THURSDAY 5/9


* STAGGERED THIRDS

A show in two parts, with Jo Miller, Nova Dvonie, and Corey Kaiser doing music and Staggered Thirds (Rebecca Brown, Anna Mockler, and Doug Nufer) doing words. These performances are to inaugurate the new café/performance space in that old bank building on Broadway between the Café Septieme and the Bank of America. Capitol Hill Café, 216 E Broadway, 324-6379, 8 pm, $5 suggested.


* AIHWA ONG

Ong talks about "Asian Cities of Power" as part of the "Human Agency in a Globalizing World" series. Ong is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, who has published, among other books, Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality. UW Communications Building, UW campus, room 206, 616-1190, 7 pm, free.


* MELINDA MUELLER

Mueller is the first poet in a series of three readings in conjunction with the Gene(sis) exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery. This series of poetry readings will look at life through the impossible lens of human genetics. Open Books, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 7:30 pm, free.


MITCHELL BARD

Bard is author of Myths & Facts: A Concise Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict and The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East. Tonight he will discuss the current situation in the Middle East for any idiot who wants to learn more about it. Tree of Life Judaica & Books, 2201 N 65th St, 527-1130, 7 pm, free.


WILLIAM CALVIN

Calvin talks about and signs A Brain for All Seasons: Human Evolution and Abrupt Climate Change, which argues that climactic "cool, crash and burn" prompted huge brain growth over millennia. That done, let's hope something in the atmosphere will, over the next millennia, promote thicker erections and bigger breasts. UW Kane Hall, room 130, 7 pm, free w/ticket, available at University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400.


JOY KATZ

Brooklyn-based poet Katz visits and reads from her just-published debut collection, Fabulae. Donna Seaman of Booklist writes: "Newcomer Katz offers surprising takes on femaleness, beauty, life, death, and the vagaries of perception in aesthetically immaculate yet emotionally and intellectually assertive poems." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.


* REBECCA LOUDON, PEGGY STURDIVANT, MARY LOU SANELLI, DOUG HECKMAN, CLAUDIA MAURO

See Stranger Suggests. Jack Straw Productions, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, 634-0919, 7:30 pm, $5.


VALERIE EASTON

Easton reads from and signs Plant Life: Growing a Garden in the Pacific Northwest, which is based on her Seattle Times columns. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.


PONTOON 5

Published poets read from Floating Bridge Press' most recent anthology of poems. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7:30 pm, free.


FRIDAY 5/10


* POESIE CONCRETE

This evening to include: Sound Poetry, the Typing Explosion, Climax Golden Twins, Printer's Devil Theatre, and films by Steve Creson. BYOB. OSEAO: Gallery of the Senses, 14th & Pike, 725-1650, 7:30 pm, $5 suggested.


LISA BELKIN

Belkin reads from Life's Work, which concerns the very real problems that women face. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6 pm, free.


SATURDAY 5/11


CHRISTIE JENKINS

Jenkins will give an interactive presentation on American Sign Language. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 1 pm, free.


CLARA OLINK KELLY

Bellingham's Kelly comes to the capital of the Pacific Northwest (us) to read a memoir called The Flamboya Tree: Memories of a Mother's Wartime Courage. It has to do with her early childhood in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Dutch Indonesia during World War II. After the reading, she will leave the capital and return to Bellingham. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 3 pm, free.


BENJAMIN SAENZ and LUIS ALBERTO URREA

Saenz is a poet with a collection of poems called Elegies in Blue. Urrea is a novelist and poet who has written a collection of short fiction called Six Kinds of Sky. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free; see also www.kathleenalcala.com.


JANET CHAPPLE

Chapple will show slides, read from, and sign Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park, a comprehensive guide to a boring national park. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 2 pm, free.


DALE TURNER

Turner reads from Another Way. As I don't know what the book is about, I will offer this excerpt: "Somewhere between intransigent dogma on the one hand and skepticism on the other is another way: open-minded uncertainty. The greatest need for our day is a combination of open-mindedness, which makes for progress, and a loyalty to those convictions that conserve the best contributions of the past." Third Place Books, 366-3333, 5 pm, free.


