Chioke l'Anson
Keisha N. Blain is co-editor (with Ibram X. Kendi) of "Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019" (Random House, 2021).
Four Hundred Souls, Thursday, Feb. 11, 6 pm: Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 is a new collection featuring 90 writers, each taking on a five-year slice of U.S. history. Using short stories, personal essays and political statements, Four Hundred Souls compiles a panoply of experiences and ideas from the last four centuries. Editors Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, along with contributors Nikole Hannah-Jones, Wesley Lowery and Imani Perry, will discuss the book as part of a free webcast from Barnes & Noble. Find it on Facebook or YouTube.
Turtle Island Confederacies: Relationships and Balance, Thursday, Feb. 11, 6 pm: Been thinking about democracy lately? Same. As the narrative about the United States and the founding fathers is being revised in many quarters these days, it is important to understand that white Europeans did not hatch democracy on this continent. Long before, the Three Fires Confederacy of the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were participatory democracies. The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters' Roots of Democracy Series tackles this topic with a lecture from Rebecca Webster, Margaret Ann Noodin and Richard Monette. This online discussion and Q&A, via Zoom, is open to the public with advance registration.
courtesy PHMDC
Public Health Madison & Dane County Director Janel Heinrich.
COVID-19 Vaccine Virtual Town Hall, Thursday, Feb. 11, 6:30 pm: Public Health Madison and Dane County recently announced a new, less restrictive phase of business and gathering guidelines, effective on Feb. 10. But it will take a lot more vaccinations for life to get back to even a new version of normal. During this panel discussion, UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine professor Jonathan Temte and PHMDC's Janel Heinrich and Doug Voegeli will talk about the various vaccines and the process to receive them, as well as take questions from the public. RSVP here for the Zoom meeting.
Getting Drunk with the Movies: Exhibition and Prohibition, Friday, Feb. 12, noon: Imbibing while watching a flick may be a common activity during this stay-at-home winter, but this UW Center for the Humanities lecture instead takes us back to public gatherings a century ago. Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, an associate professor of film studies and English at UW-Milwaukee, will talk about how theater owners during the silent era responded to the 18th Amendment's banning of alcohol sales. Register here for a Zoom link.
UW Jazz Studies Program
Saxophonists Bennett Leclaire and Mina Stumpfoll of the UW-Madison jazz ensembles recording at Audio for the Arts.
UW Jazz Studies Program & Tandem Press, Friday, Feb. 12, 6 pm: In addition to its work with a worldwide roster of visual artists, fine art printer Tandem Press is also associated with the UW-Madison School of Education; students gain experience by working as studio assistants to the master printers. Since 2014, the UW Jazz Studies Program has also been a Tandem Press collaborator through an ongoing concert series featuring student ensembles. With in-person concerts on hold, Tandem and Jazz Studies have collaborated with Audio for the Arts on a video version of the concert series, featuring music by student and faculty composers presented alongside prints by Tandem Press artists. Find the premiere on YouTube.
The Importance of Being Earnest During a Pandemic, Friday, Feb. 12, 7 pm; Saturday, Feb. 13, 2 & 7 pm: The title of this updated version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is, ahem, very witty. Oscar himself would probably be amused, although perhaps bewildered by the virtual setting (video calls) as the farce meets both technology (false identities are harder to manage during video chats) and the pandemic. The script, by Don Zolidis, is from the "Stay At Home Play Collection" and the production is by Verona Area Community Theater. Tickets for the livestream ($5) at vact.org/tickets.
Midwinter Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13: Our second weekend in a row of frigid temperatures means it's a good time to warm up with the annual Midwinter Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest, hosted by Harmonious Wail. And this year you don't even need to leave home as it's a streaming event. Friday (7 pm) features the traditional opening set from the Wail, along with Djangophonique and La Pompe. Saturday afternoon performers (2 pm) include trios led by Jason Anick and Don Stiernberg along with Pearl Django; evening performers (7 pm) include Russell Welch, a duo set by Tim Kliphuis and Reinier Voet, and Bruskers Guitar Duo. Donations are appreciated.
courtesy Winter is Alive
Ojārs Feldbergs’ environmental art object "The Dying Iceberg" is a tribute to the iceberg.
