Don’T Miss Readings Next Month
As August comes to an end, it’s time for students to head back to class and writers to head back out on tour.
Actually, most area bookstores have maintained a regular reading and/or signing schedule over the summer. But the writers who managed to snare - through talent or fortune or both - the backing of a major publishing company usually work in the fall.
Whatever, a number of decent writers will be visiting town in September. Among those who will visit Auntie’s Bookstore:
James Welch: The Missoula writer, author of “Fools Crow,” will read from his new book, “The Heartsong of Charging Elk” (Doubleday, 352 pages, $24) on Sept. 7.
Kent Haruf: Author of the critically acclaimed novel “Plainsong,” Haruf will read from the paperback edition of his book on Sept. 12.
David Long: Missoula writer Long will read from his second novel, “The Daughters of Simon Lamoreaux,” on Sept. 14.
Keith Quincy: The Eastern Washington University government professor will read from his book “Harvesting Pa Cahy’s Wheat: The Hmong and America’s Secret War in Laos” on Sept. 21.
Looking ahead, Part 2
The NorthTown Barnes & Noble store will open Friday, so expect traffic on Division Street to be especially heavy. The 26,300-square-foot store is bigger than its Valley counterpart.
Some of the corporate-provided numbers include: total book titles, 85,000; children’s books, 15,000; and total music, video, DVD titles, 25,000.
But according to Steve Denny, the new store’s community relations manager, one of the store’s biggest draws will be a “state-of-the-art” cafe.
The exact address of the store is 4750 N. Division. For further information, call 482-4235.
Looking ahead, part 3
As the heat returned for a couple of days last week, a stanza from a poem by Eleanor Limmer called “Walking on Water” came to mind:
“I take the liberties winter allows/
to walk upon a frozen lake/
to become one/
with an envelope of white/
whose rainbow colors are dissolved in light/
and all the thousand things/
are sewn in a single cloth/
spread out below sun, wind and sky.”
Yes, winter is coming (so is Limmer, to read; see reader board below).
A pressing message
The school year may just be starting up again, but the staff at Eastern Washington University Press hasn’t been loafing around.
Here’s a look at EWU Press’s current and/or fall releases:
“Harvesting Pa Chay’s Wheat: The Hmong and America’s Secret War In Laos” (512 pages, $18.95 paper) by Keith Quincy. Already mentioned above, Quincy, chair of Eastern’s Government Department, is one of the country’s leading authorities on the Hmong (his previous book was “Hmong: History of a People”). Here, in exhausting detail, he documents America’s “secret war” in Laos from 1950-80 and its legacy on this Southeast Asian subculture.
“Famous Persons We Have Known” (80 pages, $13.95 paper) by Richard Robbins. Minnesota poet Robbins writes poems, 52 of them here, featuring such diverse characters as Lon Chaney Jr., Elvis, Marshal Matt Dillon and Geronimo, in an attempt to “trace his own heritage and ours by connecting past and present, the dead and the living.”
“Kindness” (120 pages, $39.95) by Sarah Conover. This collection of Buddhist tales is for children and adults alike.
“Farm Under Poplars” (80 pages, $13.95) by Patrick Todd. Poet Todd offers a selection of poetry that has EWU’s editors comparing him to Philip Levine.
Coming in the spring of 2001: “The Temple on Monday,” poems by Tom Crawford; “Beyond Popcorn: How to Watch Movies,” a how-to book for potential film critics by KPBX film reviewer Robert Glatzer; and “Forever Remembered: The Fliers of WWII,” more interviews of pilots by Irv Broughton.
For further information about EWU Press, call 623-4286.
A hit for lit
Or we could title this section Looking Ahead, part 4! Make sure to mark the dates Oct. 5-8 on your calendar. That’s when Eastern Washington University will hold its Get Lit! 2000 celebration.
Events will be held in such various places as The Met, the Rockwood Bakery, the Hotel Lusso, the Children’s Museum of Spokane, Auntie’s Bookstore, EWU’s downtown campus and Gonzaga University, featuring such writers and poets as Kevin Canty, James Crumley, Nance Van Winckel, Madeline DeFrees, David Wagoner, Annick Smith, Denis Johnson, Kim Barnes, William Kittredge and Robert Wrigley.
For further information, call 623-4286.
What’s your signing?
Eleanor Limmer will read from her poetry collection “An Alchemy of Joy” and her book “The Body Language of Illness” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Spokane Valley Mall Waldenbooks (892-3907).
The reader board
Dale Forbes will read from her novel “On Exhibition” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206).