THURSDAY 5/22
RAFE ESQUITH
Poor schmuck pours in 18-hour days, taking a second job while incurring personal debt, all to serve as an elementary school teacher to a bunch of ungrateful monsters who will undoubtedly grow up to buy and sell him. Esquith, a man of great character and little common sense, signs his memoir, There Are No Shortcuts. University of Washington, Kane Hall, Walker-Ames room, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
KATHERINE GOVIER
In another of those ever-popular phony history books, Govier imagines the uncharted North Atlantic fact-finding journey of John James Audubon–the bird guy. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
KARL E. MEYER
World Policy Journal editor Meyer reads from his latest, The Dust of Empire. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 120, 634-3400, 7 pm, $5-$7.
WENDY NORTHCUTT
Northcutt signs The Darwin Awards 2–because, let’s face it, ain’t nothin’ funny like good old-fashioned human tragedy. Barnes & Noble, 2700 NE University Village, 517-4107, 7 pm, free.
* SUZAN-LORI PARKS
Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Parks unveils her first novel, critics the world over lose their collective shit. Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.
GARY SHTEYNGART
The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Shteyngart’s acclaimed debut, traces the life of a passive Russian immigrant in the frantic setting of 1990s New York, skewering the character of America from the outsider’s perspective. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
FRIDAY 5/23
GREG BEAR
Bear capitalizes on the inherent media onslaught of one of the spring’s biggest blockbusters, as he tours a book of his own mutant race, Darwin’s Children. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.
POETRY CABARET
In honor of the record release of spoken-word troupe the BMT Ordeal, local art rag the Raven Chronicles welcomes a host of performers for an evening of pointy-headed celebration. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 8 pm, $5.
IRIS CHANG
Award-winning author of The Rape of Nanking, Chang returns with her The Chinese in America, a narrative history of everyone’s favorite ethnic minority, and their troubles and triumphs in this new world. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.SATURDAY 5/24
KAREN CUSHMAN
Newbery Award-winning author Cushman (The Midwife’s Apprentice) offers up her latest on the subject of disenfranchised orphans, entitled Rodzina. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 11 am, free.
KATE GADBOW
Gadbow gets all Lean on Me with her award-winning debut, the story of an ESL teacher in Montana, entitled Pushed to Shore. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 1:30 pm, free.
* SLIDE RULE II
See Stranger Suggests. Richard Hugo House, 322-7030, 5 pm, $5.
lê thi diem thúy
Born in southern Vietnam, performance artist and writer thúy recounts in cold calculation a series of detached vignettes about her troubled existence in The Gangster We Are All Looking For. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
HAUNANI-KAY TRASK
Polynesian poet Trask makes for the mainland with Night Is a Sharkskin Drum, a new book of words from the heart of Hawai’i. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON ADVANCED COMMERCIAL FICTION CLASS
The fiscally forward fiction writers of UW’s commercial fiction program share their surefire money-making wares over two afternoons this weekend–Saturday’s authors include Loren Fairman, Gail Gazda, Tempe Grex, Ann Jas, and Naomi Work, with Pat Amo, Elizabeth Atteberry, Lindsey Barrett, Christine Black, and Michael Davis on Sunday. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 2 pm, free. Also Sun May 25 at 2 pm.
SUNDAY 5/25
* COLLOQUE WHEEL
Colloque Wheel continues its reading series at the much-adored Victrola with welcome readings by the likes of Stacey Levine, John Burgess, Wendy Blake, and Paul Nelson. Victrola Coffee & Art, 411 15th Ave E, 7 pm, free.
LORI ROBINSON
Award-winning journalist Robinson confronts the particular hurdles faced by African American survivors of sexual violence in the unfortunately titled guide I Will Survive. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.
* TITLEWAVE READING SERIES
See Stranger Suggests. Titlewave Books, 7 Mercer St, 282-7687, 7:30 pm, free.
* TYPING EXPLOSION
With the release of their skillfully subversive new typing manual _Typo_, Typing Explosion rattles and clicks and rings and honks their way through a mountain of mechanical poems, one dollar at a time. Open Books: A Poem Emporium, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 2:30 pm, free.
MONDAY 5/26
* SAMUEL R. DELANY
If the books editor had any kind of power in this paper, this reading would have been on the Stranger Suggests page. But he doesn’t have power, only dreams about it in his office. Author of numerous and numinous sci-fi novels, Samuel R. Delany is one of the most important writers of the 20th century, and it’s just fucking great that he is here, writing and reading in what is the dawn of the 21st century. Bailey/Coy Books, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.
TUESDAY 5/27
GAYLE BRANDEIS
Combining “intimate portrait,” “mixed race,” and “crossroads,” Brandeis births the font of originality that is The Book of Dead Birds. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
MICHAEL LEWIS
How math almost saved baseball: Lewis chronicles the story of Oakland Athletics manager Billy Beane, a man who brought the struggling team around to last year’s resounding success–all with a modest salary. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
WEDNESDAY 5/28
MOLLY GLOSS, ADRIANNE HARUN, TERI HEIN
Celebrating its fifth year in operations, Houghton Mifflin’s Mariner paperback line brings three shining Northwesterners from its roster to read from their respective works. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
SUZANNE LEBSOCK
University of Washington history professor Lebsock meticulously chronicles the courtroom gymnastics of an 1895 ax-murder trial during late Reconstruction-era America in A Murder in Virginia. University of Washington, Kane Hall, room 130, 7 pm, free.
MARK LEE
One of the few Western journalists in Uganda during that country’s civil war, Lee decides to quit all that real writing stuff and take up fiction with his debut novel, The Canal House. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.
YANN MARTEL
Martel talks about and signs The Life of Pi: A Novel, which is about a 16-year-old Indian boy named Pi. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
POETRY/OPEN MICS
ELLIOTT BAY OPEN MIKE NIGHT–Hosted by P. Dawg. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, Wed May 28 at 7:30 pm, free.
HOMELAND–Words. So many words. Tuesdays at 7 pm. Caffe Vita, 1005 E Pike St, 709-4440, free.
RED SKY POETRY THEATER–Featuring Cal Kinnear. Sun May 25 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. Bad Juju Lounge, 1518 11th Ave, 709-9951, $4.
STAGEFRIGHT–All-ages (literary) action! Wed May 28 at 7 pm. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, free.