Derick Black (guitar, vocals) and 2020-2024 Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence Ken Szymanski (spoken word nonfiction) recreate the life of Mike Teclaw, a long-gone small-town cheesemaker and tavern owner. Teclaw is also Szymanski’s grandfather—one he never knew. Together, through interwoven gospel, blues, stories, and songs, Szymanski and Black will work to turn a tombstone back into a man.

Co-sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild, the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, and the Genealogical Research Society of Eau Claire.