4/24/07

Clear Day Wednesday, April 25th, author Karen Karbo will read at the UI Law School Courtroom, 7:30. Karbo writes across the literary spectrum and has published novels, nonfiction, recently a series of young adult mysteries, and the just-published HOW TO HEPBURN: LESSONS ON LIVING FROM KATE THE GREAT. This book, out for only a matter of days, both pays homage to Hepburn and provides a reflection on individuality and the importance of identity. Karbo follows Hepburn's life and career, drawing insight from poignant moments and well-researched events. Karbo's prose is exciting and precise without being pretentious or inaccessible, and ultimately leaves the reader informed and enlightened without flaunting her obvious mastery of language and the craft of literature.

We have tickets for Moscow Community Theatre's presentation of The Velveteen Rabbit. Shows are May 4th and 5th at 7:30 PM in the Kenworthy, with a 2:30 show on the 5th. Tickets are $3.00, but if you miss the show, Dona will triple-charge your next coffee.

Set aside April 29th for a spring tea and fashion show at the Palouse Grange. This event, which begins at 2:00, is a benefit for the Palouse Arts Council, and is sponsored by Wild Women Traders. Tickets are $12.

Saturday, May 12th, escape the graduation mayhem and come to a reading by Kenneth Zontek, author of BUFFALO NATION: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Buffalo. Zontek describes himself as an "academic vagabond," who has moved, learned, and taught throughout the west. He now teaches history at Yakima Valley Community College, although he has a long history of teaching English, Spanish and social studies in high school. He received a Ph.D. in history from UI in 2003. BUFFALO NATION overlaps the history of buffalo destruction and Native American efforts for political and cultural recognition, and ultimately reflects on how Native American efforts to restore bison herds have opened new veins of cultural discourse. Details to follow, but the books are in, so pick up a copy before the reading.

Recommendation from Russell: THREE HORSES, by Erri de Luca, translated by Michael F. Moore. This is an exceptionally short book--136 pages--and remarkably quiet, but the combination makes for an amazing read. De Luca, a Neapolitan, does not let the story follow convention, but instead takes a circuitous path that leads to the perfect setup for an open ending. De Luca's narrator is a gardener who lives a quiet life on the Italian coast. He reads about travels and adventures, but, to all appearances, he does not engage in such pursuits. He spends midday meals at an inn, the owner of which tells him that a man lives as long as three horses, and he, the gardener, has lived through two. The third horse of his life, though, takes a turn when a woman-for-hire steps into the inn during his lunch hour. The woman sees in him as much as he sees in her, and the gardener, surrounded by new life, an emerging springtime of possibility and peace, recollects wartime in Argentina and his life of violence and loss. Through the reflections on love and violence, de Luca explores the necessity of one for the other. Concise prose, simple but elegant images, and a quietly gripping story draw the reader into the story, force consideration of priorities and importance. How realistic are the beliefs we are told to have? How necessary is the drama and passion we surround ourselves with? Ultimately, questions of madness, fantasy and the perception of reality drive the reader to examine what levels of drama life and experience require and the extent to which we require emotional adventure to experience happiness.

-Book People of Moscow

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