Local poet Karen Finneyfrock’s first novel, The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door, is about a precocious 14-year-old girl with a dark secret who writes startlingly good poetry. This seems like appropriate subject matter for Finneyfrock, who writes startlingly good poetry about very dark things. People who’ve read advance copies of Door—including Stranger Genius Sherman Alexie—can’t stop raving about it, which should be reason enough for you to come to this launch party and hear what Finneyfrock, a brilliant performer of her own work, has to say. (Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, hugohouse.org, 7:30 pm, free)