Jef Mallet
Schuler Books and Music
2660 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids
Feb. 23, 7 p.m.
schulerbooks.com, (616) 942-2561

Each day, thousands of people open their newspapers to read a comic about a young man named Edwin "Frazz" Frazier, a sage janitor-songwriter-triathlete who is an important mentor to students, and friend to educators.

Author, illustrator and creator of Frazz, Jef Mallett, is relieved people can identify with his character because, well, Mallett is Frazz.

"Every writer is ultimately writing about himself," he says. "I make [Frazz] about me, but then of course, I have to make sure that I'm a little bit interesting, so I try to go out and have the most interesting life I can."

That philosophy of life started at a young age. When asked by a babysitter what he would like to be when he grew up, he had already narrowed his options down to a cartoonist or a Harlem Globetrotter. One of those jobs didn't quite work out.

Mallet pursued his goal, working as a graphic artist for multiple Michigan newspapers. It was when he was working as an art director and editorial cartoonist for Booth Newspapers' Capital Bureau in Lansing that Mallett had the idea to do a comic strip - he just needed a character for it.

"I had done a children's book...[and] I went to a lot of schools to do readings and assemblies and workshops. That's where I figured out that the only adult who could consistently calm the kids down was the janitor. He or she was The Man," Mallett said.

He decided to base his comic around a janitor in the school setting, and Frazz debuted in 2001.

Recently, Mallett has found success beyond the frames of a comic strip. As an avid triathlete -a sport where participants swim, bike and run all in the same competition-since 1981, he writes a regular column for Inside Triathalon and Triathlete magazines and is a contributing artist for VeloNews magazine. He was invited to speak at a coaching clinic for triathlons, which led to a column at VeloNews. After he illustrated a book about bicycle racing, his was approached for another task - his new book, Trizophrenia: Inside the Minds of a Triathlete.

"[It has] some technical stuff, but it's not a how-to," says Mallett. "It really boils down to, ‘Man, this sport is great, and this is why we do it.' It's like a funny philosophy book, a book without a niche."

He joked that Schuler Books, where Mallett will be giving a talk and signing books, might struggle in deciding which section to stock it in.

Trizophrenia, which is pronounced to rhyme with schizophrenia, is an insightful look at the "seemingly obsessive-compulsive rituals" of triathletes. Including such chapters as "A Brief History of a Sport with a Brief History," Mallett dispenses the wisdom of a veteran triathlete paired with a healthy dose of humor.

Being a triathlete "is a great way to live," says Mallett, "but I could've written the same type of book about running, canoeing or getting a degree in applied computer science. It's all about the joy of doing something full tilt."

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Joint Show with Pendragon
Midtown Gallery
356 S Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo
Jan. 8-29
kalbookarts.org, (269) 372-0134

You might have some people on your shopping list who are tricky to buy for, but imagine shopping for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Both Nobel Peace Prize winners were recently awarded the Fetzer Center Prize for Love and Forgiveness and $100,000 grant was given to each. Both were also presented with a handmade journal from the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center.

"This was just one of those fun things that you get to do, and knowing where it was going makes it more special," said Michael Dunn, president of the KBAC. "It was true collaboration...everyone contributed, and there was a real spirit of connection in the making."

This sense of connection permeates the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. The organization was formed almost four years ago by a group of printmakers. Some made handmade paper and others were letter press people who all had a passion for books.

"We decided to apply the passion and create a place where we could teach and educate people on the traditions of the book and also move the traditions forward," Dunn said.

Now, the KBAC is a workshop and educational center where artists and members of the community can learn about the variety of presses and techniques involved in papermaking, book design, journal writing, calligraphy and other forms of printing. The KBAC offers classes in "everything connected with what it takes to make a book," from Papermaking with Garden Fibers to the Art of the Altered Book to Egyptian Coptic Stitch Binding.

"We're also connecting with writers and poets and people who actually do the work that goes in the book," Dunn said.

The joint show at Midtown Gallery is another prime example of connection. The Book Arts Center is exhibiting its work with Pendragon, a local group of calligraphers that have been around for over 20 years. Blank journals, books of handwritten poetry, prints and more will be available for purchase.
"It was a logical connection [between] people who made books or prints and the people who illuminate them," Dunn said. "We've all been wanting to do this."

"Threshold," as the show is called, is an exploration of "crossing the boundaries of the old and into the new year." Dunn cited the "spiritual energy you get when you make a transfer" of the old and enter into the new. As members of the two groups collaborate, Dunn expects to enter "new territory." Both the KBAC and Pendragon are moving their traditions forward, and the result is "not the everyday book that people see, but a special book."

