Moving on

Ty Forquer leaving after two and a half years as A&C editor

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When I “graduated” from sixth grade, my elementary school hosted a ceremony to send us off into junior high. I, along with my fellow graduates, sang Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday,” the go to graduation anthem of the early ‘90s, even though I’m fairly certain it’s a song about someone dying. It must have been odd to see 50 or so 11-year-olds singing poignant lyrics like “And I’ll take with me the memories / To be my sunshine after the rain.”

Why do I still remember this? I have no idea. It’s a persistent memory, and it seems to return every time I’m at an important juncture in my life. So naturally, it’s been in my mind this week as I’ve prepared to leave City Pulse.

After two and a half years leading the City Pulse’s Arts & Culture coverage, I am leaving to join the marketing team at Elderly Instruments. My time at City Pulse has been full of both triumphs and trials, and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to hone my writing and editing skills, but the time has come to move on. I am excited to go to work for another of our area’s unique gems.

During my time at City Pulse, I’ve been able to interview some really incredible people. I talked with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary for nearly 45 minutes about music and activism. I asked Ira Glass if he ever worried about running out of stories for “This American Life.” I talked with Motown’s Suzanne de Passe about discovering the Jackson 5 in her Detroit apartment building. Comedian Brian Regan teased me about the pronunciation of my last name. (It’s “fork-er,” by the way, in case you’ve been wondering for two and a half years.)

And while those interviews were interesting and make for great dinner party stories, the most important benefit of my time at City Pulse, the thing that will continue shape my life, is the number of amazing friends I’ve made in the local arts community. I’ve met actors and directors in a theater scene I was barely aware of before I joined City Pulse. I’ve met entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders who push every day to make mid-Michigan a better place to live. I’ve met brilliant musicians, poets, painters and authors who live right in our community, and I’m glad to call so many of them friends.

I am confident that I am leaving the Arts & Culture section in good hands with Eve Kucharski, who takes over full time today. She first came to City Pulse as an intern last summer and has stuck around since to work as a reporter, radio show producer and, most recently, calendar editor.

As she moves into the arts & culture editor chair, she brings an energy and enthusiasm that will serve her well. City Pulse is the area’s premiere arts & culture media outlet.

This was true before I arrived, and it will continue to be true after I leave.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with a stable of brilliant writers and contributors, and I look forward to continuing to read their writings. As editor of this crew, I’ve learned so much about wine, books, theater, local history and so much more. I learn a new word from Lawrence Cosentino almost every week. I’d like to thank Berl Schwartz and former City Pulse news editor Belinda Thurston for taking a chance on a musician with no journalism experience who turned in a column on Kim Kardashian for his City Pulse application. It’s been a wild ride, and, in the words of Boyz II Men, “I’ll take with me the memories.”

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