Nothing quite beats a post football game concert. So if you find yourself having free time after shedding your maize and blue, you should head to Hill Auditorium this Saturday at 8 pm. Both the Campus Philharmonia Orchestra and the Campus Symphony Orchestra will be performing. Their performances will include Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Symphony No. 2 in D, movements 1 and 2, Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances, and Sibelius: Finlandia. So be sure to check it out!
Poetry is for people who see the human in the inhuman. Poets can look at a wheelbarrow and see a meaning beyond hauling dirt and bricks. They see the memories, the origin of such an object, and something deeper that I can’t name. The Hurting Kind by Ada Limon is a prime example of this phenomenon.
As peak reading season approaches with rainy, cool days and changing leaves, I headed to the Ann Arbor District Library. Poetry drew me towards it because I knew the books tended to be short and sweet and mid semester I needed the satisfaction of completing something. The title, The Hurting Kind, seemed like the perfect mix of melancholy and deep that fits poetry so well and the author has gathered some acclaim at least from the short blurb that I read.
However, I must admit I’ve never read a poetry book before. I found myself speeding through the book at my normal speed. It seemed wrong. After years of spending an entire class period on a poem and sometimes two classes, I felt like I shouldn’t just be flipping through the pages to reach the end. The more I read, the more I realized that the gift of a poetry book is that you’re able to pick the poems that resonate with you. You don’t have to tread the ones with top shelf names.
The book is sectioned into the seasons with Spring as the start and Winter as the end. Each one has a subtle different feeling even if the season isn’t explicitly mentioned in the poem. My favorite poems come from spring. One of which is the Good Story. In the Good Story, Limon notices how she loved to hear the bad stories about the rough times her grandfather went through. However, once the days became bad, even the stories of overcoming were no comfort. She craved the stories about human kindness. She mentions one about her grandfather. After a breakup, her grandfather gave her a small pizza and watched her eat it in small pieces until she stopped crying. In the end, she decides that “maybe she was just hungry.”
The hope and familial connection drew me to feel something with this poem which may show my lack of poetry experience. Later in the book, Ada mentions the cliche of grandparent poems. Yet, she calls out her grandmother right after in the namesake poem the Hurting Kind. I think this shows a true sense of voice and the fearlessness to say something that may have been said before but that should continue to be said. Overall, I would recommend the Hurting Kind because it would not be the kind of book to hurt to read.
As an artist who is afraid of heights, the idea of painting a mural has always given me a shiver. I could not imagine being on a lift, hovering a paint brush or spray can over the side of a building. This has always been something I’ve been ashamed of because murals are a work of art for the people and they have a great benefit to the community. It could not be more true than in the Ann Arbor community. With the Ann Arbor Art Center (A2AC) pushing to add more murals, there is more art than ever in the city.
This past Friday, I wandered to the A2AC on Liberty Street. A chatting group, iced coffee, and cookies that felt all too early in the morning to eat for a college student like me (even at noon) awaited. We all gathered here for a tour of the city’s 15 murals put in place with the help of A2AC.
Most of the murals appeared in the time that I lived in Ann Arbor. However, because of covid constantly moving me away from Ann Arbor and living in a dorm without a centralized location to downtown my freshman year, I wasn’t able to admire the way that these murals were really transformed the city. I think a page in the Murals activity book describes this change the best. It shows the before and after shots of the bland buildings and the shots of them after they have been painted. I feel like the image speaks for itself on the effect that the murals have had.
On the walk, we stopped to admire many murals. Some were grand and impossible to miss. Others were fun and almost Easter egg-like, like the orange man on top of the A2AC. I discovered my favorite mural in the alley way of the Blind Pig. Painted by Chris, it depicts red dokkaebi which are inspired by Korean folklore. Their mischievous spirit pairs well with the late night crowds that gather in the alleyway. Sometimes it seems that the young adults and dokkaebi share the same energy and spirit.
Overall, I would highly recommend checking out the city’s murals so you can pick out a favorite of your own. While you may not be able to have a guided tour like I did, the A2AC offers an online mural guide and activity book so you can go on a self guided tour.
When I walked into the opening night of the RE:CLAIMED Immersion opening night, I did not know what to expect. I half read the eventbrite description of the event and understood that there would be poetry, dancers, music, and visual artwork. However, I could not imagine the form that it would take. I must admit I was nervous to attend and a bit lagging as I walked the streets of downtown Ann Arbor to the Washtenaw County Courthouse, which was a place I only ever passed and never had a single thought of going into. When I got to the courthouse, a metal detector awaited me. I almost turned around right then. Then I saw the smiling face of the guards who took my phone, keys, and loose pencils from my pockets to run through the machine and I began to understand the purpose of this event. It was a celebration. A celebration in honor of art and the work of the Youth Arts Alliance, Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice, Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper, Amplify Project, and Title Track, and the Washtenaw County Trial Court.
I found further comfort from the intimidating surroundings of the courthouse in the autumn tree that greeted me at the entrance way. Its presence seemed to say, “hey this building isn’t as scary as it seems. Check me out, I’m a tree and I’m doing just fine here.” From there I climbed the steps to the second floor. On the stairwell, there was a little room titled Proud Little Witch designed by the artist Rowan McClung-Compton. It welcomed me as it reminded me that this event was about art and art was meant to be viewed by people even if they did not fully grasp what the event was for.
On the second floor of the building was where the bulk of the art was. Paintings lined the hallway and a stage had been set up in a corridor surrounded by anticipating adults for the upcoming dance routine. One of my favorite exhibitions of work came from the courtroom itself. I’d never been in a courtroom before so I got a bit of giddy excitement at being in a place that reminded me of being on a set of a movie or tv show. The pinhole photographs exhibited there added an interesting contrast of human presence to the room. It reminded me that this wasn’t a tv set but a place that impacted the lives of people.
Overall the event was a bit intimidating. However, it was great to see the power of artwork in action as it brought the community together and gave these young people a voice.
There is nothing more Ann Arbor than sipping on a Zingerman’s mocha while staring at the city’s beautiful murals. Which is why I am excited to take part in the Mochas + Murals Walking Mural tour taking place this Friday (9/16) from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm at the A2AC. If you want to sign up, spots are limited and may already be filled! However, there is another event offered on October 2nd. So if your interested check out the A2AC website at this link: https://www.annarborartcenter.org/beyond-the-pail/.
Come visit the Washtenaw County Courthouse tonight (9/15) from 5:30 to 8:00 pm to experience the opening night of RE:CLAIM. RE:CLAIM is a project seeking to honor the complexity and diversity of the community impact of the criminal legal system as it affects youth, adults, and families.
Tonight will be filled with song, dance, poetry, and visual arts. It will surely be an experience to remember with over 30 dancers, poets, and musicians performing. The night will also include poems featuring artworks from the Embracing our Difference Exhibition that took over Gallup Park, Leslie Science and Nature Center, and River Side Park.
