books listings
THURSDAY 1/23
MICHAEL BRAME, GALINA POPOVA
With all of the cultural relevance of a moldy sandwich, Brame and Popova excavate the Shakespeare controversy from its grave of indifference for another bout with masturbatory literary conjecture. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
CANDACE ROBB
Mystery meets history in a no-holds-barred slugging match that will decide once and for all the weight of Robb’s paperback payout. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.
ELIZABETH ROSNER
Rosner signs her award-winning debut novel, The Speed of Light, a meditation on the prolonged toll of family secrets. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 728-0933, 7 pm, $3-$5.
* LARRY STARR
The UW music professor discusses the death of truth and beauty in American musicianship with American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way, 634-3400, 4 pm, free.
FRIDAY 1/24
KEN MOCHIZUKI
Based on his youth spent in Seattle in the ’70s, Mochizuki presents Beacon Hill Boys, a young-adult novel that faces issues of race and identity. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
* SUSAN STARBUCK
Seattle’s deceased anti-icon Hazel Wolf, politically active until her death in 2000 at age 101, falls into the spotlight of Antioch University professor Susan Starbuck in her latest, Hazel Wolf: Fighting the Establishment. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.
SATURDAY 1/25
RHYS BOWEN
Historical mystery (what we in the biz like to call a “historical”) writer Bowen returns with Death of Riley, the sequel to 2001’s Murphy’s Law. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.
JAMES BERTOLINO
The Elliott Bay press release makes Bertolino sound like every woman’s caricatured wet dream: mountain man, creative-writing professor, poet–add tall, dark, and handsome, and even I’m sold. Bertolino signs Pocket Animals, his ninth poetry collection. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
SUNDAY 1/26
JOHN WILLIAM KULM
Is there an urban guilt for the plight of the American farmer? And just how long have our salt-of-the-earth rural brethren been suffering? And why don’t they just get a job at Wal-Mart? These and other questions are answered in The Five Stages of Quitting Farming, John Kulm’s new poetry collection. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.
MONDAY 1/27
ROLF POTTS
Making a career of emotional avoidance and half connections, Potts offers Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
MATT BRIGGS, GREGORY HISCHAK
See Stranger Suggests. Farm Pulp impresario and powerhouse playwright Hischak teams with local author Briggs for an evening that promises both “dinnerware replacement” and “tigers in lifeboats.” Richard Hugo House, 728-0933, 7 pm, free.
SCOTT CARPENTER
In For Spacious Skies, Carpenter, a distant second in that whole Earth-orbiting shtick, tries to relieve the strain of his inferiority complex by convincing the world that his efforts were more than a vanity mission. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7:30 pm, free.
CALVIN TRILLIN
Trillin seeks out the geriatric civil-disobedience market in a little book called Tepper Isn’t Going Out–something about parking meters and reading the newspaper. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6 pm, free.
TUESDAY 1/28
WILLIAM H. GATES SR., CHUCK COLLINS
Papa Gates and an heir to the Oscar Mayer weenie fortune head what the catchphrase-crazed folks at Newsweek call the “billionaire backlash,” a group of heart-o’-gold affluent folks who oppose Dubya’s planned reverse Robin Hood act. The duo sign Wealth and Our Commonwealth. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 130, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
BRIAN HALL
Hall discusses I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company, a fiery homoerotic romance charting the tumultuous love affair between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 130, 616-1825, 7 pm, free.
NATHANIEL STONE
Why is it that people who accomplish utterly ridiculous feats of stupidity are automagically handed book deals? If America turns out stupid, I blame the publishing industry. Stone signs On the Water, some bullshit about spending 10 months alone in a rowboat. Zeitgeist, 171 S Jackson, 583-0497, 7 pm, free.
BEM LE HUNTE
Le Hunte signs The Seduction of Silence, a remarkably ironic title considering this 416-page saga of multigenerational women’s suffrage. Get it? Oh, never mind. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free. Also Third Place Books, 366-3333, Wed Jan 29 at 7 pm, free.
POETRY/OPEN MICS
* ELLIOTT BAY OPEN MIKE NIGHT–Hosted by P. Dawg. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, Wed Jan 29 at 7 pm, free.
HOMELAND–Words. So many words. Tuesdays at 7 pm. Caffe Vita, 1005 E Pike, 709-4440, free.
OUT OF TUNE–Poetry and music free-for-all hosted by Jon Hogan. Thursdays at 8:30 pm, signup at 8 pm. The 15th, 7515 15th Ave NW, 706-4973, free.
POETSWEST AT LUX CAFE–Featuring Harvey Goldner, David Horowitz, Pieter Zilisky. Thurs Jan 23 at 7 pm. Lux Cafe, 2226 First Ave, 682-1268, free.
POETSWEST AT PENNY CAFE–Featuring Ruth Osato, Laura Snyder, Herbert Sundvall. Sun Jan 26 at 7 pm. Penny Cafe, 1707 NW Market St, 682-1268, free.
ReBIRTH–All-ages open-mic brouhaha. Sundays at 7 pm. French and European Artistic and Cultural Center, 623 Broadway E, 726-4843, free.
RED SKY POETRY–Featuring readings from Sheri D. Wilson and others. Sun Jan 26 at 7:30 pm. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave, 547-4585, 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. Sit & Spin, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-9484, $4.