THURSDAY 5/29
SHARON CARTER, JOANNIE STANGELAND, JEFF CRANDALL, CORA GOSS-GRUBBS
The final event in its three-part reading series, Jack Straw Writers Program presents an evening’s reading by four of its residents. Jack Straw Productions, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, 634-0919, 7 pm, free.
ALAN FURST
Celebrated spy novelist Furst addresses his latest works, the paperback edition of his 1940s Euro-romp Blood of Victory, along with an anthology (for which he receives editorial credit) of short stories by the heroes of literary espionage entitled Book of Spies. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free. Also, Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.
MARJANE SATRAPI
With a comic-strip narrative drawing comparisons to the works of Art Spiegelman, Satrapi recounts her Iranian youth through the revolution of the ’70s in the critically acclaimed Persepolis. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7 pm, free.
TANYA SHAFFER
Fleeing from her privileged position as a white progressive performance artist, Shaffer took to privileged African wandering. Somebody’s Heart Is Burning is her privileged memoir of that time. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
FRIDAY 5/30
JENNIFER ARMSTRONG, ADAM BAGDASARIAN
Lost and alone seems to be the uplifting theme of today’s reading, featuring the tales of a solitary Civil War-era immigrant to America and an Armenian boy orphaned during the 1910s, in Armstrong’s Becoming Mary Mehan and Bagdasarian’s Forgotten Fire, respectively. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6 pm, free.
* ARIEL GORE
In Atlas of the Human Heart, an autobiographical account of her poverty-rich adventures in Asia and Europe, Gore (Breeders)–founder of HipMama.com and Hip Mama magazine–discusses something other than her capacity to reproduce. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free. Also Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, Sat May 31 at 7:30 pm, free.
BARBARA GOWDY
Toronto’s Gowdy, known typically for her artful treatment of elaborate subject matter, takes the low road with her latest, an austere look at matters of the heart called The Romantic. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
SATURDAY 5/31
HILLARY HART
Further exploiting the myth of feminine mystique, Hart explores the religious awareness specific to that of the fairer sex, in The Unknown She. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.
TIM SANDLIN
Literary cutup Sandlin spins another quilt of yarns in Honey Don’t, the story of an unfortunately named girl in the White House. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 3 pm, free.SUNDAY 6/1
* SEATTLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
See Stranger Suggests. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, $5.
BONNIE HARRIS
The bowing shelves of parental help books just got a little more crowded, in the form of Harris’ When Your Kids Push Your Buttons–a title I’m sure outdoes the previous tomes on the subject by a yard. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 2 pm, free.
KÀMAL “THE DIVA” LARSUEL-ULBRICHT
Local film critic and 3BlackChicks.com cofounder Larsuel-Ulbricht discusses 3 Black Chicks Review Flicks, her sista-soaked “film guide with flava!” that addresses such prevalent topics as the “late-night booty-call flick,” “The Black Factor,” and “The Brotha Rule.” Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.
MONDAY 6/2
KATE LAKE
Lake signs her memoir in motor, Zero to Fifty, the story of her lifelong relationship with the automobile. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free. [Note: Zac, I think you should have said a little more than this, seeing that our boss, Dan Savage, blurbed the book–a strange thing for him to have done, as, like me, he doesn’t know how to drive. –Charles Mudede]
CHET RAYMO
Physics professor Raymo microscopes each blade of grass along his daily walk to work in The Path, a look at the universal alignment of all things. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
TUESDAY 6/3
* REBECCA BROWN
“Rebecca Brown’s latest book, The End of Youth, is part collection of linked stories, part essay, part bildungsroman; but all mettle, all heart.” (Kate Preusser) Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
TOM FRANKLIN
Author of the award-winning short story collection Poachers, Franklin returns with Hell at the Breech, a fictitious account of turn-of-the-century street thugs in Alabama. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.
DAVID HALBERSTAM
One of those sports-as-metaphor-for-life sorts of fellows, Pulitzer-winning journalist Halberstam accounts the 60-year friendship of four famous baseball players whose names register with vague familiarity, in The Teammates. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 130, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
WEDNESDAY 6/4
JOHN BURDETT
Burdett (A Personal History of Thirst, The Last Six Million Seconds) constructs an atypical mystery/thriller in the form of Bangkok 8, the tale of a Thai cop on the hunt for his partner’s killer. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
* PHILIP GOLD
“Against All Terrors author Gold has real substance, and is worth reading because some of his ideas actually penetrate the darkness of this new and unknown territory called the 21st century.” (Jeremy Lott) University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 110, 7 pm, free.
KAREN HARPER
Mass-market paperback writer Harper presents another thin page-turner in The Falls, and as per usual, everybody’s a suspect. Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347, 7 pm, free.
FRANCIS KAZEMEK
Urging the elderly to pick up their pens before all memory fades beyond recollection, Kazemek signs Exploring Our Lives: A Writing Handbook for Senior Adults. Barnes & Noble Pacific Place, 264-0156, 11 am, free.
SUBTEXT POETRY READING
This month the still-excellent Subtext series plays host to featured poets Allison Cobb (The Little Box Book), Jen Coleman (editor of the POMPOM poetry journal), and Sarah Mangold (Household Mechanics). Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, $5.
UW WRITING CLASS
The students of Skye Kathleen Moody’s writing class share their latest works. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
POETRY/OPEN MICS
HOMELAND–Words. So many words. Tuesdays at 7 pm. Caffe Vita, 1005 E Pike St, 709-4440, free.
SCRATCHING POST–Poetry open mic, all ages. Thursdays at 8 pm, signup at 7:30 pm. Mr. Spot’s Chai House, 5463 Leary Ave NW, 297-2424, free.
SEATTLE POETRY SLAM–Open mic and slam with Karen Finneyfrock. Wednesdays at 8 pm. Bad Juju Lounge, 1518 11th Ave, 709-9951, $4.