as young as preschool in a variety of art media including painting, drawing, book arts, calligraphy, design, ceramics, metals, fibers, glass, jewelry, photography and sculpture.

There is a series of Welcome Classes for beginners. These are adult classes aimed at those who might say they “can’t draw a straight line.” Students with no experience get to see the world through an artist’s eye and learn fundamental tools that can unlock dormant creativity.

The BBAC faculty brings extraordinary experience and perspective. New classes of note are The Beautiful, The Personal and The Inappropriate and New Directions on Watermedia with noted artist Marilyn Derwenskus; and Designing with Acrylic Plastic with Stephen Caliguiri, who was termed “Prince of Plexi” by Barney’s in New York.

Amy Dietrich brings her Seventh Avenue experience to Flat Sketching for the Fashion Industry where she teaches drawing and design specifically for presentation boards and merchandising. The Floral Still Life is taught the former head of Wayne State University’s painting department, Robert Wilbert. John Murphy will teach Wheel Throwing for all levels, among other pottery classes. Murphy will be assuming the role of director of the Ceramic Arts Department at the BBAC.

There are also classes some might be surprised to find at a visual art center: Getting Personal, Memoirs & Personal Essays; Screenwriting; and Songwriting: Methods & Prompts. For the DIY crowd, there is a perennially popular class in Decorative Painted Furniture with step- by-step instructions. The entire spring program book is online at www.BBArtCenter.org.

Registration is ongoing through the week of April 12. Registration and class details are available online at www.BBArtCenter.org. One can also register in person, or by phone at (248) 644-0866. The BBAC is located at 1516 S. Cranbrook Rd. (Evergreen Rd.), Birmingham, MI 48009 between 14 and 15 Mile Roads.

The seminar is for all who wish to write movies and songs that complement scenes for movies. Learn what’s happening in Detroit’s world of opportunities in film, how to write movies and develop theme music. Be enlightened by Ms. Erica Hill, Film Detroit; Zelmer Bothic III, Screenwriter-worked with Spike Lee; Guitar Center Representative and Herbert Metoyer-, Musician/Poet and Author, topic Music Scoring Equipment & Software

Early Registration: $50.00
Registration at the Door: $70.00

Register on-line www.detroitwritersguild.com or Make money order payable to: DWG, 18508 Greenlawn, Detroit, MI 48221 Attn: Sharon Floyd
(313)213-7329

Wayne State University; 573 Student Center at 5221 Gullen Mall and Reuther Mall

Mental illness remains one of Western society’s greatest taboos.  Those who suffer from various mental health disorders often suffer in silence, with very little support from society.  Family members and other loved ones of those afflicted also suffer and are often forced to understand and cope alone.  The loneliness, fear and frustration that this can cause is difficult for most people to understand.  And this isolation can be far worse when you’re a child of a bipolar, schizophrenic or otherwise mentally ill parent.  Von Allan, a Canadian graphic novelist, has attempted to shed some light on this subject with the publication of his first full-length graphic novel, titled “the road to god knows…”  It can be purchased in Dearborn at Green Brain Comics, a local independent comic book store.

“My mom was diagnosed schizophrenic when I was quite young, maybe 11 or so,” said Allan.  “She suffered a number of nervous breakdowns as I was growing up, as she battled, often very much alone, a disease that was slowly taking bits of her away.  What I remember most vividly about this time was how confused and powerless I was.  No one talked with me about what was happening to her and my mom was incapable of explaining it to me herself.  I didn’t understand and that, combined with what I was experiencing, was really, really scary.  There’s also odd feelings of guilt that go with this.  “Did I do something wrong?  Did I somehow cause this?”  I wrote and drew this book to shed some light on a very hush-hush topic and hopefully help others, especially kids but really people of all ages, realize that they aren’t alone and that they haven’t done anything wrong.  And neither has the person who is suffering from mental illness.”

“The road to god knows…” is the story of Marie, a teenage girl coming to grips with her Mom’s schizophrenia. As a result, she’s struggling to grow up fast; wrestling with poverty, loneliness, and her Mom’s illness every step of the way.  At the start of the story, we see a scared young girl, uncertain and overwhelmed, but as her mom collapses into a full nervous breakdown, Marie is forced to examine herself and her life and come to a decision:  does she continue to be a child, reacting to what’s happening around her?  Or does she take control of her life, come what may?

Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for “Star Wars: A New Hope.”  The single child of two loving but troubled parents, Von split most of his childhood between their two homes.  He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, Ontario, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and “the road to god knows…” was the result.

Green Brain Comics goal is to provide a comic book store that has something for everybody. The store’s website is at http://www.greenbrain.biz

“the road to god knows…” has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-0-3, a suggested retail price of $12.95 and is 148 pages in length.  Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at http://trtgk.vonallan.com

Green Brain Comics
13210 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, Michigan, 48126
Email: greenbrain@greenbrain.biz
Phone: 313-582-9444

Naomi Long Madgett

Detroit’s Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett, Poets Hilda Vest and Marilynn Rashid will read. In addition, Melba Joyce Boyd will perform her poetry in concert with jazz bassist, Marion Hayden. The event is co-sponsored by the Arts League of Michigan and Wayne State University’s Department of Africana Studies. It is free and open to the public.

Naomi Long Madgett is Detroit’s second poet laureate and winner of several awards including the Governor of Michigan’s Artist Award. She is the author of nine books of poetry and the memoir, Pilgrim Journey. She is the founder and editor of Lotus Press, and editor of Adam of Ife: Poetry In Praise of Black Men.

Authors will be available for a book signing after the reading. For more information call: 313-965-8430 or 313-577-2321.

Virgil Carr Center
311 E. Grand River
Detroit, MI

Linda K. Sienkiewicz
a longtime Metro Detroit Writers member, is a fiction writer, poet and artist who recently earned her MFA in Fiction at the University of Southern Maine. Her short stories have appeared in journals such as the Cleis Press anthology “Frenzy,” A Twist of Noir, and others, and her poetry and art has been published in numerous literary journals, including Prairie Schooner, Clackamas Literary Review, CALYX, Permafrost, and Spoon River Poetry Review. She won the Heartland Poetry Chapbook Contest in 1997. Her fourth chapbook, published by March Street Press, will be out in April. She has a novel and is represented by Maria Carvainis Agency.

Shayla Hawkins (Detroit poet & ArtServe of Michigan grant recipient)

Therese Becker (Oakland County poet & author of The Fear of
Cameras)

Plus Folk Singer Song Writer, Audra Kubat
Audra Kubat became one of the Motor City’s select female voices during the late ’90s, incorporating folk-rock and indie pop stylings. She and her group Stunning Amazon became a household act among local clubs and coffeehouses, also receiving airplay on Detroit radio. The band issued a self-titled debut in fall 1999 while Kubat also maintains her solo status.

All readings are free and open to the public. They are held the last Sunday of each month through April at The Scarab Club located at 217 E. Farnsworth at John R in the heart of the Cultural Center / Wayne State University Campus. The Scarab Club is directly behind the Detroit Institute for the Arts. We have our own free, safe, and close parking area. For Directions (313) 831-1250.

A new book being released on Penmanship Books of New York. The book is called “Moonwalking.” It’s a collection of poems regarding the life, career and influences of Michael Jackson, The King of Pop. Blair will be reading poems from the manuscript and then his band Blair & The Boyfriends will play a full set and very special guest Dee Matthews, straight from her 2nd place showing at Women of the World Poetry Slam, will open the show.

“Moonwalking,” is about the life, career and influences of Michael Jackson, The King of Pop. To discuss Michael is to discuss race, gender, sexuality, poverty, super-stardom, abuse of self, child abuse, justice etc. This book… is about America .

Blair will read poems published in The Pedestal Magazine, University of Alabama ’s Punch Journal, Metro Times, Dispatch Detroit , Between the Lines Newspaper and Critical Moment as well as poems from a forthcoming manuscript, Where The Mothership Landed, poems for and about Detroit .

Blair is 2010 Seattle Haiku Slam Champion, 2009 Metro Times Best Urban Folk Poet, Seattle , Washington’s BENT Writing Institute 2008 Mentor of the Year Recipient, 2003 Real Detroit Reader’s Poll Best Solo Artist, 2002 National Poetry Slam Champion, a published poet and seven time Detroit Music Award Nominee. His new book and CDs will be available for purchase.

The Park Bar
2040 Park Avenue
Detroit, MI 48226-1620