Readings, Signings, and Other Literary Events for the Week of February 21, 2011

It’s that time of the year, again, and isn’t it fantastic? The Northwest Flower and Garden Show returns with a literary theme, featuring dozens of authors and speakers, including Ed Hume, Graham Kerr, and local favorite Ciscoe Morris. Spring may still be months away, and summer only a hopeful dream, but the Northwest Flower and Garden Show can ease the pain.

Within the Washington State Convention Center, attendees can pretend that their backyard is not overrun with blackberry brambles. Or, that they have a backyard. Ah, yes, I remember the days of planting cherry tomatoes in milk jugs, lovingly tended on a tiny, apartment patio. I’m not sure which is worse: the blackberries in my current yard, or the periodic shower of used kitty litter from the apartment upstairs, back in the day.

2/21/2011 12:05 p.m. Seattle Public Library
Thrilling Tales
Story Time for Grown-Ups
Monday lunch hour series at the Central Library.

2/21/2011 6 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Tunisia, Egypt, & Beyond: Protests, Politics, Change
Forum Discussion
Tunisian author and artist Rajaa Gharbi; Professor Olufemi Taiwo, director of Global African Studies at Seattle University; and Marwa Maziad, Fellow, Middle East Center, University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies, address the events in north Africa and the Middle East.

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2/21/2011 6 p.m. Pilot Books
Writer’s Group
New exercises every week. Come prepared to write and discuss. Aye, Cap’n!

2/21/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Liel Leibovitz & Matthew Miller
Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization
“[A] page-turning narrative about Chinese patriots schooled in the United States who returned home to modernize a moribund imperial society. This book is a reminder that historically, U.S.-China relations are more than political; Leibovitz and Miller have unearthed an important, and all but forgotten, story that resonates today.” – Michael Meyer

2/22/2011 6 p.m. UW Bookstore
The Hurricane
Film Screening
Robin “Hurricane” Carter will be reading later in the week, so UW is screening the Denzel Washington movie based on his story.

2/22/2011 6:30 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Neil LaBute
The Mercy Seat
Stages Drama Book Group

2/22/2011 6:30 p.m. North East Branch Library
Seattle Opera
Don Quixote
Guests from the Opera will discuss aspects of Massenet’s Don Quixote, opening 2/26.

2/22/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Deborah Harkness
A Discovery of Witches
“In Harkness’ lively debut, witches, vampires, and demons outnumber humans at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, where witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont … Harkness imagines a crowded universe where normal and paranormal creatures observe a tenuous peace … [She] brings this world to vibrant life and makes the most of the growing popularity of gothic adventure with an ending that keeps the Old Lodge door wide open.” – Publishers Weekly

2/22/2011 7 p.m. Secret Garden Books
Susan Blackaby
Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox
A Groundhog’s Ultimate Tuesday.

2/22/2011 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Michael Scheuer
Osama bin Laden
“Scheuer argues that bin Laden’s success owes as much to America’s ineptness in the Mideast as it does to bin Laden himself, a sentiment that should warn policymakers and citizens alike.” – Booklist

2/22/2011 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Susan Jacoby
Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age
Just die, already.

2/22/2011 8:30 p.m. Rebar
Seattle Slam
Poetry Reading
Competitive poetry open mic.

2/23/2011 2 p.m. Ballard Branch Library
Seattle Opera
Don Quixote
Guests from the Opera will discuss aspects of Massenet’s Don Quixote, opening 2/26.

2/23/2011 6 p.m. Richard Hugo House
Write Time
Weekly Series
A drop-in writing circle for teens, facilitated by the Hugo House writer-in-residence, Karen Finneyfrock.

2/23/2011 6:15 p.m. Ballard Branch Library
Great Decisions 2011
“Banks, Governments, and Debt Crises”
A national civic-education program sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association. Three of six.

2/23/2011 7 p.m. SAAM
Bozor Sobir & Urtaa Gantulga
Poetry & Music
Sobir is a Tajikistani poet and Gantulga is a Mongolian musician. Both now make their homes in Seattle.

2/23/2011 7 p.m. UW Bookstore
Sharon Salzberg
Real Happiness: The Power Of Meditation: A 28-Day Program
I can’t be too snarky about meditation, since it’s helped me a great deal will some chronic medical issues, but I can be highly critical of anything that promises happiness if you buy a book and follow a short program.

