Dan Webster

In 2001, Barbara Ehrenreich laid bare the myth that anyone can make it in America. Her book "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" demonstrated just how difficult it is to make a living – to have an actual functional life – while working on the survival wages of an unskilled worker.

It's a couple of Sundays away, but Father's Day is coming. So I thought I'd offer up a half-dozen book-related suggestions that a lot of dads might find interesting. Most of these came in as review copies, so I haven't had time to do anything more than flip through each to get a sense of what's inside.

There's nothing precious about Robert Wrigley's poetry. Wrigley, a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Idaho, is a writer of the West. He works in the arena of nature, and his imagery – dealing with topics from the existence of God, to the "pure oceanic illogic" of Rilke's arguments, to the plaster cast of a man's penis – is delivered in language that is as muscular as it is metaphorical.

Give Spokane's librarians a grade of "A" for their continuing efforts to get children interested in reading. A joint program between Spokane County Library District and Spokane Public Library systems, called Get a Clue! @ Your Library, is designed to help children keep track of the books they have read over the summer.

A couple of regional writers have new books out. First up is Spokane children's poet Kenn Nesbitt. His book is titled "Revenge of the Lunch Ladies: The Hilarious Book of School Poetry" (Meadowbrook Press, 74 pages, $8.95 paper).

As we wind down the school year, it's time to consider summer-reading lists. In that spirit, here are a couple of requests.

Like many writers, Anne Lamott is different things to different readers. She's a novelist ("Hard Laughter," "Blue Shoe") and a writer of nonfiction ("Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life").

There's more than one way to enjoy the comedy works of Patrick F. McManus. You could, for example, track down the various magazines – Field & Stream prominently among them – that have published his short pieces over the years.

If you're a typical American, you watched an average of four hours and 35 minutes of television per day last week. And you'll probably do the same thing this coming week.

One of the upcoming week's more interesting poetry readings will take place on Tuesday at Auntie's Bookstore. That's when Teresa White, Spokane-based author of the new collection "Gardenias for a Beast" (Twin Steps Publishing, 242 pages, $10.99 paperback), will read at 7:30 p.m.

Two special screenings of "Source to Sea: The Columbia River Swim," Andy Norris' documentary about ecology activist Christopher Swain's 2003 swim of the entire Columbia River, will be tonight at the Bing Crosby Theater. Swain swam from the river's source in British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean – a total of 1,243 miles – in six months to make a point about the river's toxic nature.

I was going to confine this column to the literary-related events being offered in Spokane and Cheney this week that aren't associated with Get Lit! – Eastern Washington University's annual literary festival, which runs through next Sunday. But then late Wednesday night word came that Kurt Vonnegut had died. So it goes.

We're still 10 days away from the E-ticket events for this year's Get Lit! literary festival – Eastern Washington University's celebration of all things writerly – but the warm-up sessions begin on Thursday. Here's a short rundown:

In addition to Get Lit!, which annually makes Spokane the literary capital of the Inland Northwest, April should be a good month for local lovers of all forms of the written word. “Get Lit!, Eastern Washington University's celebration of all things literary, is set for April 18 through 21 at various spots in Cheney and Spokane.

As the controversy over the recent Clint Eastwood film "Letters from Iwo Jima" shows, some Americans still hold hard feelings toward Japan because of its actions during the first half of the 20th century. Internet chat rooms were filled with heated debates over such topics as the Rape of Nanking, Japan's invasion of Mongolia, its attack on Pearl Harbor and the brutal treatment Japanese soldiers handed out both to non-Japanese civilians and American prisoners of war.

When you think of Patrick F. McManus, assuming you think anything at all, the name Rancid Crabtree probably comes to mind. Or Melba Peachbottom. Or Crazy Eddie. But for the second time now, the name McManus brings up visions of Blight County, Idaho, and its irascible sheriff, Bo Tully.

It's always nice to see one art supporting the next. That's what's happening next weekend between Ballet Spokane and Page Ahead, the Seattle-based children's literary program.

It's only five weeks until Get Lit!, Eastern Washington University's annual literary event, and the calendar appears to be set. Stress the word "appears." Spokane author Jess Walter called the other day with an update.

Tickets to Get Lit! 2007, Eastern Washington University's annual literary event that will be held April 18 through 22 at sites in Spokane and Cheney, went on sale Friday. The three paid events are as follows:

The popular notion is that Americans watch too much television.

It's not often that two National Book Award nominees come from the same state. Especially when that state is Washington, about as far from the literary center of the United States – New York – as you can possibly get.

We may never again see the day when Get Lit! – Eastern Washington University's annual celebration of all things literary – boasts an all-star lineup similar to that of 2004, when Kurt Vonnegut, Garrison Keillor, Dave Barry and Sarah Vowell read to audiences either in Cheney or Spokane. Literary celebs existing in that rarified air don't come cheap.