Hamtramck Notes
October marks a year that I've been writing this newsletter. I wrote something about this anniversary of sorts over on micro-blog, mainly why I started writing it and what I've learned by doing so. A year in, it might have run its course for me. So I think I'll be taking a step back after this issue. Taking a step back might not feel right, so in that case, then I'll keep writing it. Or it might need a different rhythm. Or maybe it's something about this wild season we are living through right now. Either way, thank you for subscribing and reading. We'll see what happens next.
Now onto some stuff.
What a solid article on DJ Booth about graphic artist and designer Matt Doo, who passed away 21 years ago and is responsible for an indestructible, unmistakable aesthetic on a set of mid-90s hip-hop album covers, like this one:
What's better than a bookstore? A democratically run, cooperatively owned bookstore. That's Book Suey in Hamtramck, MI -- now three years old. And I'm happy to say you are hearing from its newest, official community supporter. I have the shirt and mug to prove it.
More from Hamtramck: Detroit Threads (and records) is now back open for business, and I have a photo to prove it:
I also have a new stack of records to prove it, and they weren't free, but they sure are worth it.
I should say, Hamtramck is a 2-square mile city that is surrounded by Detroit. It's a city within a city, literally. The sign you pass as you enter on Caniff St. says "The World in Two Square Miles."
The Indigenous Digital Archive is a site hosted by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, New Mexico. It describes itself like this:
The Indigenous Digital Archive is here to help you explore the history of US goverment Indian boarding schools in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Explore, annotate and learn from over 500,000 archival documents about Santa Fe Indian School and others, all kinds of boarding school records, yearbooks, and letters.
Hamtramck doesn't show up if you search for the city. But Detroit does, in the Ratified Indian Treaty 54: Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi - November 17, 1807.
Status Board
Reading: The YA Lit stomp continues as I made it through Dear Martin by Nic Stone.
Writing: Final edits on a grant due in two weeks. I'm hopeful the second time is the charm.
Teaching: We are getting into MARCH: BOOK ONE, a graphic novel that chronicles John Lewis's early life. I do love the scene where young John is preaching to his chickens.
Listening: The Blue Note Re:imagined LP just came in the mail, and I'm digging it -- especially Jorja Smith's cover of St. Germain's "Rose Rouge." It was a nice touch making this track the lead single also released on 45.