September 27:
Dr. Gloria Larrieu of Kalamazoo Valley Community College will lead a discussion of Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa. Dr. Larrieu is well-known in Kalamazoo as both singer and scholar-teacher. Borderlands/La Frontera was recognized as one of the 38 best books of 1987 by Library Journal and one of the 100 best books of the twentieth century by both Hungry Mind Review and Utne Reader. Copies may be obtained at the KVCC bookstore, the KGLRC library, or by going to www.isbn.nu which will lead to various places where the book may be purchased

October 18:
Cheryl Peck, distinguished local author and frequent contributor to lesbian culture and causes in the Kalamazoo area, will lead us to remember A Coney Island of the Mind (1958) by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, one of the volumes of poetry that helped define the so-called “beat generation.” Ms. Peck has had a long career as a frequent contributor to Lavender Morning and as the author of a volume of poetry (Splitting the Difference 2002) and two volumes of prose pieces (Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs 2002,2004) and (Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit 2005). The latter two volumes have both been nominated for a Lammy award by the Lambda Literary Foundation which annually honors the best of LGBT writing. Copies of A Coney Island of the Mind are available at the KGLRC library.

November 7:
Ellen Kushner, renowned author and host of Sound & Spirit, a radio program broadcast weekly on Public Radio International which Bill Moyer’s describes as “the best program on public radio, bar none,” will read from, discuss, and autograph her recent fiction at 7 pm at Kazoo Books, 2413 Parkview Avenue. Ms. Kushner’s appearance in this series is co-sponsored by the Resource Center, the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music, and Kazoo Books, and is supported by a grant from the Arcus Gay and Lesbian Fund. Copies of The Privilege of the Sword are available at the KGLRC library or at Kazoo Books.
Ms. Kushner has written adult fantasy novels, children’s books, short fiction, and poetry. With her partner and collaborator, Delia Sherman, she has explored “interstitial fiction,” fiction that probes the borderlands between genres. Her most recent works are The Privilege of the Sword (2006), which won the Locus Award for best fantasy novel and which is described as “a swashbuckler for women,” and The Golden Dreydl (2007), which is “a Chanukah fairy-tale” for young readers.
Ms. Sherman will also be in town for the Festival of Sacred Music. She will read from and discuss her novel Changeling (2006) a “contemporary fantasy that blends children’s literature and pop culture,” in the Van Deusen Room of the Kalamazoo Public Library on Tuesday, November 6 at 6:30 pm.