Tag: Zell Visiting Writers Series

PREVIEW: Zell Visiting Writers Series: Esmé Wang & Danielle Lazarin

Fareah Fysudeen Leave a comment

Esme Wang and Danielle Lazarin

Kicking off the first installment of the Zell Visiting Writer’s Series for fall 2018 is  novelist and essayist Esme Wang and short-story writer Danielle Lazarin. The Zell Visiting Writers Series invites one or two distinguished writers for a reading of their literary work. These authors have critically acclaimed reception for their fiction, and engaging in their work and this event is a great way to be involved in the literary scene on campus and beyond.

Born in the Midwest to Taiwanese parents, Esme Wang is the author of the Border of Paradise, which is her debut novel. It is set in a post-war America and centers around the secrets and the haunting mental illness of family members affecting generations to come. A graduate of the University of Michigan’s MFA program, Danielle Lazarin has recently published her debut collection of short stories which has been called a brilliant look into the inner lives of middle-class women. Both these writers have much to say about womanhood, complex mental lives, and the truth of being human. Attend the reading Thursday September 20th, 2018 from 5:30-6:30 at UMMA’s Helmut Stern auditorium.

PREVIEW: Kazuo Ishiguro

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Image Courtesy Michigan Union Ticket Office

In order to celebrate his newest publication, The Buried Giant, bestselling novelist Kazuo Ishiguro is bringing the party to Ann Arbor!!! Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, but moved to England at a very early age. His cross-cultured background often plays a huge role in his most popular books, including “The Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go,” both which have been turned into highly acclaimed films.

The talk, part of the Zell Visiting Writers Series, will be focused mostly on the release of the new novel, which relays the mystical journey of Axl and Beatrice across a declining Saxon England in search of their missing son. But if you haven’t read it yet (I haven’t either), don’t let that stop you from going!!! I’m in a class right now (Modern British Travel Narratives) and we are currently reading “The Remains of the Day,” a book that has touched me with its language so tenderly. Somehow, Ishiguro makes his reader feel so much for a stolid butler who hardly shows his emotions at all. Kazuo Ishiguro is a master of words and no doubt, an inspiration to all practicing writers.

*This event is free, but because of the expected crowd, tickets must be shown at the door. Tickets are available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (or 734-763-TKTS).

What: Kazuo Ishiguro Reading

Where: University of Michigan Museum of Art; within the Forum Entrance (the modern entrance by the sculpture)

When: Thursday, March 26 at 6-7. (Book signing will take place earlier from 5-6).

How Much?: Free! But don’t forget to present your ticket!!!

More info about the event can be found here!

And check out this awesome Paris Review interview with Ishiguro in the meantime!

PREVIEW: Norton Juster Lecture at UMMA

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Image Courtesy via rmichaelson.com

He breathed life into such beloved classic characters as Tock the Dog, the Humbug, King Azaz, the Mathmagician, the Princesses Rhyme and Reason, and of course, Milo. He is Norton Juster, the author of The Phantom Tollbooth, a book that celebrates the paradox of youthfully growing up, plays with the English language, and perfectly times intellectual puns. Although the book is consistently labeled as “children’s literature,” critics often acknowledge that the wordplay and extended metaphor of achieving wisdom would totally go over children’s heads. Nevertheless, the plot, the characters, and the essence of the book is translatable across all ages. It’s a story that a family can read together and all gain something from the experience. I first read it last year as a sophomore in college, and it instantly bumped up to one of the most influential books I’ve ever read. And I am beyond excited to announce that Norton Juster has been invited to speak about Children’s Literature and his process of writing The Phantom Tollbooth, as part of the Zell Visiting Writer Series.

The talk will begin with a documentary called “The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectations” and will be followed with an invigorating Q&A with Juster himself. Come for the inspiration, the whimsy, and the great word puns.

What: Norton Juster Lamstein Lecture in Children’s Literature

Where: University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), Helmut Stern Auditorium

When: Thursday, March 12 at 5:10 – 7

How Much?: Free!!!!