By Nathaniel Mackey, from Late Arcade, which was published this month by New Directions. The book is the fifth installment in From a Broken Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate, a novel that follows the activities of a jazz group. Mackey is the author of more than a dozen collections of poetry.

We got to Detroit around noon after an early flight from L.A. It was the first time in the city for all of us. After getting settled in the hotel and resting up a while, we went out. We walked around and took the bus for longer…