Other Literary Events:

Teresa Ann Winton
Barnes & Noble, 5701 Beckley Rd., Battle Creek
Jan 16, 1 p.m.
barnesandnoble.com, (269) 979-8060

Author Teresa Winton's novel Pieces of the Pearl: Memoirs of a Foster Child's Triumphant Transformation landed on bookshelves Nov. 10 and she is stopping by Battle Creek for a book signing. Her novel is the true-life account of her painful childhood. Abused and neglected, Winton and her six siblings were removed from her parents and placed in foster care, where she continued to experience trauma and loss. Winton's story is also one of joy and healing, and she credits her relationship with God as the redeeming power. Minton says she has "found in writing an outlet for my losses and a great avenue of healing."

The January Series
Calvin College, 1835 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids
Jan. 6-26, 12:30 p.m
calvin.edu/january/2010/, (616) 526-6000

Calvin's annual January Series hosts speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds and topics. The Series, which has been around for 23 years, has been awarded the "Best Campus Lecture Series in the U.S.A." three times by the International Platform Society. This year, speakers include The Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid, American Enterprise Institute president Arthur C. Brooks and Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and many others. The presentations are free and open to the public.

Live Music @ KPL series: Belfast Gin
Kalamazoo Public Library, Central Branch
Jan. 20, 7 p.m.
kpl.gov

Enjoy a unique Celtic sound as you wander the stacks. Belfast Gin plays a blend of Celtic and classic rock. The group from Kalamazoo features conga drums, the djembe, guitars, bass, flute, tin whistle, bones and at times, a fiddle and bagpipes. The band's first CD, Ain't Been Sober Yet, was released on St. Patrick's Day of 2008. The high energy performance will begin at 7 p.m. and continue until the library closes at 9 p.m. This concert is part of the library's ongoing Live Music @ KPL series which provides performances from various musical genres. Previous artists were Joe Nolan, the Blue Moon Blues Band and Lloyd and The Fellas. John Wesley Harding is scheduled for February.

Jack Ridl
Literary Life
758 Wealthy St SE, Grand Rapids
Dec. 17, 7 p.m.
literarylifebookstore.com, (616) 458-8418

Jack Ridl knows his way around both the basketball court and the English classroom. His newest work, Losing Season, combines Ridl's great love of both poetry and basketball in a way that is nothing if not unique.

His latest collection, Losing Season, takes the form of poetry-as-chronicle. It's the story of one year with a high school basketball team in small-town America. In each poem, Ridl takes an aspect of the sport-how it feels to take down competition in a hard-fought battle, or what impact a tiny mistake on the court or off can make in that final game-and illuminates it, bringing it to a greater audience. After all, it's not too often a poet picks up a basketball, or a player picks up a volume of sonnets or a quill and parchment. So for the unlikely bedfellows of poetry and sports to meld so naturally is truly remarkable, and well worth a second look, even if you'd rather just stay on the court for another hour or two.

Ridl is a former Hope College professor and the co-writer of several academic volumes on writing and poetry collections. His recently released Losing Season is a follow up to his last lauded work, Broken Symmetry.

By taking a look at his awards shelf, the poet can boast that he's been named one of the 100 most influential sport educators in America by the Institute of American Sport, Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation, and Favorite Professor by perhaps his most important audience, his former students at Hope. And when it comes to a love of sports, and basketball specifically, it's in his blood. His father, Buzz Ridl, once coached the University of Pittsburgh's basketball team.

Before Losing Season, Ridl toyed with a similarly unlikely combination of topics: mathematics and language. Broken Symmetry, the fruits of his labor, sheds light on differing perspectives on our surrounding world. It's a topic similar to what Ridl covered in his chapbook Be tween, a mark of a promising career and poet on the rise if there ever was one.

Hot Books for Cool Discussions: So Young, Brave and Handsome
Kent District Library EGR Branch
Dec. 1, 1 p.m.
kdl.org, (616) 647-3880

Peace Like a River, Leif Enger's first offering, was one of 2001's runaway hits in the world of new literature. Last year, the American author came forth with So Brave, Young and Handsome, a case of a writer writing about a writer. The more you describe the novel, the more it sounds as though it might be autobiographical; the lead is struggling with the success of his first work and working toward something new. Talking about it is the only way to truly appreciate it, so why not do it at KDL?

Jennifer Armintrout
Barnes & Noble at Woodland Mall
Dec. 5, 1-3 p.m.
(616) 940-0820

For many people who guiltily hide their copies of Twilight at the bottom of their briefcases, vampires aren't going out of style anytime soon. Barnes & Noble is all too happy to carry on the trend. Jennifer Armintrout, the author of multiple vampire romance novels and series, will be signing books at the Woodland store this month. If you're looking from a departure from Stephenie Meyer and Cirque Du Freak, then the Blood Ties series is a fine start. The bestselling books aren't about someone who desires to be a vampire; instead, it's someone who wants to resist what she's become. This girl's no Bella Swan-Cullen, which will be a relief for all those Twilight lovers who happen to be protagonist haters. Both Blood Ties and Armintrout's other novels will be available at her signing.