I am very much looking forward to Donald Hall’s reading at the University of Michigan on Dec. 1^st.

I’ve been reading his memoir Unpacking the Boxes and want to share what he wrote about teaching composition at the University of Michigan.

When I took the Michigan job, I made it a condition that I teach no creative writing. Every term the department gave me a section of freshman composition. It is the hardest class to teach. Twenty students are twenty different sets of difficulty and the difficulty is only partly with writing. My freshmen were away from home for the first time – few came from boarding schools – and struggled with loneliness and liberty. In their essays they expressed or evaded their confusions. Language explains us to ourselves and conceals us from ourselves. Teaching prose style became exploration of the psyche, and I went home from conferences and office hours vibrating with the discomfort and distress of my composition students. (There were contrary elations. When a boy from a northern town suddenly brightens up and understands, or a girl from a high school in suburban Detroit takes first, the hard class becomes satisfying.) Eventually debilitated by teaching composition, I volunteered to teach creative writing. To my surprise I liked it – one class a year, ten or twelve people. I could choose the students after checking out their work, and take only those with some facility.

Thanks, Donald Hall. I’ll try to remember these lines the next time someone says, “Oh, you just teach composition?”

No matter how much you love to cook, sometimes you need a little inspiration.  

I have a absurdly large collection of peeled lemons in the fridge. I made one recipe that called for a hefty amount of lemon rinds and now that I have recovered feeling in my hand after all that peeling, I need to find something to do with the naked lemons.

I usually start with Epicurious when I need a recipe. This website combines recipes from Gourmet, bon appètit and more. I type in an ingredient and peruse a list of recipes. For my pesky lemons, it has offered me pasta sauces and coffee cake. I might try a lemon chicken in the next day or two. 

I’m not a neat enough chef to dare bring my laptop into the kitchen. I know you can log into the site and save your recipes, but I prefer to print them out and keep them in a binder.

Of course, I also love my cookbooks. I have shelves of them and a few out from the library, too. I take notes in the ones I own and remind myself of what went well, and what didn’t, in the various recipes. I even date them to remember when I first made them.

To prepare for our Greece trip, I’ve been experimenting with Greek recipes. My favorite cookbook is Vefa’s Kitchen, which is an encyclopedia of Greek cooking. It was published by Phaidon, who also published the amazing translation of the Italian cookbook The Silver Spoon. According to the index, there are some lemon recipes in there, but they seem to call for more food shopping. They might have to wait for a bit.

A friend recently told me about Tastebook. It comes recipes with social networking. You can collect your favorite recipes and even self-publish and share cookbooks here.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I teach Italian through Ann Arbor’s Rec and Ed program. Next semester I will be teaching Italian I and Italian II on Wednesday evenings. Recently, students have been asking me for more local resources. I thought I’d share a few with you:

The Dante Alighieri Society offers children’s language classes and various events, like an annual spring film festival. Last year I enjoyed a few free movies hosted by the University of Michigan.

The Michigan Italian Tribune  is published weekly. I enjoy reading about local events, from religious festivals to cheese sales.

These two restaurants in town that have some language-related events:

Silvio’s Pizzeria  – look for Silvio, the chef and owner from Abruzzo. Don’t miss the Sweet Dreams dessert pizza (a stuffed pizza with nutella and cream. Wow!)

Paesano’s Restaurant  - see Isabella, the chef from Venice. She periodically gives cooking presentations through the Ann Arbor library. You can also pick up a copy of her cookbook and try the recipes at home.

The University of Michgan’s Language Resource Center pairs tutors and conversation partners via the internet. This is a great resource.

If you are interested in private tutoring, please contact me directly (chloemiller(at)gmail(dot)com.)

One of my dearest friends, Melvin Coston, sings in The Young New Yorkers Chorus. While I’ve sadly never been able to enjoy a concert, he has told me about how much he enjoys the chorus for years. 

A non-profit organization, they are seeking donations.

YNYC was started in 2001 as a way for interested volunteer singers to continue their training (in many cases) and simple love of singing beyond their college years. Each year, they perform three concerts over the course of our season, with the holiday concert typically being the biggest and most celebrated. 

In addition to performing both classical and contemporary choral pieces from all parts of the world, they also conduct a Young Composers competition each year to support and encourage music composers in the development of their craft. The finalists’ submitted works are performed for the first time at the final concert of the every season.