Winter is Alive, Feb. 12-March 7: What is Winter is Alive? What isn't Winter is Alive, is a better question. This multi-disciplinary art spectacle encompasses film, visual art installations, community, dialogue, reflection and inspiration to engage with the natural world and address climate change. So a mashup of a carnival and a Zen retreat center, maybe. The full schedule of virtual events presented by Dane Arts and Garver Events with additional support from the city of Madison Arts Commission and Sustain Dane is long, but the whole shebang kicks off with an open mic livestream (featuring prerecorded submissions) on Feb. 12 at 7 pm. It’s hosted by Rob Dz and participants range from artists to health care workers to scientists and more; as with most of the streaming events, it will be projected the next night (6 pm) outdoors at Garver Feed Mill. That's just a taste of what's to come. Find a full schedule at winterisalive.org; livestreams will show up there and at twitch.tv/winterisalive.
Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth
Kia Smith is executive artistic director of South Chicago Dance Theater.
UW Dance Department Faculty Concerts, Friday, Feb. 12, 8 pm; Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 13-14, 2:30 pm: This winter tradition featuring choreography by UW-Madison dance instructors transitions to a trio of webcast concerts, examining varied topics from our current pandemic-related limitations (and frustrations) to Gilded Age workers. Choreographers include Maree ReMalia (Friday), Collette Stewart and Christopher Walker (Saturday), and Karen McShane-Hellenbrand and Kia Smith (Sunday); the concerts will be presented via YouTube.
Gardening without Gravity, Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 am: It is unlikely any of us on Earth will be faced with the task of this lecture's title...but considering the societal upheavals of the past year, the watchword is "Be prepared!" UW-Madison botany professor Simon Gilroy researches how plants sense and respond to the world around them, and his experimental locations include the International Space Station. He will offer some insights on space-based horticulture in this lecture from Friends of Allen Centennial Garden and Madison Area Master Gardeners Association. Register here.
DeWook
People Brothers Band
People Brothers Band, Saturday, Feb. 13, 7 pm: The Barrymore Theatre welcomed 2021 by getting into the livestreaming arena, partnering with Lucid Streams for fully produced concerts from the stage of the historic east-side venue. The next installment is sure to inspire some living room dance parties with your quarantine pod: the soulful sounds of People Brothers Band, who write in an email that they "plan on spreading some love and positivity into the world when we need it most." Amen. Find the concert on YouTube; donations, split among the band, venue and production team, can be made here.
Kyle Hilker/Shatter Imagery
Wurk (left to right): Daniel Haschke, Frank Laufenberg, Miles Morkri, Ryley Buchanan, Max Morkri, Carl Hipenbecker, Casey Seymour.
Virtual Venue Love Fest, Sunday, Feb. 14, noon-9 pm: The lifeblood of the local music scene, Madison's small venues are all trying to find a way to make it to the other side of the pandemic shutdown. Four east-side spots — Bos Mead Hall, The Bur Oak, Cafe Coda and Communication — will host this telethon-style livestream from their stages, with a dozen performers including WURK (7:45 pm), Hanah Jon Taylor & Friends (1 pm), Old Soul Society (8:30 pm) and Kat and the Hurricane (2:30 pm). Find the full schedule here; the stream can be found on the Audio for the Arts website, as well as Folk U Productions' YouTube and Facebook pages.
Beth Mickalonis
Award-winning investigative journalist Frank Smyth is the author of "The NRA: The Unauthorized History" (Flatiron Books, 2020).
