Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and Into Legend by Gretchen Gerzina tells the story of first known African American poet, Lucy Terry and her husband Abijah Prince. What they accomplished in the 18th century was remarkable for former slaves. They were able to obtain the "American Dream" of having a family and owning property where they lived. Life was not easy and the Princes fought bigoted neighbors and found themselves in court many times asserting their rights in this pre-Civil War history of a Black family.

The Housing and Human Services Advisory Board will hold a Public Meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 6 - 8:30 p.m. to discuss recommendations on the replacement of the 100-affordable housing units at the former YMCA. The meeting will be held at the Washtenaw County Building, 200 N. Main, Lower Level Conference Room. Following a 15-minute presentation, the public is invited to comment. CTN will replay the meeting throughout the week.

This summer's Ypsilanti Crossroads Music Festival will be kicking off again on June 6th! Be sure to check out the event and appreciate our neighboring city. It will take place at the intersection of Washington and Pearl Streets every Friday night this summer from 7-10 pm. In the meantime, check out our collection on Ypsilanti history, including Ypsilanti in the 20th Century, Ypsilanti: A History in Pictures, and Our Heritage: Down by the Depot in Ypsilanti.

Time is running out. The Earth of the 22nd century is on its way to global self-destruction. Fortunately, faster-than-light (ftl) space travel is available to help teams find a new home. One such place is Quaraqua, a planet of mystery. It turns out, an ancient civilization previously inhabited the planet. Now Richard Wald, an interstellar archaeologist, and Priscilla Hutchins, his pilot, must collect as much data on the site before the planet is terraformed. So goes The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt. The story continues in DeepSix, Chindi, and Omega.

Probably not. "The Representative from Corwood Industries" has put out 53 albums in the last 30 years, none of which you can find in stores or libraries (except ours, now, see Jody's post below), and he is rarely played on the radio. Jandek performs live in Ann Arbor at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater on Saturday, May 17 at 7:30, and a lot of people there will have never heard a single Jandek song.

Jandek is more famous for his unusually secretive nature than his music: he has only granted 3 interviews in the last 30 years and only began playing live in 2004. In fact, his real identity was not even known until a few years ago, and it has yet to be officially confirmed by Jandek or Corwood Industries, the record label that puts out Jandek records exclusively and can be contacted only through a Houston P.O. box.

If you have heard Jandek's music, you probably didn't like it. It is often dark and depressing, lacking structure, melody and harmony, and is sung and played out of tune. But he has a tiny, devoted following. Intrigued? Come see this free performance sponsored by WCBN and UMMA to find out if this is all as weird as it seems.

In honor of Mother's Day, following are two books and one film that tell the stories of three remarkable mothers:

From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island by Lorna Goodison describes this local poet's mother, Doris who grew up in a privileged family in Jamaica but then married a chauffeur, moved to urban Kingston and raised nine children.

A Remarkable Mother by former President Jimmy Carter is his loving tribute to Lillian Carter, a nurse serving troops in World War I and in her later years a Peace Corps volunteer in India.

My Flesh and Blood is a documentary about Susan Tom, a single mother, who adopted eleven special needs children.

The History of Lucy’s Love Life in Ten and a Half Chapters is fun, fluffy and fantastical.

29 year-old commitment-phobic Lucy is staring at the prospect of a perfect life with dishy and nice Anthony (with whom she had 400 plus one-night stands) and chucks it all, wondering if there’s something better on the horizon.

Sacked from her pointless job and bored, an errant time machine sends Lucy on a dating frenzy with bad boy Lord Byron, Leonardo da Vinci, Ovid and Casanova (a sweet guy, really). It’s a thrill ride but there’s also a lesson to be learned. The question is… Is Lucy ready for it?

This British chick lit./fantasy/romantic comedy is the first to be published in the United States by Deborah Wright, a graduate of Oxford University with three best-selling novels in the U.K.

Summer Reading is UNDER CONSTRUCTION so keep your "thinking machine" oiled. You'll need good equipment.
Librarians are visiting schools the month of May promoting Summer Reading.
We can NAIL DOWN some good books for 1st graders, like
Amelia Bedelia Under Construction;
You Read To Me And I'll Read To You: Short Scary Stories; or
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie.
Just Ask!
Sign-Up BEGINS June 9, 2008 at the Library.

Folk guitarist Richie Havens burst onto the scene at the famous Woodstock Folk Festival of 1969. Since then, he has been wowing audiences with his high energy guitar playing, powerful voice and stirring lyrics. Havens comes to The Ark this Sunday, May 11. You can buy tickets online at Ticketmaster or in person at the Ark ticket office, the Michigan Union or at the Herb David Guitar Studio.

The Magic of Recluse is the opening story in The Saga of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. The series is unusual in several ways. First of all, the series is not written chronologically. The book first actually occurs towards the end of the series. As the series progresses, characters in the stories will be in later books referred to as heros and legendary figures.

The books also feature an in-depth system of magic in the series. Instead of wizards just casting a spell, they must have the ability to control the natural forces of order or chaos inherent in all matter.

The author recommends reading the series in the order written, not chronologically. The second book in the series is The Towers of Sunset.

Enjoy.

“Jimmy had soul way back when people weren't using the word,” observed Ray Charles. Legendary 84-year-old jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott is a male soprano who has influenced Stevie Wonder, Frankie Valli and Lou Reed, to name a few. Scott's singing has a high piercing quality that's the result of a hereditary hormonal deficiency that kept his voice from developing beyond boyhood. "He sings with the melodic concept of an instrument," says Quincy Jones, who was a trumpeter with Lionel Hampton's band when Scott made his debut as a vocalist with Hampton in 1949. "He'd put me on my knees, give me goose bumps." Go get goose bumps yourself. Friday, May 9, 8pm. The Ark, 316 S. Main. Tickets $15.

This Friday, May 9, 2008, the Washtenaw United Way will provide an opportunity for parents to have toys and other child related plastics tested for lead at the Whittaker Road Ypsilanti Library from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The Ecology Center will have its XRF Lead Analyzer there and they will do on the spot tests to check for high lead levels. Other educational activities will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at our Pittsfield branch. Read more about chemicals in toys from the Ecology Center and check out the top toys from HealthyToys.org.

Pablo Neruda's shyness renders him silent in a world of sights and sounds. When the principal of his school in Chile opens his mind to the world of literature, Pablo Neruda becomes one of the world's most distinguished poets and is awarded the Noble Prize in Literature. With lines of his poetry scattered throughout the text, Deborah Kogan Ray offers an enlightening look into the life of Pablo Neruda.