(Chelsea Update would like to thank Emily Meloche for the information in this story.)
Returning for its 7th year, the Midwest Literary Walk, presented by Chelsea District Library, is a free, all-day event, which begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 25 and will host author readings at venues throughout downtown Chelsea.
Poet Edward Hirsch (Gabriel) will kick off the event at 11 a.m. at 320 N. Main in the Clocktower Commons. MacArthur Fellow Hirsch, who taught at Wayne State University and lived in Detroit from 1978-1985, will talk on “how to read a poem” and will read poetry with ties to the Midwest.
The Midwest Literary Walk then moves to the Chelsea Historic Depot at 125 Jackson St., where debut novelist Rebecca Scherm (Unbecoming) will present her innovative twist on the heist storyline at 12 p.m.
At 1:30 p.m., Josh Malerman, author of the psychological thriller Bird Box, gives an immersive presentation involving music and a blindfolded audience, to be followed by question and answer session. Between Scherm’s and Malerman’s presentations, participants are encouraged to have lunch at The Depot and either bring your own, or enjoy light fare, which will be available and donations are appreciated.
Angela Flournoy, author of the highly anticipated novel The Turner House, will present at 2:30 p.m. at the Clocktower Commons. In addition to her reading, Flournoy will discuss the process of researching and writing about a setting that has vanished other than in memory—in the case of The Turner House, Detroit’s Black Bottom/Paradise Valley. She will be followed at 3:30 p.m. by poet and Guggenheim Fellow Clayton Eshleman (The Price of Experience), who will read and engage in a question and answer session. Playwright and founder of the “Made in Michigan Writers Series,” Annie Martin (Completing Dahlia, performed at Purple Rose Theatre) will present a staged reading at 4:30 p.m.
The last event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Chelsea Alehouse (420 N. Main St. #100) with a dynamic and energetic presentation by Davy Rothbart (My Heart is an Idiot), author and creator of Found Magazine.
At each location, the authors’ books will be available for purchase courtesy of Literati Bookstore, along with time for book signing by each author.
For more information on the 2015 Midwest Literary Walk, the authors, and their works, click here.
