Public Art of the Week
Public art in Lansing keeps rolling like a river. Two recent public art installations were recently added to the city’s growing number of spectacular visions of art in the city. Muralist Brian …
By BILL CASTANIER's Latest Articles
Jim Harrison leaves behind legacy of adoration and admiration
This is the final installment of a three-part story on Todd Goddard’s biography of Jim Harrison, leading up to Goddard’s appearance at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Library of …
Jim Harrison in midlife: Fame becomes him
This is the second installment of a three-part story on Todd Goddard’s biography of Jim Harrison, leading up to Goddard’s appearance at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Library of Michigan. The …
‘Devouring Time’ details Jim Harrison’s ravenous life
This is the first installment of a three-part story on Todd Goddard’s biography of Jim Harrison, leading up to Goddard’s appearance at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Library of Michigan. The event …
David McCullough defends importance of history in posthumous book
Recently, Wall Street Journal opinion columnist Peggy Noonan, who was the primary speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986, wrote about the importance of knowing our history, …
Public Art of the Week
And in this corner “Spark,” weighing in at 2,300 pounds and standing 15 feet tall. It has been called a windmill, a high-tension power tower or a triangular obelisk with Telstar perched …
New book fills a void in coverage of Michigan’s Civil War governor
The imposing statue of the late Michigan Gov. Austin Blair often photobombs tourists’ pictures of the state Capitol. The statue is the only depiction of a real person on the manicured grounds, …
‘Darkly absurd’ memoir tackles dysfunctional childhood
What happens when a hapless dreamer marries an inveterate hoarder? Their daughter, Amanda Uhle, the successful publisher and executive director of McSweeney’s, takes readers on the wild ride of …
Public Art of the Week
It’s worth a detour off Interstate 96 to the village of Fowlerville to see the new mural honoring baseball great Charlie Gehringer. The Hall of Famer was raised on a farm and played for sandlot …
50 years later, the bell still tolls for the Edmund Fitzgerald
It won’t be a surprise when SiriusXM radio DJ Phlash Phelps begins his Nov. 10 show with Gordon Lightfoot’s haunting ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Nov. 10 …