Frank Smyth, Sunday, Feb. 14, 7 pm: Few in the U.S. would disagree the country has a problem with guns, but there are diametrically opposing viewpoints on the issue. Are there too many guns, or not enough? How did we get here? Part of the answer is political action by the National Rifle Association. However, the NRA's focus wasn't always what they now push, and it doesn't necessarily want you to remember that. Journalist Frank Smyth takes a look at the secretive organization in the 2020 book The NRA: The Unauthorized History, and he will discuss the book during a livestream conversation with Norman Stockwell, publisher of The Progressive. Donations here benefit the magazine.
Rain Garden Workshop, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 6 pm: You know that crummy section of your yard with the ugly overgrown evergreen bushes? If you have a yard, you have the equivalent: a problematic patch that can and should be transformed into a rain garden. It will look better, you'll feel better and it helps the environment by filtering runoff and keeping it from our lakes and rivers. This series of workshops will guide participants step-by-step through the creation of a rain garden and let's admit it: we're still going to be spending a lot of time in our yards for the foreseeable future. Register at ripple-effects.com. Participants are encouraged to attend all three classes (follow-ups are on March 2 and 16), although it is not required; cost for all three classes is $10.
courtesy WUD DLS
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
The Journey to Justice: A Conversation with Ben Crump, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 7 pm: As a trial attorney, Ben Crump has participated in civil rights cases that have driven our national conversation on systemic inequality in recent times. He’s represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and many others. During this Wisconsin Union Directorate Distinguished Lecture Series livestream, Crump will talk about working within the current justice system (including the effects of qualified immunity for government officials) and how storytelling can help bring change. Register here by 6 pm for a link to the talk.
Sarah Shatz
Emily St. John Mandel's latest novel is "The Glass Hotel" (HarperCollins, 2020).
Emily St. John Mandel, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 7 pm: Emily St. John Mandel wrote a prescient novel in 2014. Station Eleven was set in the future after a flu pandemic wiped out most of the world's population. It was unsettling reading before COVID-19; now, it's especially alarming. But Mandel's new novel, The Glass Hotel, will take you further away from our situation these days. The Glass Hotel is more of a mystery/ghost story, though Mandel has an assured, 21st-century take on the genre. During this Wisconsin Book Festival event, she will be in conversation with Chloe Benjamin, author of The Immortalists. Register here for the Crowdcast link.
Give the Gift of Mobility, Feb. 1-28, Metcalfe's: Throughout February, Metcalfe's Hilldale and West Towne markets will offer customers the option to donate $1 or round up a purchase total to support Madison residents experiencing homelessness. Friends of the State Street Family will use funds collected to buy Madison Metro bus passes for distribution to those in need. The campaign was created by Ellina Seckel, associate chief of pharmacy for William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital.
Christian Michael Filardo
Jenn Shapland, author of 2020 National Book Award finalist "My Autobiography of Carson McCullers."
Jenn Shapland, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 6 pm: Jenn Shapland's impressive debut is one of those rarest of nonfiction titles, an assured blend of personal memoir and literary detective work. My Autobiography of Carson McCullers begins when Shapland, a graduate student, discovers letters written to McCullers by a woman named Annemarie. Her investigation leads to a narrative in which she questions how we tell queer love stories, how writer McCullers has been fitted into straight spaces, and what the whole journey reveals to Shapland about herself. My Autobiography of Carson McCullers was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in nonfiction. She will discuss the book with writer Kate Gorton for this event hosted by A Room of One's Own. Register here.
Junko Yoshida
Author and Last Kid Books founder David Benjamin.
Virtual Author Slam, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 7 pm: Mystery to Me bookstore brings three local authors together to read from their latest writing; each has 12 minutes to read and answer questions. This month features poet Richard Merelman and authors Jeff Winkowski and David Benjamin. It's a nice way (despite the "slam" in the title) to be introduced to new works. Register here.
We hope it's handy for you to find the Picks in a single weekly post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.