Although they have enjoyed an ever-increasing following and last year saw a record turnout at all our concerts, donations allow them to have consistent rehearsal space, quality concert space and most importantly, the continuation of the Young Composers Competition. Donations are a key financial component to making all of this possible each year.

YNYC is a non-profit organization. All monies go to the necessary functions of the Chorus.

I hope that you’ll take a moment to check out their website. You can hear audio samples, learn about auditions and consider them for your wedding.

See you later! I’m off to donate. Even though I can’t give too much, we all know how every little bit counts.

Support the arts.

We could easily slip into the winter blues – early – with darker days. Not my mother! Melabee Miller blogs this month about finding beauty in the changing light. Enjoy!

Don’t forget to click on her blogroll on the right side of the page to see her photocubes.

junebug weddings blogged about our friends’ Megan and Kevin’s wedding in  the Seattle Library.

Saying your vows in front of your closest friends and favorite books? Wow. What a great idea!

Read the blog for more photos and details on their colorful and literary wedding.

PS: Yes, yes, Carrie Bradshaw got married in a city library. Megan and Kevin’s wedding was much more personal and beautiful.

Debbie Green is calling for recipes and tasters for a second cookbook to support the Greenview Hepatitis C Fund, a nonprofit. The Fund raises money for Hepatitis C research at the University of Michigan.

As avid writers and chefs, I thought I’d share this with you. 

The cookbook will focus on special diets (think: allergies, glutton free, low carb., etc.) I look forward to contributing some corn syrup-free recipes for dishes that are impossible to order in a restaurant without being saturated in it. The first two that come to mind are pecan pie and meatloaf, but I’m sure I’ll think of more.

When you are thinking of recipes to share, keep in mind that Debbie prefers recipes that are easy to prepare and don’t have too many hard to find or unusual ingredients. Also, she prefers things that are made from scratch. 

To submit your recipes, send them in a Word document or regular email to Debbie(at)hepcfund(dot)org or mail to:

Debbie Green

2773 Holyoke Lane

Ann Arbor, MI 48103 

Be sure to include and check:

1. correct measurements (T=tablespoon, t= teaspoon, c=cup)

2. oven temp.

3. cooking time

4. nutrition info if available

5. clear and precise instructions

6. ethnicity of dish

7. if this dish is for a special diet (gluten-free, vegetarian, allergy, etc.)

8. any suggestions for accompanying dishes

9. your name and contact info

10. any comments you wish (Try to keep comments to 4 lines, unless it’s a really good story!)

Through the Fund, Debbie has raised a total of $30,000 so far. One of her best fund raisers is her first cookbook, Cooking Around the World, which sold over 1,000 copies. (This cookbook, along with a few free recipes, is available from her website.) Help make this next cookbook just as, if not more, successful!

I will be reading at Sweetwaters as a part of the Writers Reading at Sweetwaters series on Tuesday, November 17th at 7 pm. The room is a bit small, so please arrive early for a seat. Don’t forget to bring work to share at the open mike.

The reading is hosted by the lovely Chris Lord and Esther Hurwitz. Thank you again for the invite!

You are welcome to RSVP on the Facebook Event page (or just check it out to see the other cool people who are coming.)

Vote D

I haven’t screamed, gone door to door

with clipboards and fervor.

I watch protestors, urgency in the O’s of their mouths,

and shake my fists with them

on the television.

Where is my courage

to support

gay marriage for people in love,

stem cell research to extend life,

the right to choose an abortion for those in need,

health care for all,

better public schools,

living wages,

and everything that we lack in our flag pin wearing country?

Everything that would make us stronger.

Quiet, I don’t shout or join groups –

not sororities or clubs.

I have the courage.

I do what I know how:

I write, proclaim.

And I vote.

A patriotic American,

I vote Democratic.

United we stand.

We attended the opening of the Kelsey Museum of Archeology at the University of Michigan opening yesterday.

As an art lover, I was happy to see that it was crowded with guests of all ages. The museum has an amazing collection, from the largest collection of Latin inscriptions in the west to a beautiful and accurate (watercolor) replica of the Villa of Mysteries from Pompeii. See it being installed in this Youtube video. We look forward to returning to the museum at a later (and less crowded) date to better see all of the pieces.

There was live music and historically accurate food for the opening. Check out the pictures of the bread created by specially by Great Harvest Bread.