2/23/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Urban Waite
The Terror of Living
Debut novel by local author: “After a drug drop goes awry, ex-cons, drug lords, a psychopath and law officers play seek and maim in the Pacific Northwest in this debut thriller … The pursuits that follow are complicated and play out in a sharply written, swiftly paced scenes. But as the book’s prose … and its violence … in a stark Cormac McCarthy landscape—suggest, Waite aims for more than a straightforward thriller … the meticulously calibrated prose, rushing narrative and sympathetic protagonists mark Waite as a rewarding, promising writer.” – Kirkus Reviews

2/23/2011 7:30 p Town Hall Seattle
Douglas Tallamy
Bringing Nature Home
The author discusses how native plants sustain wildlife in home gardens.

2/23/2011 9 a.m. Washington State Convention Center
Northwest Flower and Garden Show
through 2/27
Only two years ago, we thought the Show dead and gone forever, but was saved. Huzzah! This year, the Show will sport a literary theme, with a variety of authors. Check out the website for full details.

2/24/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
David K. Wheeler w/ Graham Isaac & Terra Leigh Bell
Contingency Plans
EBBC employee Wheeler presents his debut poetry collection, joined by Hugo House’s Isaac, and poet and critic Bell.

2/24/2011 7 p.m. UW Bookstore
Robin “Hurricane” Carter
Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom
The true story of Carter’s wrongful conviction and incarceration, told by the man himself.

2/24/2011 7 p.m. Seattle Public Library
Russell Simmons
Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All
Sold out. I’m not sure if the audience for this is the Self-Help crowd or hip-hop fans. I don’t suppose it matters, either way; I’m just curious.

2/24/2011 7 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Tavis Smiley
“Change the World, One Conversation at a Time”
Broadcaster, author, and advocate Smiley is in town to answer questions, not ask them. His shows bring a welcome perspective to NPR and PBS; I highly recommend this event. It is guaranteed to be interesting.

2/24/2011 7:30 p.m. Open Books Poem Emporium
Martha Silano
The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception
“I’m wondering how we do it, // comb the tangles from our hair, trim the unwieldy / camellia, speak to packed crowds about weight loss // or fractals”

2/25/2011 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Edward Glaeser
Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier
The Harvard economics professor and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute presents a spirited defense of the urban jungle.

2/25/2011 7:30 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Seattle Opera
Don Quixote
Guests from the Opera will discuss aspects of Massenet’s Don Quixote, opening 2/26.

2/26/2011 12 p.m. Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Joanna Fluke
Devil’s Food Cake Murders
A talking mynah bird is the only witness to a minister’s murder in #14 of the series.

2/26/2011 2 p.m. University Branch Library
Mindy Hardwick
Writing a Picture Book
Learn how to write a picture book.

2/26/2011 4 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Sylvia Wolf
The Digital Eye: Photographic Art in the Electronic Age
The director of the Henry Art Gallery presents her new book. Because that’s what people do in Seattle, these days.

2/26/2011 6 p.m. Barnes & Noble U-Village
Joanna Fluke
Devil’s Food Cake Murders
A talking mynah bird is the only witness to a minister’s murder in #14 of the series.

2/26/2011 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Alissa Nutting
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
A completely bewitching collection of stories, best described as “a kind of human bestiary,” by Ben Marcus. A fabulous debut.

2/26/2011 7 p.m. Pilot Books
Thor Harris
An Ocean of Despair
A novella about being really, really depressed.

2/26/2011 9:30 a.m. SAAM
Daniel Waugh
“The Silk Roads: Central Asia in the Wider World”
Saturday University World Little Known: Central Asia, Its Histories and Place in Today’s World Lecture Series

2/27/2011 2 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Barbara Corrado Pope
The Blood of Lorraine
The second historical mystery novel featuring Magistrate Bernard Martin, as delicious as the first.

2/27/2011 4 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
African American Writers Alliance
Group Reading
The annual group reading is more than 20 years old. Bravo!

2/27/2011 7 p.m. Pilot Books
Megan Snyder-Camp
The Forest of Sure Things
The local poet reads from her “deconstructed domestic narrative.” She is joined by Susan Schultz and Erin Malone.