Season’s literary events heating up
It’s May, and – with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore – it feels as if we’ve all emerged from a long winter’s nap.
Yet things are going to heat up eventually. And, following the recent Get Lit! celebration, they’re already starting to heat up on the literary-reading circle.
Take the coming week at Auntie’s Bookstore, for example.
A former Auntie’s manager, Jill Malone, will debut her novel “Red Audrey and the Roping” on Monday. On Tuesday, Gonzaga University English Professor Dan Butterworth – who was the culminating act in GU’s 2007-08 Visiting Writers series – will read from his poetry collection “The Radium Watch Dial Painters.”
Continuing at Auntie’s, on Thursday, John Maclean and Katherin B. FitzPatrick will read books that, each in its own distinct way, deal with a recent fatal fire in the Cascades.
And on Friday, former Spokane resident Domenic Stansberry will celebrate a homecoming of sorts by reading from his new noir novel, “The Ancient Rain” – which the literary review journal Booklist has rated as “one of the top 10 crime fiction books of the year.”
In the coming weeks, Auntie’s will offer a variety of treats, including:
•May 15: Missoula author Susanna Sonnenberg will read from her book “Her Last Death: A Memoir.”
•May 20: former Pacific Northwest Inlander editor Nick Heil will read from his nonfiction book “Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest’s Most Controversial Season.”
•May 30: Eastern Washington University’s Inland Northwest Center for Writers will bring in poet Martin Espada, who will read from his collections “The Republic of Poetry” and “Alabanza.”
So prepare for the thaw. To paraphrase Crosby, Stills and Nash, it’s been a long time coming.
For further information, call Auntie’s at (509) 838-0206.
Into the wild
Along with the sunny weather that we’ve been having, a book just landed on my desk that should appeal to lovers of the great outdoors.
The “Washington and Oregon Nature Guide” (Line Pine, 224 pages, $19.95 paper), by Los Angeles-based writer Erin McCloskey, groups “390 animals and plants … color coded for easy location.”
It’s so general a book that it won’t work as much of a guide for those already equipped with a surfeit of nature knowledge. But it does sound like just the kind of primer to take along on a family hike.
For more information, check out the Web site of the Auburn, Wash., press at www.lonepinepublishing.com.
No Gloss
Just a reminder: Portland author Molly Gloss (“The Jump-Off Creek”) has postponed her reading, which had been scheduled for next Sunday at Auntie’s Bookstore. Gloss was going to read from her new novel, “The Hearts of Horses.” No new date has been set.
New Gurians
Spokane writer Michael Gurian, author of books such as “The Wonder of Boys” and co-founder of the Gurian Institute, has co-authored two more books: “Strategies for Teaching Boys and Girls: Elementary Level” and “Strategies for Teaching Boys and Girls: Secondary Level.”
For order information, go to the institute’s Web site at www.gurianinstitute.com.
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.
Book talk
•Gay & Lesbian Book Group (“Postmortem,” by Patricia Cornwell), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.
•Literary Freedom Book Group (“The Glass Castle: A Memoir,” by Jeannette Walls), 1 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•Renaissance Readers (“The Places In Between,” by Rory Stewart), 2 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
The reader board
•Jill Malone (“Red Audrey and the Roping”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•D.S. Butterworth (“The Radium Watch Dial Painters”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•John Eisler (“The Tanning Bed Murders”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•John Maclean (“The Thirtymile Fire: A Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal”), Katherin B. FitzPatrick (“Angel Promises: Remembering the Youngest Firefighter”), readings, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•Domenic Stansberry (“Ancient Rain”), reading, 7:30 p.m, Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
•T. Lloyd Winetsky (“Grey Pine”), signing, 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, NorthTown Barnes & Noble, NorthTown Mall, 4790 N. Division St. Call (509) 482-4235.