Happy February, all. It’s been quiet here on the blog because I’ve been busy contributing to the Ann Arbor Observer‘s “Marketplace Changes” column. Here’s my first piece — it’s about the recently reopened Michigan Union.
Though I have cited the Ann Arbor Chronicle, Paul Lukas, and Moses Gates’ casual writing as inspirations for A2RS, Marketplace Changes is perhaps the most clear influence. For decades the Observer has been documenting the opening and closings of area businesses and profiling the entrepreneurs and franchisees that choose to serve Ann Arbor.
Though I’ve spent many hours in comfy chairs reading the Observer’s longform articles and trying to find the Fake Ad, I pretty much always flipped to Marketplace Changes first to see what was new — until I began writing A2RS, because I didn’t want to consciously, or subconsciously, copy their reporters’ work. Now, as a stringer, I can finally read it free of guilt.
To read my latest writings, please read the Observer. You can find it… in your mailbox, if you live in the city of Ann Arbor, every month. Otherwise you can sign up for a subscription or find it at area businesses.
If you can’t find the Observer on paper, you can also subscribe at annarborobserver.com. After a period of time, my Observer work will appear here, and I hope to post stuff here from time to time that doesn’t quite fit the Observer’s parameters (opinions, trip reports).