4/03/07

Greetings, Readers!

Wednesday, April 11th, Jo Ann Beard will read in the UI Administration Auditorium. Beard revolutionized the nonfiction genre with "The Fourth State of Matter," an essay published in the New Yorker and her collection THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH. "The Fourth State of Matter" paved the way for what has come to be called the braided essay, a nonfiction form that combines multiple, not necessarily overtly related elements into a coherent, contained piece. She is a wonderful writer and sure to present a wonderful reading. Don't miss!

Saturday, April 14th, from 11:00AM-1:00PM, Mary Jo Hamilton will be in BookPeople demonstrating the Zen of Socks. Come in, find quiet, and make socks!

Sunday the 15th, Larry Mayer will read from WHO WILL SAY KADDISH, a Search for Jewish Identity in Contemporary Poland. Mayer will be in BookPeople from 11:00AM-1:00PM.

Are you a Harry Potter fan? Awaiting the final tome? Drop in to spin a yarn for the finale. We have a notebook by the register and welcome any and all ideas for the conclusion.

April 14 and 15 brings the Palouse Patchers' 27th Annual Quilt Show, "Quilting the Stars." The show, featuring more than 200 quilts, a raffle, the Janet Freitag Memorial Challenge, complimentary munchies, a viewer's choice and treasure hunt, will be at the Latah County Fairgrounds. More information is available at www.palousepatchers.org.

Rendezvous in the Park, "Moscow's biggest summer concert series," is recruiting for the Rendezvous Talent Showcase, which will happen at 7:00 PM on April 28th at the Nuart. The top three performances will play at the July 19-21 Rendezvous in the Park. Submit a CD to: Music Showcase Rendezvous in Moscow. Box 9067 Moscow, ID, 83843

April 15, at 7:00 PM, the Kenworthy presents Ayamye, "a celebration of the Village Bicycle Project in film and music." A $5 donation grants marimba music, movies, door prizes, and "goodness, kindness, generosity."

A recommendation from Russell: X OUT OF WONDERLAND: A SAGA, by David Allan Cates, is a fantastically stylized story that will resonate for much longer than it takes to read. The fable follows X, an unremarkable person from the midst of a remarkably successful place, Wonderland, as he follows his faith in the Global Free Market through a world obsessed with Economy. Cates directs Missoula Medical Aid and leads medical personnel on trips to Honduran villages. This experience plays into his narrative as a farcical eden that fails to undermine Economy, for how could villagers without jobs or money truly experience happiness? X floats through time and place like most people float through scrolling headlines or ads running down a webpage. His faith in commerce leads him through leaps and jumps that logic and good, sound storytelling simply do not support, but the fairytale convention enhances the need for such jumps and the reality they further. What are we actually seeing? What are we doing with it? How far can we push symbolic and metaphoric understandings before they crumble, before the simulacra gives way and we see the gritty foundation of our society, which is inextricably based in the hyperreal? Ultimately, Cates offers one solution: blind, unflinching, unfaltering hope.

"Desperation is the mother of comedy!" Sirius Idaho Theatre and director Warren Carlson present Christopher Durang's The Actor's Nightmare and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You. Performances are April 12-14 and 19021 at 7:30 PM at the Kenworthy. Tickets--$10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students--are available at the door or here at BookPeople.

Celebrate the return of a local hero, Dr. Jill Seaman, on April 29th! Dr. Seaman is a Moscow native who has been fighting epidemics in Sudan since 1989. Her recent work has been with the Sudan TB Project, and on the 29th, the UUCP's Social Action Committee will host a fundraising event to include a PowerPoint and discussion. The following link is to a Time article that hailed Dr. Seaman as a hero: http://www.time.com/time/reports/heroes/sudan.html The Sudan TB Project's website is: http://www.boschnet.net/sudan/index.htm

-Book People of Moscow

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