* NANI POWER
Author of Crawling at Night, a novel as a series of violent, poetic visions, telling the story of a sushi chef who is obsessed with an alcoholic waitress. Power has also been a caterer, a nanny, a sandwich seller, and, of course, a sushi chef. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 8 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
DEBORAH TANNEN
The famous linguist and gender war sniper turns her attention to communication among adult family members--why is it so difficult? The answers, in I Only Say This Because I Love You, are sure to spark more dinner table debate; plastic forks are advised. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
RODNEY BROOME
From the pedantically named Seattle press Educare, a book that questions whether America was named after Amerigo Vespuccio. Author and historian Broome pulls a little known figure, the 15th-century British merchant Richard Amerike, as a more likely source, in Terra Incognita: The True Story of How America Got its Name. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
HARRIET BASKAS
A book that's sure to do well at airport bookstores, Stuck at the Airport gives tips from a veteran traveler. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
EDDY DOUGLAS BROWN
Seattle native Brown does justice to the title of his memoir, Living to Tell, which relates his early days as a jazz musician, his involvement in the Civil Rights movement, his Vietnam War-era service, and, finally, "a mysterious summons" from the CIA. Hmm. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 2 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
CLAIRE KRULIKOWSKI
Krulikowski's memoir journeys along India's sacred river: Moonlight on the Ganga. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 4 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
PAM HOUSTON & SUMMER WOOD
To the group of New Age self-improvers that includes Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Lamott add Summer Wood, whose novel Arroyo is described as "fierce," "heartbreaking," etc. Pam Houston's own navel gazing is on display in A Little More About Me, her collection of adventure essays. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
* JAMES ELLROY
Here is a noir writer whose mother was murdered when he was ten, who pens visions of the darkest dark, and who describes himself as "the most well-adjusted person I know"--proving that only in the farthest crease of contradiction can honesty be found. Tonight, Ellroy reads from his latest book, The Cold Six Thousand. There will also be a screening of the BBC documentary on Ellroy's life. Kane Hall, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free advance tickets at University Bookstore.
* JAMES ELLROY
See Sunday listing, minus the documentary. Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.
EARTHA KITT
A woman who combines class and kitsch like no other, the divine Ms. Kitt tonight reads from her book, Rejuvenate! (It's Never Too Late). Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
* COLSON WHITEHEAD
The author of last year's slow-burning hit, The Intuitionist, reads from his new book, John Henry Days. See Stranger Suggests. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
CANADIAN AUTHORS
A mixed bag of Northern non-fiction, including Nancy Pagh reading from At Home Afloat: Women on the Waters of the Pacific Northwest, and Laurie Ricou with The Arbutus/Madrone Files. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
* TOM SPANBAUER
Portland author Spanbauer reads from his novel In the City of Shy Hunters, which was ten years in the making. Reviewed this issue. Bailey/Coy Books, 414 Broadway E, 323-8842, 7 pm, free.
* JOHN GRIESEMER
Griesemer's debut novel, No One Thinks of Greenland, can be compared in a blurb such as this with Catch 22 without too much embarrassment. Figure the premise: It's 1959, and Army information officer Rudy Spruance is shipped off to Qangattarsa, Greenland. Not much exists there but a hospital that houses, it turns out, horribly disfigured veterans of the Korean War. Spruance's experiences with the hospital's half-mad director, Col. Lane Woolwrap, and the inmates' manic activities, are rendered with the ring of dead-on satire. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
* MOLLY McQUADE
The well-respected author and editor presents a marvelously varied anthology of essays by women poets, cleverly titled By Herself. Open Books, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 7:30 pm, free.
SWITCHED-ON GUTENBERG
Poets featured in the renowned online literary journal (editorially based out of the UW) read from their work. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 6:30 pm, free.
* WENDY WASSERSTEIN
Funny lady Wendy Wasserstein, playwright of The Heidi Chronicles, reads from her first book of essays in ten years, Shiksa Goddess (Or, How I Spent My Forties). The decade has done her well, and she gleefully skewers New York academics while simultaneously offering heartfelt memoir. Seattle Repertory Theatre, Bagley Wright Theatre, 155 Mercer St, 443-2210, 7 pm, $5.
* IRVINE WELSH
The most literate proponent of Ecstasy to make it into the 21st century, the Trainspotting author's new book does not disappoint in its juncture of gross-out reality and human insight. Get yer Scottish dialect warmed up for Glue. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.
CHRIS HOFFMAN
"Conversation" + ecopsychologist + Jungian ± Kabbalah * Native spiritual traditions * interdependence = The Hoop & the Tree: A Compass for Finding a Deeper Relationship with All Life. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
* PAUL COLLINS
McSweeney's contributor Paul Collins gives life to forgotten eccentrics in Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck. From the titular character, a man named Banvard (duh) who was some sort of river bank artist on a large scale, to an explorer set on proving that the earth was hollow, all are lost geniuses. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, free (advance tickets at store).
WOMEN IN FANTASY
Tor Books would have us recognize that women are among the most successful fantasy writers these days, and to prove their point they've brought to town Sara Douglass (The Wayfarer Redemption), Juliet Marillier (Daughter of the Forest), and Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Dart). University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free tickets at book store.
POETRY/SPOKEN WORD OPEN MICS
CATHARTICISM--Wed at 9. Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 861-8233, free.
EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY--Mon at 7. Coffee Messiah, free.
HOMELAND--Tues at 8. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave, 324-8815, donation.
NW POETRY SLAM--Every other Fri (6/8, 6/22...) at 7. Cafe Allegro, 4002 University Way NE, 634-2310, free.
POETRY RELEASE--Sun at 6. Contour, 807 First Ave, 447-7704, free.
REBIRTH--Thurs at 7. Zodiac Coffee, 607 Broadway E, 720-4502, free.
RED SKY POETRY THEATER--Sun at 7:30. Featured reader for 6/10: Amy Bonomi. Globe Cafe, donation.
SEATTLE POETRY SLAM--Wed at 8 (21+). Sit & Spin, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-9484, $3.
STAGE FRIGHT--Every second and fourth Wed at 7; writers ages 14-24 only. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, free.
YAWP!--Tues at 8. The Pearl, 4215 University Way NE, 547-3326, $3.