SUNDAY 5/12


WILLIAM MEREDITH and RICHARD HARTEIS

Poets Meredith and Harteis do their poetry thing and sign Effort at Speech and Sapphire Dawn, respectively. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 2 pm, free.


TRISHA THOMAS

Author of Nappily Ever After, Thomas reads as part of "Black to My Roots: A Mother's Day Tribute," an event that includes a Mother's Day tea, an African dance performance, and a silent auction. Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry, 325-6500, $20.


WERNER H. VON ROSENSTIEL

Now over 90, Florida writer and attorney Von Rosenstiel is one of few people in the world who has firsthand knowledge of the Nuremberg trials. The press releases says this: "Though himself a native German, he fled Hitler's army, emigrated to the U.S., and here was drafted into the Army, with eventual service in helping prosecute his former commanders at Nuremberg. He tells his amazing story in Tales of an American Soldier." Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.


DANIEL H. PINK

Former White House screenwriter (I mean speechwriter) Pink, who is currently a contributing editor at Fast Company, will discuss his book Free Agent Nation: How America's New Independent Workers are Transforming the Way We Live. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would read anything by someone who has written speeches for an American president. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 4 pm, free.


MONDAY 5/13


GREG BEAR

Part of the "Bigger or Better" storytelling series curated by Hugo House Writer-in-Residence Kathleen Alcala, sci-fi writer Bear will tell you all a story and a half. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, $6.


RACHEL SIMMONS

Simmons talks about and signs Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, a book that sheds light on expressions of aggression between girls. Simmons offers parents and teachers ways in which to help our daughters. The Humbert Humbert Society will have a discussion at Flowers Bar and Restaurant after Simmons' talk. UW Kane Hall, Walker-Ames Room, 7 pm, free w/ticket, available at University Bookstore, 634-3400.


TIM WINTON

If Australian Winton were to perform "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport," I'd recommend this reading like that! But he is not. Instead he is reading from his newest novel, Dirt Music, which, according the press release, is a haunting, powerful story of mystery and perseverance. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, free.


THOMAS McGUANE

Montana's McGuane is here tonight with his first novel in a decade, The Cadence of Grass. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.


JOSEPH NYE JR.

Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Nye will talk about U.S. foreign policy in a conversation with David Tang, a Seattle attorney and Asia expert. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 652-4255, 7:30 pm, free; for details call University Bookstore, 634-3400.



TUESDAY 5/14


* JIM GRIMSLEY

Grimsley will read from his newest book, Boulevard, which tells the story of a young man from Pastel, Alabama, who has just moved to New Orleans with little over $95 in his pockets. Yes, he lands a job at a pornographic bookstore. Bailey/Coy Books, 414 E Broadway, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.


JOSHUA ORTEGA and KRISTINE SMITH

Ortega reads from and signs ((Frequencies)) while Smith reads from and signs Law of Survival. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.


* STEVEN ROBY

Jimi Hendrix is the subject of Roby's Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix. Roby is the former editor of the international Hendrix fanzine Straight Ahead, and will speak about his research of Hendrix's commercial and unreleased recordings. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.


BOB SANTOS

Santos, who is the executive director of the International District Improvement Association, will read from Humbows, Not Hot Dogs: Memoirs of a Savvy Asian-American Activist. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.


* EDWARD HIRSCH

Houston-based poet Hirsch reads his poetry and has a conversation with the Washington Center for the Book's Nancy Pearl. Museum of History & Industry, 2700 24th Ave E, 306-324-1126, 7:30 pm, free.


HILARY PUTNAM

Harvard University professor of philosophy talks about and signs Ethics Without Metaphysics. UW Kane Hall, room 220, 543-3920, 7:30 pm, free.


WEDNESDAY 5/15


* EARL EMERSON

Emerson reads from and signs Vertical Burn, a novel about the men and women of a big-city firefighting company. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.


CAROL GILLIGAN

Gilligan talks about and signs The Birth of Pleasure, which seems like an interesting enough subject. Here is a sentence from the book: "But Dan also knew her pleasure." Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 652-4255, 7:30 pm, free.


KATHRYN HARRISON

Harrison reads from her fifth and newest novel, The Seal Wife, which is about a young man deprived of companions, diversions, and the basic amenities of civilization. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.