*ALEXANDER COCKBURN & JEFFREY ST. CLAIR

Cockburn, a regular columnist for The Nation, is one of the most vigilant, articulate, and righteous leftie commentators on the political scene today. Along with co-editor St. Clair (of Counterpunch), he has written Five Days That Shook the World: The Battle for Seattle and Beyond, a book that investigates the larger implications of last year's protest and ensuing police-state melee. (Today, by the way, is the anniversary of the first birthday of WTO). This event is listed as a reading and signing, but it promises to be much, much more. Don't miss it! Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 634-3400, 7 pm, tickets required (available free at University Bookstore).

*JANET THOMAS

More WTO stuff. See Bio Box. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

JAN HARPER HAINES

Reading and signing by the author of Cold River Spirits: A Story of an Athabascan-Irish Family in Twentieth Century Alaska. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE , 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

BILL HOLM

Holm is a UW faculty emeritus and painter who works in the tradition of Northwest Coast Indian art; today he presents a slide show based on his new book, Sun Dogs and Eagle Down: The Indian Paintings of Bill Holm. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

DAVID WHYTE

Poet and author (The Heart Aroused and House of Belonging, among others) speaks on "A Passionate Pilgramage: Why Poetry Matters." Benaroya Hall, 200 University, 621-2230, 8 pm, $22.

JAN HARPER HAINES

See Thursday listing. Third Place Books, 6:30 pm, free.

MIRA KAMDAR

Reading by the author of Motiba's Tattoos. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

WILLIAM WITHERUP

Reading by the author of Down Wind, Down River. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

LAUREN GLEN DUNLAP

Reading by the author of And I, Francis. Elliott Bay Book Company, 5 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

LARRY BROOKS

Oregon mystery writer signs his debut erotic thriller, Darkness Bound. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free.

JUDY PETERSON-NEDRY

Slide show, discussion, and booksigning by the author of Washington Wine Country. B.Y.O.B. University Bookstore, 2 pm, free.

RODNEY WILLIAMS & OTHERS

Williams is the featured reader at this installment of the PoetsWest Reading Series. Also scheduled to perform are Mike Barre, John Burgess, Phyllis Collier, Danika Dinsmore, J. Glenn Evans, Cindy Williams Gutierrez, Thomas Hubbard, Erynn R. Laurie, Michael Louella, Jean Musser, Leonard L. Tews, and David Thornbrugh, with music by Vivian and Phil Williams. Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, 682-1268, 2 pm, free.

HANK DAVIS, KEN SHIOVITZ, and JOHN WRIGHT

Three poets and an open mic. Wit's End Bookstore & Tea Shop, 770 N 34th St, 682-1268, 7 pm, free.

*ANTONIO DAMASIO

Damasio is Van Allen Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, as well as the author of the critically acclaimed science book Descarte's Error. His latest study, The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness, is the result of his extensive research with brain-damaged patients. "This is a landmark book," writes the Journal of Consciousness Studies. "Unquestionably the best book that has yet been written on the subject of consciousness and the brain... [it] will challenge and delight the most sophisticated readers, while rarely leaving the less sophisticated lost or overwhelmed." Kane Hall, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, tickets required (available free at University Bookstore).

SHELBY SCATES

Reading by author of War and Politics by Other Means. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

SUSAN A. GLENN

Reading and signing by the author of Female Spectacle: The Theatrical Roots of Modern Feminism, a book that traces the role of emerging theater in the creation of modern feminism. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.

MARCIA BARTUSIAK

Bartusiak is a science journalist whose new book, Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: Listening to the Sounds of Space-Time, searches the cosmos for that fabled music of the spheres. Harvard astronomer Robert R. Kirshner had this to say about the study: "Hang on tight and lean into the curves of space-time as Bartusiak takes you surfing through the world of gravitational waves." (Isn't it cute when geeky astronomers try to talk all hip?) Kane Hall, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, tickets required (available free at University Bookstore).

*IMAGINED LANDSCAPES LECTURE SERIES

This installment of Consolidated Works' "Imagined Landscapes: Imagined Seattle" series is titled "The Ecological Imagination of Place." Consolidated Works, 1122 E Pike St, 381-3218, 8 pm, $7, $5 members.

*GRANT COGSWELL

Stranger writer Cogswell reads his "Ode to Marion Zioncheck," part two of the serial poem Pacific Bell, on what would have been Zioncheck's 100th birthday. Oh, and there's music and cheerleaders, too. See Stranger Suggests. Breakroom, 1325 E Madison, 860-5155, 6 pm, $8. All ages!

RICH COHEN

Reading by the author of The Avengers. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

KEVIN SCHAFER

Slide show, discussion, and booksigning by the author of Penguin Planet, a photographic essay that takes a look at all 17 different species of everyone's favorite bird. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.

JIM CURRIE

Satish Kumar calls Currie's spiritual travel guide, The Mindful Traveler, "a powerful passport to magical and meaningful travel." University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.

BETSY WARLAND, JODI LUNDGREN

Subtext Reading Series presents two distinguished writers: Warland is an essayist, poet, and critic whose recent work includes Bloodroot: Tracing the Untelling of Motherloss and What Holds Us Here; Lundgren, who is pursuing her dissertation at UW, has just published her first novel, Touched. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 748-1551, 7:30 pm, $5 suggested donation.

MARCIA BARTUSIAK

See Tuesday listing. Elliott Bay Book Company, 5:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

MELINDA MUELLER

Reading by the author of What the Ice Gets. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.