‘Gardenias’ author reading at Auntie’s
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.
What makes the 60-year-old White’s story so impressive, in addition to the fact that she has battled a bipolar condition for most of her adult life, is that her latest book has received such a positive recommendation from former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins.
“More impressive than Teresa White’s light touch on the tragic and her way of keeping her reader pleasurably off-balance is the fact that no word is wasted here,” Collins wrote.
“Every morsel of her diction counts. And she knows how to cut a line with unerring accuracy. She is a poet who not just deserves but requires our attention.”
On his blog, Seattle poet Gary Blankenship (http://garydawg.blogspot.com) had this to say: “I attended a read at Elliot Bay Book Co. by Teresa White for her new book, ‘Gardenias for a Beast.’ … Teresa is an outstanding poet, and you get 240 superior poems for only $10.99 plus tax.”
While the book isn’t offered for sale through Amazon.com, copies will be available at the reading.
Get Lit! one final time
Get Lit! 2007, the ninth-annual literary festival sponsored by Eastern Washington University, ends officially today with a 2 p.m. reading by a writer with lots of local connections: Sherman Alexie.
Alexie, who was raised in Wellpinit, Wash., and has lived for the past several years in Seattle, will read from his newest novel, “Flight,” at the Bing Crosby Theater.
While the reading is free, you still need to acquire tickets, which are available at Auntie’s Bookstore. Call (509) 838-0206.
“The winners of the 2007 Sandpoint Poetry Slam, which was co-sponsored by Lost Horse Press and the East Bonner County Library District, are, in order of finish: Hannah Vogel, Stefania Glenn and (tied for third) Maggie Miller and Mason Foster.
Vogel, a junior at Sandpoint High School, went on to win the Get Lit! Teen Poetry Slam and was scheduled to perform Saturday at the Bing Crosby Theater during Get Lit!’s Evening of Poetry.
A prize of size
Sandpoint-based Lost Horse Press is accepting book-length entries for its Idaho Prize for Poetry 2007.
All U.S. poets are eligible, and entries must be postmarked no later than May 15. A reading fee of $25 will be charged.
For full information, go online at www.losthorsepress.org, e-mail losthorsepress@mindspring. com or call (208) 255-4410.
Book talk
“Cheney Community Library Book Discussion Group (“Breaking Clean,” by Judy Blunt), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Cheney Community Library, 610 First St. Discussion leader: Marilyn Elliot. Call (509) 893-8280.
“East Bonner County Library Book Discussion Group (“Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston), 7 p.m. Thursday, 1407 Cedar St., Sandpoint. Discussion leader: Mary Clearman Blew. Call (208) 263-6930.
“Who Reads What? Book Discussion Series (“Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America,” by Barbara Ehrenreich), 7 p.m. Thursday, Whitman County Library, 102 S. Main St., Colfax. Call (509) 397-4366.
“Auntie’s Youth Book Group (“Fire Within,” by Chris D’lacey), 2 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.
The reader board
“Sherman Alexie (“Flight”), reading, 2 p.m. today, Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. Sponsored by Auntie’s Bookstore. Call (509) 227-7638.
“Robert Michael Pyle (“Sky Time in Gray’s River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place”), reading, 7 p.m. Monday, Bonners Books, 7195 Main St., Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Call (208) 267-2622.
“Teresa White (“Gardenias for a Beast”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“James Yee (“For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire”), lecture, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Spokane Falls Community College, call (509) 533-3558; signing, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Community Building, 35 W. Main St.
“Beth Bollinger (“Until the End of the Ninth”), reading, 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Terrell Library, Washington State University, Pullman. Call (509) 335-6205.
“Allan G. Johnson (“Privilege, Power and Difference”), lecture, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Spokane Falls Community College. Call (509) 279-6081.
“Lydia Minatoya (“Talking to High Monks in the Snow: an Asian-American Odyssey”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Sue William Silverman (“Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey Through Sexual Addiction”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore. Sponsored by Eastern Washington University’s Inland Northwest Center for Writers.
“Debbie Macomber (“Back on Blossom Street”), signing, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.