‘Alaska’ author giving slide-show at Auntie’s

We all have dreams. Many of them remain merely that.

Melvin Barnes’ goal seemed more like a fantasy. Inspired by his fourth-grade teacher, the Oklahoma-born carpenter fantasized about living in Alaska.

Moreover, he built a boat by hand, with the intention of sailing from his Arkansas home to the shores of our 49th state.

And you know what? Barnes made his dream come true.

His sojourn is told in an understandably loving manner by his daughter, Nancy Owens Barnes, in the book “South to Alaska: From the Heartland of America to the Heart of a Dream.”

She will give a slide-show presentation at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore.

“To the outside world, some would have considered my father a common rural carpenter,” Owens Barnes wrote. “To those of us who knew him, though, he was a gentle genius – not of mathematics, science or literature but of determination, resourcefulness and independence.”

Can’t get much more loving than that.

Awards, etc.

•Cheryl Ann Dudley of Moscow, Idaho, has had a story accepted for the new collection “Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover’s Soul.” Her story, “A Way of Life,” is a reflection on what effect coffee has had on her closest relationships.

•Spokane author C.K. Crigger (“Black Crossing”) will give a free talk titled “Turning Fact into Fiction” at 1 p.m. Tuesday at On Sacred Grounds, 12212 E. Palouse Highway.

Readers wanted

John Lemon likes serious books. And he’s looking for a few good readers to enjoy them with him.

By serious, Lemon means “epic poetry and prose. Think ‘Gilgamesh,’ ‘Beowulf,’ Homer, Virgil, Statius, Chaucer, Dante, Tasso, Ferdowsi, Milton, etc.”

If you’re interested in helping found such a reading group, contact Lemon at (509) 928-7950. Or e-mail jlemon01@hotmail.com.

Kids galore

Kids write the darndest things. Or so Lisa Hoxie’s Cusick (Wash.) Elementary fourth-grade class is out to prove.

Hoxie’s class of creative writers will read their respective original works at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Auntie’s Bookstore.

Unless noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Book talk

•Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“The Glass Castle: a Memoir,” by Jeannette Walls), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.

•On Sacred Grounds Writer’s Club, 1 p.m. Tuesday, 12212 E. Palouse Highway. Special guest: C.K. Crigger. Call (509) 747-6294.

•Spokane Public Library Jewish Literature Reading and Discussion Series (“O My America,” by Johanna Kaplan), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. Call (509) 444-5386.

•Auntie’s Evening Book Group (“Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time,” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

The reader board

•Nancy Owens Barnes (“South to Alaska: From the Heartland of America to the Heart of a Dream”), slide-show presentation, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Deby Fredericks (“Too Many Princes”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Joy Harjo (“How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975-2001”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cataldo Hall, Gonzaga University. Call Tod Marshall at (509) 323-6681.

•Patricia Hampl (“A Romantic Education”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Kenworthy Theatre, 502 S. Main St., Moscow, Idaho. Call (208) 885-7251.

•Cusick Elementary Fourth-graders, reading, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Peter Everwine (“From the Meadow: New and Selected Poems”), Thomas Caraway, readings, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Phase I Building SCLS 122, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Call (509) 359-4956.

•Sarah Conover (“Family Pictures: Celebrating Our Loved Ones through Poems and Photographs”), signing, 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Michael Farley (“Only Heaven Knew”), signing, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.