LEO MARX

See Stranger Suggests, page 34. Kane Hall 220, UW Campus, 543-2280, 7 pm, free (tickets).

PONTOON POETRY

Floating Bridge Press' publication Pontoon features local poets Holly Hughes, Catherine Hoffman Beyer, E. Hank Buchman, and Ann Spiers. They read tonight. University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

JOHN J. NANCE

Harrowing! Death spirals! The FBI and terrorism! On an airplane! What more do you need to know? Oh, the title: Blackout! Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3300, 7 pm, free.

*JOHN RECHY

See Stranger Suggests, page 34. Kane Hall Walker Ames Room, UW Campus, 634-4300, 7:30 pm, free (tickets at University Book Store).

*ED SANDERS

Ed Sanders knew and worked with Allen Ginsberg for 36 years, and is an award-winning poet and author in his own right. Sanders' upcoming book, The Poetry and Life of Allen Ginsberg, looks at Ginsberg's life and work philosophy; Sanders will discuss ways to be a creative person in modern society based on some of those models. Northwest Spokenword Lab, 14 S Division, Auburn, WA, 253-735-6328, 8 pm, $10 donation.

MOLLY TENENBAUM

Tenenbaum's newest book of poetry, By a Thread, promises to charm and cajole, but offers no glib conclusions. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

AARON ELKINS

Suspicion, intrigue, and murder in the French village of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac (known for its pté de foi gras, truffles, and... mysterious ancient bones) set the stage for Elkins' Skeleton Dance. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3300, 7 pm, free.

DIANE WESTERGAARD, GLEN MILLER, THOMAS HUBBARD, DAVID THORNBURGH

Open mic follows this reading by four local poets, in conjunction with PoetsWest Literary Journal. Pages: Books, News & Web, 432 15th Ave, 324-1000, 8 pm, free.

*HUGO HOUSE FACULTY

Smarty-pantses and bigwigs all, Hugo House talent read prose and poetry and talk about their work as teachers and writers. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.

*LIZ WALDNER

Waldner's newest collection, A Point Is That Which Has No Part, winner of the 2000 Iowa Poetry Prize, asks questions like "Why did you make me like this?" from a god whose personality is scattered among "shadow-patterned greens." Beautiful, sensuous poetry against the baseboard of science. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

PATRICIA NELSON LIMERICK

With a title like Something in the Soil, you might imagine Limerick's book treads the hallways of horror, but in fact the historian delivers eloquent essays on the evolution of modern Western culture. Critics praise Limerick for her accessible language and "good humor." University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 2 pm, free.

ALLEN BRADEN, TOM HUNLEY, REBECCA LOUDON, KEVIN MILLER, MARJORIE ROMMEL

Northwest poets read as part of a celebration of National Poetry Month. The Amy Burnett Gallery, 402 Pacific Ave, Bremerton, WA, 360-692-5403, 2 pm, free.

JOSHUA ORTEGA

Ortega's turned his worries about Seattle's future into a novel set in Seattle, 2051: Frequencies. Technology's intrusiveness has changed the very ways people think. Jody Aliesan says it's "quite wonderfully freaky." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

*MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM & AMY BLOOM

This distinguished Seattle Arts & Lectures presentation is sure to be popular -- Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winner, The Hours, has topped local bestseller lists for the past couple of months. The Hours apes Virginia Woolf, in a beautiful, wispy way; Amy Bloom shapes psychoanalysis into clear-eyed short stories. She's a warm reader, and funny. The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave, 621-2230, www.lectures.org, 7:30 pm, $7.50 (student)-$18.

JODY SHIELDS

1910. Freud's Vienna. The atmosphere is charged with emerging metaphor. Hungarian legend, gypsy lore. Murder of a young woman lends grist to the mill (sorry). It's New York artist, screenplay writer, and author Jody Shields' novel The Fig Eater. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, free.

DAVID BERLINSKI

The algorithm is a dense concept, and Berlinski's writing is dense, but scores of readers praise his analysis/memoir, The Advent of the Algorithm: The Idea That Ruled the World. The past-tense in the title reflects Berlinski's belief that the algorithm will be overtaken by more fuzzy methods. Kane Hall Walker Ames Room, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free (no tickets required).

HELEN ZIA

Zia's Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People relates stories of Asian Americans struggling to define "America" for themselves: the hopes, the personal nature, the intensity of real multiculturalism. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

JULIA BUTTERFLY HILL

Forget tree hugging -- Julia Butterfly Hill went so far as to nest in a several-stories-high ancient redwood for two years to get her point across. Now down at ground level, Hill presents her account, The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods. Kane Hall 130, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free (tickets at University Book Store).

*NATHAN ENGLANDER

Englander's debut short story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, rises directly out of the rich tradition of New York grad school intellectuals -- storytelling that's engrossing and heart-tugging and a little bit boring, but really very solid. Englander employs his Jewish literary roots (he now lives in Jerusalem) to good effect. Town Hall, Eighth & Seneca, 621-2230, 7:30 pm, $30 series tickets (call for individual ticket availability). Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.

OPEN MIC

Note to regularly programmed open mics: The Stranger will list events only if we receive an announcement -- regular listings will be dropped unless we are notified that the events are in fact ongoing.

665

Count the days no more -- 665 is back, reconfigured by Salon Productions. This open mic is hosted by Sarah Sharp. Four Angels Cafe, 1400 14th Ave at Union, 264-5139, 7:30 sign-up, free.

SPOKEN WORD

Each and every Thursday, this venerable Pioneer Square venue spotlights music, poetry, and comedy. Pioneer Square Saloon, 73 Yesler Way, 624-6444, 8:30 pm, free.

WINDOW PAIN

An eclectic open mic that encourages you to "bring your circus act!" Lottie Mott's Coffee Shop and Collective Baggage, 4900 Rainier Ave S, 725-8199, 7 pm, free.

RED SKY POETRY THEATER

Seattle's longest-running reading series livens up the tiny Globe Cafe. This week's featured reader is Kim MacKay-Brook. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th & Pine, 633-5647, 7:30 pm, free (donation).

HOMELAND

Hosted by Circus and friends, "Seattle's own Little Bohemia" emerges from a hiatus transformed. The Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave at Pike, 264-5139, 7:30 sign-up, free.

STAGE FRIGHT

See readings bio. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, free.

SEATTLE POETRY SLAM

Seattle's highest-powered slam hunkers down at Dutch Ned's, with featured readers each week, plus open mic for money. Dutch Ned's, 206 First Ave S, 340-8859, www.seattlepoetryslam.org, 9 pm, $3.

CATHARTICISM

Confess your sins at this open mic: a forum for cleansing your soul in public. Poets, writers, musicians, welcome. This week's theme is "Sin-Be-Gone," and promises to feature a live crucifixion. Coffee Messiah, 1445 E Olive Way, 860-7377, 8:30 pm, free.