6 - Friday, December 7, 2012ATMgD mcay

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

A2teens in 826 pick
literary favorites

Assembling the
annual 'Nonrequired
Reading' anthology
By JOEY STEINBERGER
DailyArts Writer
It's hard to tell where an
anthology comes from when you
find one in a bookstore. The many
texts that make up the collection
are separated from their original
context, which begs the ques-
tion: "Who arranged these works
together, and on what grounds?"
For readers of the Best Ameri-
can Nonrequired Reading series,
the answer is alot closer to home
then you would think.
The texts for the Best Amer-
ican Nonrequired Reading
anthology are chosen annually
by two groups of high school
students, one from Valencia,
Calif. and the other from Ann
Arbor. Both groups are involved
with 826, a writing and tutor-
ing non-profit started by author
Dave Eggers.
"(Eggers) and a group of high
school students in the Bay Area
began developing the book ten
years ago," said Amanda Uhle,
executive director of 826michi-
gan. "Shortly after they invited
other 826 chapters to take part ...
(our chapter) took him up on the
invitation, and we were the only
one."
The group consists of approxi-
mately a dozen students and
two facilitators who meet for.
two hours every week to discuss
material that could possibly be
included in the anthology. The
students represent about six dif-

ferent high schools from the Ann
Arbor area. When searching for
material, the panel acquires texts
in a few different ways.
The series is considered "non-
required" because it is a compila-
tion of more unusual texts.
"The students themselves can
seek out materials they read in
literary journals or other publi-
cations," Uhle said. "The facili-
tators can also source materials
from things that they read and
distribute them to the students.
We also do a whole lot of collabo-
ration with the Valencia group.
If they find something they are
really excited about, we get a
copy of it too."
The facilitators, Henry W.
Leung and Jia Tolentino, are
MFA students at the University.
Eggers looks at the students'
favorite pieces each year as he
compiles the anthology.
"Those are the backbone of
how he builds the collection,"
Uhle said. "But I can't say there
is a rock-solid process that every-
thing goes through. Like all
publishing projects, there is an
organic nature to it."
While Eggers always serves as
the editor of the anthology, the
series has a different introduc-
er and cover artist every year.
Introducers come from a variety
of creative backgrounds; musi-
cian Beck, "Simpsons" creator
Matt Groening and author David
Sedaris have all contributed,
and Banksy and Art Spiegelman
have both done cover art.
Hanal Baveja, a junior at
Huron High School, has been a
part of the Best American Non-
required Reading group since the
fall of her freshman year, when a

senior at her high school told her
she might be interested.
"From the first meeting, I
knew that this was something I
wanted to do for high school and
maybe even college because it
was so different from anything
I've ever done," Baveja said. "It
was a chance to read so much
new work, and all these exciting
pieces that were so different from
what I was reading in school or in
the library."
When Baveja first joined the
panel, the students in Valencia
chose most of the readings and
sent them over to the students in
Ann Arbor to review. This year,
however, the Ann Arbor students
are taking a more active role in
the selection process.
"Henry has been bring-
ing more and more journals to
our meetings, which gives us
a chance to pick out pieces we
want to share with the group,"
Baveja said. "We're definitely
trying to make it more coopera-
tive."
Though Eggers is ultimately
the editor of the book, the stu-
dents serve as preliminary edi-
tors.
"We talk about whether it's a
good piece or not and what we
like about it, but we also talk
about where it would fit in the
book," Baveja said. "Although
there are wonderful pieces we
read, some of them we don't end
up choosing because they are not
right for the book."
"We're seeking work that is off
the beaten path that you wouldn't
come across otherwise," Uhle
said. "It winds up beingagem of a
collection because it has a kind of
unusual feeling to it."

4

"I SPEAK TO YOUR SOUL."
Musical tastes shaped
generation to generation

By JOHN LYNCH
DailyArts Writer
For my father, the most fas-
cinating innovation of the early
21st century was the mix CD. In
2001 - a time when MP3 files
were suddenly ubiquitous and
accessible - my dad became
obsessed with burning discs of
music. By embracing technology,
he had finally found 'a superior
alternative to the painstakingly
made song collections that were
the mixtapes of his 1970s child-
hood - and he rejoiced in it.
I was in first grade when my
father made this momentous
discovery, and each morning
drive to elementary school that
year was accompanied by a new
set of songs from his nostalgic
past. My ears were exposed to
the mystical jazz of Van Mor-
rison's "Moondance," the punk-
rock sounds of The Clash's
"Train In Vain" and the rough
vocals of Bob Dylan as he belted
out the chorus to "Mr. Tambou-
rine Man." I struggled to appre-
ciate any of it.
At the time, I was an eight-
year-old brat with a steadfast
affinity for the band Smash

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and a needle-thin scope of ful falsetto hit me like a right-
able music. I dreaded see- hook from Muhammad Ali in
dad in the driver's seat of his prime, and I was overcome
er Dodge Intrepid because with emotion and appreciation
'it meant that I would be for the song as I realized that it
r subjected to his musi- was Track One of my dad's most-
alitarian rule. Despite my played mix from back in the day.
ints - "His voice sounds In the weeks following this
's dying!" being a common sudden revelation, I spent hours
Bob Dylan - my dad sat digging through my dad's dust-
ehind the steering wheel covered vinyl collections and
n unwavering commitment CD racks. I began hoarding his
Ds and a fascist control of albums and uploading massive
io. I spent years hating my quantities of this music that
aste in music. I had once disdained onto my
library. Suddenly, my iPod was
bursting with content and my
xuess what. taste in music was diverse and
seasoned with maturity. My
our parentS dad's favorite band, The Smiths,
became my favorite band, and
re good taste. Bob Dylan's vocals went from
*7being the bane of my existence
to a beacon of truth.
The origin of my taste in music,
n one day in seventh however, dates back much further
it all clicked. I was in than my father's mixes.
Studies class, and my Patsy Cline's "Crazy" is a song
e, old hippy teacher played that will unfailingly bring me to
litchell's song "California" tears if no one else is around. I've
we were walking around had a deep emotional connec-
om and doing a project. I tion to it for my entire life, but
d dead in my tracks and until recently, I had no explana-
d intently. Joni's beauti- tion for why it meant so much
to me. I was driving with my
mom one day this summer, and
"Crazy" came up on my iPod,
and she started singing it with
me. I asked, "You like this song
18-4115 too?" and she said, "Are you seri-
splay@gmail.com ous? This is one of my all-time
favorites. I used to sing it to.you
when you were a baby because it
would help you-fall asleep."
013. 1106 MichiganAve. large It's fascinating to think that
/6+ pking, $3400/m, all mytaste in music may have been
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734-332-6000. grow into something that can
define a person's life.
E OI hope to infect my children
S Y Ulike my parents have infected
me. My kids, for example, willibe
IRCUAC injected with a daily dose of the
two Franks (Sinatra and Ocean).
I plan to bombard them with
Vampire Weekend and torment
them with Radiohead. Some-
day, when they are stopped dead
in their tracks by the beauty of
O L Andrew Bird song, they will
remember my relentless efforts
and thank me for giving them
the finest of musical tastes
T?
FOLLOW
DAILY
ARTS!

RELEASE DATE- Friday, December 7, 2012
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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3 Builders of By Gary J. Whitehead 12/07/12
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