CHIEDZA MSENGEZI
See Bio Box. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, free.
*CORETTA SCOTT KING
King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. and President of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta, will speak about her journey as a single black mother at this YWCA Professional Women's Benefit Luncheon. Washington State Convention Center, Eighth & Pike, 461-4462, noon, reservations required.
VALERIE EASTON & DAVID LASKIN
Presentation by the authors of Artists in Their Gardens, a pictorial tour of Pacific Northeast gardens created by such horticultural artists as Anne Hirondelle, Ginny Ruffner, Dan Hinkley, and Johanna Nitzke Marquis. Easton is the Seattle Times' "Plant Life" columnist and librarian at the UW's Center for Urban Horticulture; Laskin is the author of Rains All the Time and Braving the Elements. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).
RUMI POETRY READING
Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, a professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization at the University of Washington, will read the poetry of Rumi, accompanied on piano by Ariana Barkeshli. Henry Art Gallery, UW Campus, 543-2281, 7:30 pm, $12 general/$10 members/$4 students.
ERIC GARCIA
Booksigning by the author of Casual Rex, a comic mystery in which dinosaurs masquerade as humans. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free.
NEAL BARNARD, M.D.
Your genes are making you fat. Or so says Dr. Barnard, author of Turn Off the Fat Genes: The Revolutionary Guide to Taking Charge of the Genes That Control Your Weight. (What's with all the "revolutionary" diets these days?) Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3311, 7 pm, free.
JOYCELYN MOODY
Religious writings by African American holy women of the 19th century only began to surface in the late 1980s. Moody, a professor of English at the University of Washington, studies these often revolutionary narratives in her new book, Sentimental Confessions: Spiritual Narratives of Nineteenth-Century African American Women. Despite the literary constraints of the times, especially for black women, Moody finds that these writings contain strong statements against slavery, poverty, racism, and sexism. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).
LARRY KARP
Reading by the author of The Midnight Special, the third in Karp's series of "music box" mysteries. Third Place Books, 6:30 pm, free.
JOHN E. KEEGAN
Keegan, the Seattle-based author of Clearwater Summer, will read from his latest novel, Piper. Says Publishers Weekly: "The absorbing coming-of-age chronicle culminates in a scandal, a tragedy and the revelation of a secret--dark events humorously punctuated by two wacky road trips... One hopes that Keegan will feature spirited, wisecracking Piper in a sequel." Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).
VICKI LEON
This afternoon, the author of Uppity Women of the New World will dress up as an 18th century female pirate to read and sign the latest book in her "Uppity Women" series. We can think of no better reason to visit Bellevue. University Bookstore, Bellevue Branch, 990 102nd Ave NE, 425-462-4500, 2 pm, free.
ANNIE KOCHERT
Kochert, an Oregon-based writer and amateur archaeologist, will read from her new speculative novel on the ancestry of Kennewick Man, Lineage: A Trail of Shaman, a book which Publishers Weekly says "is steeped in legend and tradition." Elliott Bay Book Company, 4:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).
JOSEPH P. SMITH
Reading by the local author of The Teacher in Every Parent. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1 pm, tickets required (available free at store).
PACIFIC NORTHWEST HISTORY BOOKCLUB
Discussion of Roger Conant's Mercer's Belles: The Journal of a Reporter, a book that chronicles Asa Mercer's 1866 voyage to New England as a "Female Emigrant Agent" to recruit marriageable young women to travel to the new settlement of Seattle. No registration is required to join this scintillating discussion group. Museum of History & Industry, 2700 24th Ave E, 324-1126, 11 am, free with museum admission.
SARA CONWAY
Booksigning by the author of Murder on Good Friday, a mystery set in medieval England. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, noon, free.
RED SKY POETRY THEATRE
Tonight's featured reader is David Laterre, plus open mic (sign-up begins at 7 pm). Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave, 633-5647, 7:30 pm, free.
THREE POETS & AN OPEN MIC
Featuring readings by Janet Lawless, R.D. Shadowbyrd, and Michael Vaughn. Wit's End Bookstore & Tea Shop, 770 N 34th St, 682-1268, 7 pm, free.
*GREIL MARCUS
"[Marcus'] work is very likely the most imaginative criticism being done," writes New York Magazine, "but it's more than that: It's a light in dark times." After having got his start at Rolling Stone as the magazine's first record review editor, Marcus has gone on to write a number of acclaimed books that weave their way through the history of American popular music and society, including Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of Cultural Obsession, Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes, and Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, which the Chicago Reader calls "a superbly flexible and lyrical piece of writing." His latest book is Double Trouble: Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley in a Land of No Alternatives. Benaroya Hall, 200 University, 621-2230, 7:30 pm, $15-$18.
MARTHA TOD DUDMAN
Reading and signing by the author of Augusta, Gone, a "rough, poignant" memoir. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.
POETRY ALIVE!
High-energy show featuring performers from Asheville, North Carolina. NewHolly Library, 7058 32nd Ave S, 386-4636, 7 pm, free.
EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY
All ages open mic. Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 208-1188, 7 pm, free.
RADICAL WOMEN STUDY GROUP
Discussion of The Radical Women Manifesto, a seminal liberation text. School of Social Work, 4101 15th Ave NE, 722-6057, 7 pm, free.
HENRY ROLLINS
Rollins--journal writer, poet, aging West Coast punk, and former frontman for the seminal rock band Black Flag--will present his hardcore spoken word shenanigans to politely seated fans. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 443-1744, 8 pm, $19.
YAWP! POETRY READING
Weekly presentation of "New Feminist/Queer/Wussy" spoken word performance and open mic. The Pearl, 4215 University Way NE, 547-3326, 8 pm, $3.
WILLIAM LEAST HEAT-MOON
Least Heat-Moon will read from and sign his latest book, River-Horse, an account of his attempt to travel by water in a 22-foot motorboat across the width of the North American continent. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.
TIMOTHY EGAN
See Stranger Suggests. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, phone, 6 pm, $10.
SUBTEXT POETRY READING
Tonight's featured readers are Lisa Robertson (author of Debbie: An Epic, XEclogue, and The Weather, to be published in spring 2001) and Stranger contributor Stacey Levine (author of Dra-- and the award-winning story collection My Horses and Other Stories). Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, $5 suggested donation.
