Buffalo Rising Online

As parents know, it is difficult to keep your children in the habit of studying when the sun is shining and the swimming pool is beckoning them. Talking Leaves has the solution to your problem. On Thursday, July 12, Wendy Lichtman, Buffalo native and author, is returning to the area to debut her new children's novel Do The Math : Secrets, Lies and Algebra.

This novel will not only keep your child intrigued, but they will grasp some basic knowledge of mathematics. The plot of the book centers around an eighth grade girl, Tess, who suddenly realizes that there is more than one way to solve life's problems. Tess begins to answer her questions regarding friends, family and boys using algebra. Summertime and studying really do add up!

Wendy Lichtman's personal essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune,…

Looking for some intelligent conversation about modern literature? Consider Bistro Bookers, a forum under the guidance of the B.L.O.O.M. Group (Book Lovers Of Our Metropolis). Since 1990, the downtown after-hours book review/discussion forum has been fostering the discussion of provocative new nonfiction written by national and local authors, as well as mixing in fiction from Buffalo-area authors throughout the year. Book selections are available from libraries and local bookstores, and may be read before or after the group.

Several times a year these programs bring kindred spirits together at local sponsoring bistros for some drinks, snacks, expert presentations, and lively give-and-take. Participants can enjoy a cash bar and free hors d'oeuvres before the presentations, and stay after the program for dinner and more conversation. All that it takes is a desire for a casual, un…

No, it doesn't really exist, but we wanted to make one for this category anyway. Jennifer Parker, event manager for The Buffalo Book Fair (formerly the Harlem Book Fair) stopped by the BRO offices with a terrific pitch kit. The following photos will give you a clear idea how much energy has gone into the kit, which is reflected annually in the show itself.

Meticulously detailed and hand lettered, the ladies of the Book Fair have taken old reference books and transformed them into an unforgettable press kit -- covering the front and spine of the book with images relevant to Buffalo, with a hand-lettered intro on the front inside cover, and using actual library circulation card holders to enclose the press release.

Further inside, the book has been glued together on …

In a very special edition of Gusto at the Gallery, the Albright-Knox pairs with the Just Buffalo Literary Center to present Tell My Horse: Zora Neale Hurston at the Albright-Knox. Tonight's events will be filled with material inspired by the Big Read selection, Their Eyes Were Watching God, as well as fun art activities for the kids, and a moving performance of A Symphony Down in My Soul . The evening is capped off by a live taping of Off-Beat Cinema, presenting White Zombie. (In addition to her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston also wrote a famous study of Caribbean voodoo called Tell My Horse. The cast of Channel 7’s Off Beat Cinema will do a live taping of the show on site and present a classic B-Horror Film about voodoo and zombies.) Full schedule below.

Friday, May 18, 2007 Free Albright-…

Break out the eyeliner and Docs -- we're about to have a Continental flashback. Aging hipsters (ahem) that the "South Park" goth kids were probably modeled on will be thrilled with tonight's show at Hallwalls -- poet, playwright, scholar, critic, and labor activist Mark Nowak will be reading from his essay "'To Commit Suicide in Buffalo is Redundant': Music & Death in Zero City, 1982-1984". Cribbing his title from Michael Bennett's famous quote from A Chorus Line, the essay is featured in the forthcoming critical anthology, Goth: Undead Subculture, (edited by Lauren Goodlad & Michael Bibby, Duke University Press, 2007).

The show is presented by Hallwalls and Talking Leaves.... Books, who will have copies of the anth…

As a part of the month-long Big Read celebration, Just Buffalo has invited prominent members of the community and Leadership Buffalo to discuss Their Eyes Were Watching God at the WNED Studios. Featured leaders include: Latricia Chisholm, Executive Director, Erie County Women's Commission; Robert Gioia, President, the John R. Oishei Foundation; Mary Gresham, Dean of the SUNY Buffalo Gradute School of Education Jennifer Parker, President, Black Capital Network; Betty Calvo-Torre, Board Member, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

This will be a moderated civic discussion, with questions derived from the text itself (A sample from Executive Director Laurie Dean Torrell was based on the sentence: "There are years that ask questions and years that answer them." What questions does Buffalo need answered?) T…

It’s an unwritten rule at the national poetry slam that the youth poets are far better writers and performers than their adult counterparts. Since we have youth participating in almost every other type of art form this month, it’s time we mention Spotlight on Youth, the open mic series for youth 12 – 21. SOY was started in 2004 to provide a place for youth to share their talents and interests with their peers. While most participants read poetry, the open mic also welcomes vocal and instrumental music, dance, rap, lip synching, and reading from the works of favorite authors. Artists and photographers are invited to either show work on the mic and share stories and techniques about their work, or to display the work in the room during the event. Sponsoring groups include Just Buffalo Literary Center, Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo, Compass House, Every Person Influences Chi…

The Digital Media Arts Program will be hosting this year's Digital Media Festival from May 24th - 26th at Canisius College. This three-day event will be comprised of a competition and various workshops and seminars, including "Working with Multiple layers of Video in Final Cut Pro" and subjects including lighting, audio, and Flash programming. Each workshop is 90 minutes long. The three categories for the competition are Animation and Video Shorts (suggested length: under 10 minutes), Web and Interactive Design, and Still Images (Photography and Illustration). There are a number of awards within each category. The Festival be held during the evening on Thursday and Friday, and during the day Saturday. The deadline for submissions was initially today, May 7th, but has been postponed until May 14, 2007, to allow for a great…

A new series by Buffalo's leading digital media production studio, Full Circle Studios, is a hilarious take-off from the "PC v. Mac" series, pitting a personified Buffalo (played effortlessly by John Kreuzer) against various other cities. We'll be bringing you one of these a day for the next few days, and promise a massive payoff at the end. Sure to be a hit with ex-pats, the series captures the spirit of Buffalo perfectly, and is one of a collection of new locally-based sketch comedy videos by the studio labeled Sorry, McKinley!

Originally produced as a means of drawing viewers back to standard cable stations from Dish Network and other outlets, Sorry McKinley began life as a half-hour of Buffalo-themed comedy sket…

While we’re flattered you’ve taken the time to read our publication, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Just Buffalo Literary Center would like you to do a little more. In 2005, Buffalo was one of just ten cities from across the country chosen to participate in a program entitled “The Big Read” in which more than 100 communities nationwide will participate in 2007, reading and discussing chosen works. The program was designed to address the concerns raised by a report from the NEA in 2004, which found that literary reading in America was declining rapidly among all groups, but is especially accelerating among the young.

This year’s featured work is the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston. “We felt it was a great piece of literature,” says Michael Kelleher, Artistic Director for the Just Buffalo Literary Center. “It’s a boo…