2009 Festival Literary Award Guidelines

by Joanne Bailey

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 4:59 PM

Please note: Submissions not following the guidelines may be disqualified from the competition.

All entries must be postmarked February 27, 2009 or hand delivered to the On-the-Town office, 2141 Port Sheldon Road, Jenison, by 4 p.m. February 27, 2009.

The categories are Adult Fiction, 1,500 words or less, Non-Adult Fiction, 1,500 words or less, and Poetry.

Under each category are the following divisions: Adult, 19 and over; Young Adult, ages 13 to 18, and Children, 12 and under.

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Pressing Issues

by Various

Tuesday December 02, 2008, 2:36 PM

Life With My Sister Madonna
Christopher Ciccone

Uh-oh! It looks like the woman who has written children's books with themes of sharing and kindness doesn't practice what she preaches, according to her brother Christopher, who ought to know. His many roles included backup dancer, personal assistant, dresser, decorator, art director, and tour director--not to mention proverbial whipping boy. Competitive spirit and overbearing behavior aside, there are some real fascinating facts inside, such as Madonna's search for a man to father her unborn child in the "Daddy Chair" scenario and her continual estrangement from the gay community and fan base. Does he kiss and tell on Madonna's behalf? Sure. And his take on Madonna's relationship with Sean Penn? "The wedding day sets the tone for the entire marriage: Sean running around with a gun, and Madonna smiling radiantly at the cameras." Even Guy Ritchie gets his time on the chopping block when the author relates, "the advent of Guy in Madonna's life is the death knell for my relationship with her." Continue reading "Pressing Issues" »

When Words Are As Mighty As Stone

by Katerie Prior

Friday October 24, 2008, 4:49 PM

Local poets accept the challenge to create their own written work inspired by the work of sculptor Jaume Plensa.

If you haven't heard of sculptor Jaume Plensa, you soon will. The Spanish-born artist is quickly becoming one of the most renowned sculptors of the twenty-first century. His innovative work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. In Millennium Park in Chicago, his most famous work, the Crown Fountain, a tower covered by a LED digital video screen that displays the faces of Chicago residents, spouts water into a granite pool.

Since October, an exhibition of Plensa's works is appearing throughout Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: in the galleries, across the gardens, and in the Lena Meijer Conservatory and the Sculpture Park. When the exhibition ends in January, one work will stay; Plensa's I, you, she, or he... will serve as a permanent reminder of a show that explored the role of language, text, and communication through sculpture and how that leads people to a greater understanding of what unites humanity.

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The Lettering Underneath

by Brent Green

Thursday October 02, 2008, 9:42 AM

Patricia Hampl can't draw.

She discovered that as a grade-school child when her artwork was ignored. She was told to do the letters underneath. As Hampl writes in A Blue Arabesque, she has taken this as her life's assignment. Even as her mother lay dying, the acclaimed author wrote her mother's death notice in one hand and held her fingers with the other. The memoirist, already accomplished and awarded for other books of prose and poetry, was doing what she does best: writing about the past. She brings her writing, teaching, and faith to the Aquinas College Contemporary Writer's Series October 30.

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Pressing Issues

by On-the-Town

Thursday October 02, 2008, 9:35 AM

Bad News Comes in Threes...

get your gore here with...
When Evil Came to Good Hart
Mardi Link

In random, northern Michigan, unexplainable murder is scary. Unsolved murder is the stuff of nightmares, and this cold case in a warm and welcoming town gives you chills reminiscent of Michigan winters. A murder, wrapped in a mystery and covered in dead ends and a money scandal, this juicy and frightening story has certainly made me reconsider visiting my cabin in the woods, ever. The murders of the wealthy Robison family in 1968 caused a black cloud to hover over the natural beauty of forests and lakes, cottages and cabins. Summertime retreats caught wind of the smell of death and decomposition, swiftly and temporarily killing the happy times of Good Hart. Summarizing the story, the interviews, the suspects, and the suspense, Link leaves you with the facts and the fantasies that frighten and intrigue. The colorful characters, crazies and cops alike, make up the corruption and convoluted business dealings that strangely explain Dick Robison's life. With numerous suspects and no official charges or convictions, this book does leave the reader hanging, wondering when evil did come to Good Hart, why it came there, and most importantly, where does it live now? B
Mindy Earley

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Something Blue...

by Melissa Black

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:39 PM

"We think we know the ones we love." So begins the story of Pearlie Cook and her husband, and her husband's male lover, and then another young woman, and oh, so much more...

The Story of a Marriage
by Andrew Sean Greer
FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX

For six months in 1953 in San Francisco, housewife Pearlie Cook teeters through an intense timeline that ends with her husband, Holland, falling off the pages of what she once considered their love story--a marriage.

From the moment author Andrew Sean Greer poses Buzz, Holland's past lover, at the family's doorbell, Pearlie's memories and instincts start to carefully crumble, leaving a large and bitter dose of doubt in their place. Did she ever really know Holland? And what can be said of the things she's learning about herself and the emotional trade she's willing to make for $100,000?

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Under the Hammer

by Mindy Earley

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:34 PM

East Grand Rapids author returns home with a new book and a few suggestions for those looking to remodel.

He's the guy for whom the first day on the job consists of meeting beautiful wealthy women, going through some of the most intimate spaces in their home, and promptly receiving the house key and alarm code. In the former life of Richard Murphy, and the fictional life of his character Henry Sullivan, occupational hazards include hammer-hit hands and having relationships with two separate clients, who were formerly close friends. In the role of contractor, Sullivan also is part counselor, and part rent-a-husband. And while we can learn much about him through his work experiences, more colorful than the paint-swatch aisle at Home Depot, it intrigues us more to learn about the man who lived such experiences.

OTT: I love the unique contractor-author-screenwriter combination...Tell us something about yourself that we can't learn anywhere else. What makes you, you?

Murphy: I struggled for a long time when I moved to L.A. and came awfully close to throwing in the towel. I couldn't get a literary agent to return calls. I wouldn't have been able to write the book if I didn't endure that marathon stretch of rejection. It took me fifteen years to get a "yes" and all the "no's" say as much about me as anything.

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Paper Trail

by Melissa Black and Molly Rizor

Sunday July 27, 2008, 4:31 PM

The folks over at Chronicle Books have packed a craft pad full of exquisite paper and clear instructions to surround yourself with delightful creatures and critters--of the paper variety, of course!

Schedule a craft cool-down session on one of your hot summer afternoons to fashion a swan, hamster, pony, bat, or proud peacock. A variety of quick, fun, and easily recognizable projects will keep those idle hands busy, and with such beautiful and hypnotizing paper (of ideal size and weight), you'll be good for nothing for hours!

If we're going to nitpick, one user didn't care for the fact she had to rip paper out along perforation lines, which she felt caused the sheets to not always come out perfectly square. This, at times, led to edges showing and folds not lining up, which can be particularly upsetting to perfectionists.

The pad is a swell gift for someone interested in trying origami out for the first time and is easily transportable so you can brighten the world anywhere--one sheet at a time. A menagerie will be at your fingertips, and it's an art that is truly underappreciated. Be that person who can arrange kissing fish for Valentine's Day or a rabbit as a gift and symbol for fertility. B+