Turning the page on 2022

This past year was a mighty good one for Lansing-area readers, writers and libraries. We saw the passage of two library millages; the opening of bookstores downtown, in REO Town and on the city’s far east side; a number of local writers going on a publishing spree and the emergence of younger voices.  

As a writer for City Pulse, I watched these trends, read the books and talked with library leaders as they confronted a national onslaught of censorship by conservative parent groups and politicians espousing family values. 

I was also pleased to see a small effort to move away from author visits exclusively on Zoom when Capital Area District Libraries hosted Kai Harris, author of the debut book “What the Fireflies Knew,” a beautiful coming-of-age story set in Lansing. 

The COVID-19 lockdown put the kibosh on the hosting of in-person events, and they are yet to fully come back. Many readers are lamenting the loss of Michigan State University and East Lansing’s One Book, One Community program, which brought sterling writers to town each year. Over nearly two decades, area readers have seen the likes of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Dave Eggers and James McBride, though, to be fair, these events aren’t free. On its website, organizers say they are looking to resume in 2023. 

I hope Lansing-area residents know how lucky they are to have four library systems within easy reach, both in-person and online. CADL, East Lansing Public Library, Delta Township District Library and MSU’s libraries have all managed to resist censorship demands thus far. The millage votes for CADL and East Lansing passed overwhelmingly, and CADL will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023. The head librarians at these institutions are to be treasured. I was delighted to see CADL Executive Director Scott Duimstra mount a bike for an appearance in this year’s Silver Bells in the City light parade. 

On a personal note, I was able to connect with three of my longtime favorite authors, David Maraniss, Mark Kurlansky and Kevin Boyle, who had new books out this year. Maraniss’ biography of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe, “Path Lit by Lightning,” is a tour de force. Kurlansky, an Ernest Hemingway look-alike, wrote “The Importance of Not Being Ernest” about how his life and Hemingway’s often intersect. Kurlansky has previously written books with singular titles like “Cod,” “Salt,” “Salmon” and “Milk,” which are worth reading. Boyle, who won a 2004 National Book Award for his novel “Arc of Justice,” about Detroit’s Ossian Sweet, a Black doctor who was accused of murder in a 1925 civil rights dispute, found his home in the book “The Shattering,” about the tumultuous 1960s. 

This year, I felt like I was channeling the late Jim Harrison, who grew up in Haslett and was a graduate of MSU. His 2022 posthumous work, “The Search for the Genuine,” a collection of his nonfiction magazine essays, shows the breadth of his writing. This book also made me return to my own archives to find my notes from the many interviews I had with him. One note I found took me back to 2008 when he, Richard Ford and Tom McGuane, all friends and MSU grads, shared the stage at the Pasant Theatre for a night. The note, in big letters, was taken from an emergency phone call Jim made to me before the event. In his throaty voice, he asked, “Bill, can you pick up a couple shooters for me? I get a little nervous at these things.” 

Indeed, I did, and I saved those shooters. After the event, I donated two of them to the Harrison Archives and kept one, which I still have. You can listen to that presentation online at MSU’s G. Robert Vincent Voice Library, though it’s unfortunate there's no video. You would have seen him pulling a small bottle from his pocket and pouring it into his water glass. 

Lansing author Erin Bartels continued her writing spree with the publication of “The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water,” a realistic look at a young writer who confronts a tragedy in her past. Bartels is just at the start of what will surely be a long career, and her plotting and dialogue have gotten better with each book. 

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the incredible book “Blood and Fire,” by Brian Solomon. Many Lansing residents knew the book’s subject as both “The Sheik” and Ed Farhat, but the author digs much deeper into the wrestler’s life as a promoter and family man. It's a great story, even if you have no interest in the Golden Age of wrestling. 

With all the great works published in 2022, I can’t wait to see what new books this next year brings. I wish you good reading in 2023.