* IT'S ABOUT TIME WRITERS READING SERIES
Further proof that no one is actually from Seattle: This month's edition of It's About Time features a bevy of imports young and old, including former New Yorkers Miriam Fitting, Irene Drennan, and Ruth Osato, with additional spice in the form of former Ecuadorian Francia Recalde. Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 7:30 pm, free.
* JEFFREY KARL OCHSNER, DENNIS ALAN ANDERSON
As I write this I simply can't stop yawning, and I have to blame authors Ochsner and Anderson--or rather, their specialized subject matter of bricks and mortar--for my bout of lethargy. Distant Corner is a study of Seattle's late-19th-century architecture. University of Washington, Kane Hall, Room 130, 634-3400, 7 pm, free. [Note: Zac, please, for my sake and God's, take an interest in the history of Northwest architecture; it really is unbecoming of you to be so intellectually lazy. --Charles Mudede, books editor.]
ROBYN SCHIFF, JASON WHITMARSH
Worth author Schiff takes a break from her gig at the University of Oregon for an evening with University of Washington grad Whitmarsh. Open Books: A Poem Emporium, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 7:30 pm, free.
JOHANNA STOBEROCK
With all the classic twists of a run-of-the-mill love triangle, University of Washington graduate Stoberock's debut novel, City of Ghosts, at least has the sense to set up shop somewhere exotic--in the ever-mysterious stretches of Nepal. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
DR. GREGORY STOCK
Dr. Stock accepts the first Walter P. Kistler award for his ultra-creepy science text, Redesigning Humans. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 624-6600, 7 pm, free.
* ALEXANDER WEHELIYE
[Mr. Pennington: put this in the calendar and don't make fun of it.--Charles Mudede, books editor.] Weheliye discusses the ways in which contemporary black culture savors the synthetic technologies like cell phones and pagers in his lecture entitled Ring, Ring, Ring: Machinic Sensation. University of Washington, Communications, room 226, 634-3400, 3:30 pm, free.
FRIDAY 4/11
ARTHUR BLOOMFIELD
Parmesan? Pepper? A rambling memoir, perhaps? Bloomfield offers recipes with a side of who-gives-a-fuck-about-your-dinner-in-Milan in The Gastronomical Tourist. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
* LYDIA DAVIS, MATTHEW STADLER
See preview this issue. "There are a million reasons to love Lydia Davis, and some of them are stories only as long as this capsule. Another reason is that she's a translator, and translators are a particular breed: obsessed with nuance of meaning, with how meaning transmits itself down to the level of sentence syntax. And you know what? Only a translator could pack so much meaning into a story only as long as this capsule." (Emily Hall) Tonight, she is joined by Matthew Stadler in a conversation about her work. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, $6-$8.
TONU ONNEPALU
Produced under the pen name Tonu Onnepalu, Estonian author Emil Tode's acclaimed Border State is another one of those tomes of existential dejection--all brooding and detached bloodshed--that all the kids love so much. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 6 pm, free.
SATURDAY 4/12
MARE CROWELL
Crowell digs deep into American soil to seek out spirituality in this godless nation, and comes out with If I Gave You God's Phone Number, a collection of interviews with folks from all walks on the subject of theology. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4:30 pm, free. [Note: Zac, why didn't you take this excellent opportunity to mention the book Experimental Theology, which will be out in May 2003, published by the Seattle Research Institute--www.seattleresearchinstitute.org? Your negligence troubles me. --Charles Mudede, series editor for the Seattle Research Institute.]
FLOATING BRIDGE PRESS POETRY READING
An unnamed host of poets published in Floating Bridge's Pontoon read their work. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 2 pm, free.
CASEY KWANG
Oh, to be a young poet. I suspect that, at 28, Oregon-based writer Kwang has, during conversations with objects of his desire, more than once casually parlayed the mention of his two poetry collections--On Blue Felix and the recently-published Copia--into some great reward. I mean, come on: How could you resist a professional poet? Exactly. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 8 pm, free.
