ADAIR LARA

Reading and signing by the author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go, a memoir about reigning in a rebellious teenage daughter and giving her a big, therapeutic hug. Bring a hankie. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

POETSWEST GROUP READING

Featuring readings by Nancy Abercrombie, Hank Davis, Cindy Williams Gutierrez, Jill Hardin, Thomas Hubbard, Lee Rahfeldt, Mark Rubin, Warren Scholl, Sarah Singer, and David Thornburgh. Wit's End Bookstore & Tea Shop, 770 N 34th St, 682-1268, 7 pm, free.

BRUCE HENDERSON

Henderson, a former reporter and professor of journalism, is the author of Fatal North: Adventure and Survival Aboard USS Polaris, The First U.S. Expedition to the North Pole, a story of murder, scandal, and government cover-up that unfolded under the sponsorship of this country's fourth greatest president, Ulysses S. Grant. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.

TOM ALKIRE

Reading by the author of There's More to Fishing (Than Catching a Fish), a book that, according to Henry Murray, "discloses the truly valuable rewards of angling." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

*THE WRITES OF SPRING

Featured readings by three local authors. Jean Rouveral, actress and screenwriter, will read from her new memoir, Refugees from Hollywood: A Journal of the Blacklist Years; ubiquitous poet Tess Gallagher will discuss the recently discovered stories of her late husband Raymond Carver, published in Call If You Need Me: The Uncollected Fiction and Prose, as well as read from her latest work, Soul Barnacles: On the Literature of a Relationship; and Kathleen Alcala will read from and sign Treasures in Heaven, the last in a trilogy of historic novels set in Mexico. HUB Auditorium, UW Campus, 634-3400, 10 am, $12.50 (tickets available at University Bookstore).

MATTHEW "UNCLE MATTY" MARGOLIS

Presentation by the beloved author of Solutions for Your Dog--and You. Elliott Bay Book Company, 3 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

WENDY LUSTBADER

Reading by the author of What's Worth Knowing, a memoir about life as a geriatric social worker. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

POETSWEST READING SERIES

Featuring readings by Michael Magee, Deborah Bacharach, Miriam Bassuk, Richard Brugger, Curt Colbert, Olivia Diamond, J. Glenn Evans, Kay Mullen, Peter Pereira, Steve Porter, James Scofield, and Linda Weaver-Fox, with music by harpist Karen Mathieson. Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, 682-1268, 2 pm, free with admission.

STUART COWAN

Cowan is co-editor of Ecological Design, a book about "systems, patterns, context, integration, and ultimately about vision, which is where good design begins" (David Orr, Whole Earth Review). Elliott Bay Book Company, 4 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

THREE POETS & OPEN MIC

Featuring Olivia Diamond, Carlos Martinez, and Carol Shaw. Wit's End Bookstore and Tea Shop, 7 pm, free.

RED SKY POETRY THEATRE

This week's featured reader is Carletta Carrington Wilson, followed by an open mic. Sign-up begins at 7 pm. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th, 633-5647, 7:30 pm, free.

WENDELIN VAN DRAANEN

Reading and book signing by the Edgar award-winning author of the new children's mystery, Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy, in which the titular female sleuth goes to Hollywood in search of her delinquent mother only to encounter all manner of TinselTown weirdness, criminal and otherwise. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.

RADICAL WOMEN STUDY GROUP

Weekly ongoing discussion of Making Waves, an anthology of sociopolitical writings by Asian American women. Everyone welcome! School of Social Work, 4101 15th Ave, 722-6057, 7 pm, free.

TIM WOHLFORTH

Reading by the author of On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left, which Chip Berlet calls "a significant and compelling contribution to the often-contentious debate over the use of the term 'cult' and the nature of predatory totalitarian groups." Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY OPEN MIC

All-ages poetry, prose and spoken word open mic, hosted by Ira Parnes. Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 208-1188, 7 pm, free.

CATHERINE CARRIGAN

At this meeting of the Well Mind Association, Carrigan--author of Healing Depression--will speak on the "Wholistic Approach to Healing Depression." The Good Shepherd, 4649 Sunnyside N, 547-6167, 7:30 pm, free.

DR. SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON

Jackson is the first African American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT and one of the first two African American women to receive a doctorate in physics in this country. In other words, this lady is NUCLEAR! Tonight, as part of the Walker-Ames Lecture Series, she will speak on the subject of "Research, Policy, Industry: A Merger for the Future?" Kane Hall, UW Campus, 616-1825, 6 pm, free (no tickets required).

AMITAV GHOSH

Reading by the internationally-acclaimed author of The Glass Palace, an epic novel of Burma and Malaya. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

*MARIE PONSOT

See Stranger Suggests. UW Faculty Club, 282-2677, 7:30 pm, free.

*VOICES FROM THE HOLOCAUST

Morgan Ahern, a freelance researcher, will discuss the Nazi's victimization and murder of the Roma and Sinti gypsy tribes during World War II. This lecture is open to the public. Seattle Central Community College, Room BE 1110, 1701 Broadway, 587-5485, 11 am, free.

YAWP!: AN EVENING OF PERFORMANCE POETRY

Featured readers at this "feminist/queer/wussy" reading series are Karen Finneyfrock and R. Eirik Ott, plus open mic. The Pearl, 4215 University Way NE, 547-3326, 8 pm, $3.

THOMAS DANIEL

Daniel--Komen Professor in the UW's Department of Biology--will discuss "Movement in Biology: Insect Flight and Reverse Engineering the Successful 'Robots," in which the physical movements observed in the animal kingdom provide inspiration for the design and manufacture of a new generation of robots. Ah, what a brave, new world! Kane Hall, 685-6736, 7 pm, free with registration.

DOUGLAS LORAIN

Reading and signing by the author of Backpacking Washington. University Bookstore, 7 pm, free.

SUBTEXT READING SERIES

Tonight's featured readers are Bay Area poet Elizabeth Robinson, author of House Made of Silver, and K. T. Cutler, whose performances combine movement and language, text and images. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 323-4316, 7:30 pm, $5 suggested donation.

DAVE BRUELS

Bruels, who has lead over 35 tours in China, will present a slide show about the "Back Roads of China and the Yangtze River." Marco Polo Books, 713 Broadway E, 860-3736, 7:30 pm, free.

GARY FERGUSON

Lecture and discussion about recalcitrant teens and nature hikes by the author of Shouting at the Sky: Troubled Teens and the Promise of the Wild. Seattle Public Library North Branch, 6801 35th Ave NE, 684-7539, 7 pm, free.

LESLIE BRENNER

Reading by the author of Greetings from the Golden State, a satirical novel that is a "lopsided fairy tale of the pursuit of happiness and culinary satisfaction" (Philip Lopate). Elliott Bay Book Company, 5:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

BRENDA PETERSON & FRIENDS

Readings by a host of local contributors to the anthology The Sweet Breathing of Plants: Women and the Green World. Elliott Bay Book Company, 7:30 pm, tickets required (available free at store).

*GEORGE RITZER

Ritzer, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, will discuss his book, The McDonaldization of Society. Piggot Building Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway, 296-5305, 3:30 pm, free (RSVP to 296-5305).