New festival filled with books, culture

By Sophia Potter
Editor in Chief

A brand new festival will be taking over Lansing this weekend – and it all kicks off at LCC!

Lansing LIT Fest is a multi-day collaborative event between booksellers and other pioneers of arts and culture in the Lansing area. Spanning from Friday, Sept. 20 to Sunday, Sept. 22, Lansing LIT has something for everyone.

One of the first events taking place in the extensive lineup is “A Way With Words,” a poetry reading taking place at DART Auditorium Friday, Sept. 20 at 6 pm. Emceed by Lansing poet laurate emeritus Masaki Takahashi, the event hopes to expand the way people think about the intersection of art and communication.

“In a spoken word performance, you expect to hear words smoothly spoken, usually in the dominant language,” said Melissa Kaplan, LCC Academics and Outreach coordinator. “Yet there are other modes of communicating and language experiences, and that's what ‘A Way with Words’ is all about.”

Featured guests include The Bee, a nonbinary poet from New York, and Tai Dorsette from Detroit, a hard of hearing poet. The event will be interpreted by students from the LCC Sign Language program under the guidance of a certified interpreter.

After the performances, “A Way With Words” will conclude with a presentation on speech impediments and the science behind them, as well as a Q&A session. The event is free to the public.

Saturday and Sunday are both filled with exciting events for the whole community as well: scavenger hunts, author events, performances, a gallery opening at REACH Studio Arts, as well as several events specifically for young readers.

One of the major events happening across the entirety of Lansing LIT is a “book crawl” that begins Friday, Sept. 20 at 11 a.m. and concludes Sunday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. By making a $1 purchase at any participating retailer, customers can earn a stamp; get a stamp from all 10 participating stores, and win a special Lansing LIT tote!

Participating bookstores include longtime Lansing staples like EVERYbody Reads, Curious Book Shop, Schuler Books, Summit Comics and Robin Books. Festival organizers also hope to support new up-and-coming retailers in the area, including Hooked, Socialight Society, Wafaring Booksellers, Deadtime Stories and A Novel Concept.

Check out the full lineup of festivities here!