WAYNE THEODORE
Author (and former Sally Jesse Raphael guest!) Theodore signs Wayne, the memoir of his years as an abused and neglected child. Barnes & Noble, 600 Pine St, 264-0156, free.
SUNDAY 4/13
TED FALCON, Ph.D.
Go deep--real deep--with Seattle-area rabbi and Judaism for Dummies coauthor Falcon, with the revised edition of his text A Journey of Awakening: Kabbalistic Meditations on the Tree of Life. Tree of Life Judaica & Books, 2201 NE 65th St, 527-1130, free.
* T. G. H. JAMES
James, former "keeper of Egyptian antiquities" at the British Museum, presents Ramses II, his look at the facts and fictions of the ruler's reign. University of Washington, Kane Hall, Room 110, 634-3400, 2 pm, $7-$10.
HUGH WILEY
Psychologist (and "International Coaching Association" member) Wiley plays god with his latest self-help masterpiece, Dancing with Change: Create Your Life in Three Proven Steps. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.
MONDAY 4/14
JODY ALIESAN, DEBORAH BACHARACH, BARBARA BALDWIN, MADELINE DeFREES
Four regional representatives from the recent estrogen-laden anthology A Fierce Brightness: Twenty-Five Years of Women's Poetry weave their wares in an evening of that literary hiccup known as poetry. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
ROBERT SHILLER
A few years back, Yale economist Shiller took a pretty risk-free gamble, predicting in his book Irrational Exuberance that, eventually, the stock market boom was gonna take a turn. It just so happened that the boom went bust about a month later. With his latest, The New Financial Order, the economist offers some solutions to America's ever-impending financial crises. University of Washington, Kane Hall, Room 130, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
TUESDAY 4/15
* CHARLES D'AMBROSIO
Mudede considers D'Ambrosio, who used to contribute to this paper and recently has had several articles and short stories appear in the New Yorker, to be one of the greatest writers alive today. Mudede can't stop talking about him. Mudede says he is so happy to share first names with him. Mudede says you must go to this reading. Little Theatre, 610 19th Ave E, 675-2055, 7:30 pm, free.
MICHAEL SCHUT
Maybe that cheesecake really is divine after all. A representative of Seattle's Earth Ministry (which does its part to "connect Christian faith with care and justice for all creation"), Schut presents Food & Faith, an anthology that connects God with, well, just about everything we eat. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free. [Note: Alas, another missed opportunity, Zac. --Charles Mudede, books editor.]
DR. RICHARD WISEMAN
Wiseman's The Luck Factor purports to offer "a scientifically proven way to understand, control, and increase your luck," but comes off sounding a little more like wrinkle-cream doddery by redefining "luck" as a synonym for optimism. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
WEDNESDAY 4/16
* GEOFFREY BROCK
Brock translates one of Italy's most noted translators (huh?), Cesare Pavese, in Disaffections: Complete Poems 1930-1950. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free. [Note: Zac, how dare you even think about making fun of the great Brock? His translation of Pavese's poetry is beyond superb. Please come to my office and borrow his book right now. --Charles Mudede, books editor.]
VINE DELORIA JR.
Deloria gets all third-gunman on our ass in the whole evolution-versus-creation dance, with some crazy new "evidence" against, well, pretty much all of Western thought. Godspeed, friend--godspeed. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
POETRY/OPEN MICS
POETSWEST--Featuring J. Glenn Evans, Joan Stuart Ross, and Douglas Schuder. Thurs April 10 at Lux Café, 2226 First Ave, 7 pm, free. Also Sun April 13 at Penny Cafe, 1707 NW Market St, 682-1268, 7 pm, free.
RED SKY POETRY THEATRE--Featuring Stephen Thomas. Sun April 13 at 7:30 pm. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave, 547-4585, free. Also Mon April 14 at Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 7 pm, free.
