9/29/07

Greetings, Readers!

You know what time it is! We've got news for you, so get reading! There will be a test later (this is actually not true at all; the test will simply be how many of these amazing events you manage to find time for). Also, I'd like to take a minute to welcome the many new readers I added to the list this time around - I hope you enjoy your time with us!

Tomorrow: Wednesday, September 26th, at 7:30pm - Poet Mark Halliday reads from his exciting new chapbook of poems, "Jab."

The Moscow Mentors program is in need of volunteers! Especially male mentors; there is a long waiting list of young boys. The commitment is only an hour a week, too! That's not very much time at all, I think. If you are interested, visit the web site: http://www.sd281.k12.id.us/sdfs/mentors. The Moscow Mentor Program strengthens our community by promoting nurturing friendships between youth and responsible caring adults. Mentors provide guidance and support as these youth pursue personal, family, and academic dreams. Sounds good to me, Readers! So go sign up, and help make a difference!

Come learn traditional Scottish and Irish dancing every Wednesday evening, from 5:30 to 6:30 at the 1912 center! the Border Highlanders Dance Group is open to all, no experience is required! Just make sure to wear comfortable, flexible shoes and come prepared for fun!

Olena, a play by David Mamet, directed by Audry Lauren Wax, is coming to the KIVA! The showings are as follows: September 27th-29th: 7:30pm. September 30th: 2:00pm. All showings take place at the Kiva theater on the University of Idaho campus. Cost of admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students, or $8 for seniors.

We have begun selling tickets for Sam Shepard's God of Hell, as performed by Sirius Idaho Theatre. Sirius Idaho Theatre is one of the finest theatrical companies the world has ever known, will be performing the play. We will keep you apprised of dates and times as they receive them, but know this: The play is wickedly clever, and Sirius Idaho Theatre is an outstanding organization, and together we have the makings of a must-see play. So clear your calendars, you won't want to miss this! Here's the dates and times of the shows: 7:30 at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in downtown Moscow on September 27, 28 & 29, and October 5, 6 & 7. And, as a bonus, Kenworthy Film Society pass holders can buy tickets for the usual movie price at the door for the October 7th showing!

Curious about Graphic Novels? I bet you are! Well we've got just the thing for you! The illustrious Dr. Walter Hesford of the University of Idaho English Department will be hosting a discussion of Jewish Themes in Graphic novels. The events will be on the second floor of the University of Idaho library. All sessions are free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. The events and books are as follows: Thursday, September 27th, 7pm: The Complete Maus, by Art Spiegelman Thursday, October 18th, 7pm: Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, by Ben Katchor Thursday, November 8th, 7pm: The Quitter, by Harvy Pekar Thursday, November 29th, 7pm: The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar Again, everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend, and if you'd like to read the books, we will have them at BookPeople shortly! For more information, contact Ben at 885-5858.

Pete Chilson reads October 1st, 2007 at Cafe Silos at 693 Styner ave, off the Troy highway. The reading starts at 7pm. Chilson will read from his award winning work "Disturbance-Loving Species", a story that really packs a wallop and will make you think about Africa for days. Bob had this to say about "Disturbance-Loving Species": "Peter Chilson's book, "Disturbance-Loving Species" (winner of the Bakeless award! Congratulations!) is a gripping tale based on his experiences in Africa as a peace corps volunteer and traveler. Why I read Pete Chilson is for the clear sense of character portrayed in the narrator. Disturbance-Loving Species is a gripping tale which lives up to its name. You'll be disturbed by the way your species lives in Africa. What follows is a series of questions I asked Pete about his book as well as some words of recommendation from publishers weekly. Pete's book has also been a favorite of the Seattle Times." Q: What problems did you have is switching voices from non fiction/memoir to fiction? A: It was a struggle to make the switch to fiction and to develop an authentic voice that does not sound merely "journalistic," but more complex and with the conflicting emotions that fill our lives. When I finished writing Riding the Demon, I felt I had a lot of experiences and emotions from Africa that I could really only explore through the speculative freedom that fiction permits. The central emotion is anger, particularly at the way Africa has been betrayed first by Europe, then by its own leaders (mainly the military variety), and then by Europe and America, again. The book's last story, "Toumani Ogun," is perhaps the piece that best represents that anger. Q: I seem to sense a feeling of impatience in the American characters. Is that an accurate reading? A: Yes that is accurate. I think some of the anger is responsible for that. David Carter, the main character in the novella, "Tea with Soldiers," is angry and frustrated over the loss of his friend Salif and at his own inability to do anything to help Salif. He's also angry with the system and government responsible for Salif's disappearance. In all of these stories, each major character, African and American, is coping with aspects of the other culture that confound and confuse them. Impatience and frustration are natural emotional reactions within the experience of cultural collision. I think the most patient character in these stories is Keita Toure, the African protagonist in the story, "American Food." But even Keita struggles to contain himself in moments of frustration with Americans. Q: Do you want to go into why you felt you had to change the manuscript from a novel into a novella/short stories? A: I told you in an earlier conversation that I started this project as a novel. The truth is I could not make the novel work. The stories I wanted to tell are so disparate that I could not hold them all within one narrative. The novella, "Tea with Soldiers," was at novel length at one point, but the narrative became unbalanced and forced. What I finally had to do was a very hard realization for a writer to come to, but I had to face the fact that about 80 pages of writing just did not work. So I cut it and that was the end of the novel. Some of that extra material made it into the short stories, and much of it is just sitting in a drawer. Thank you for the insight! Remember, check out the good Mr. Chilson's book signing at the Cafe Silos on October 1st, and his appearance at the Distinguished Visiting Writer series in Pullman in November.

The Palouse Basin Water Summit is coming to town! The objective of the summit is manifold: to improve the understanding of local water resource issues, to raise awareness of local processes currently underway, and to provide a forum for discussion and community feedback. Their overall purpose: to advance development of a long range plan for sustainable water use on the Palouse. Now, I don't know about you all, but I have to say that I am a huge fan of water. You could say that I need it to continue living, even. So I wholeheartedly support their goals. If you feel the same way, consider joining the summit! The summit will run for most of October 2nd, starting with registration and coffee at 7:30am, and ending at 5:00pm. If you would like to attend, please pre-register before September 28th. You can do this online at www.palousewatersummit.org, or by picking up a registration brochure here at BookPeople. It will take place at the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Event Center at 1825 Schweitzer Drive in Pullman, WA. As an added bonus, space will be available for non-profit organizations and businesses to display information about themselves. The fee is $50 for private businesses, but FREE for non-profits! So if you know any groups who might be interested, please let them know! Exhibitors should call 509-332-4101 for more information. Shark Girls!

On Wednesday, October 3rd, at 7:30pm, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, author of "Shark Girls", will read at the University of Idaho Teaching and Learning Center, rm 040.

Thursday, October 4th, 5:00pm - Beth Whitman, author of "Wanderlust and Lipstick", will read at the University of Idaho Women's Center.

The Northwest Native American Basketweaver's Association will be having their 13th annual gathering this October! On October 6th, the event is open to the public from 11:00am to 4:30 pm! It will be held at the Clearwater River Casino Resort and Events Center. For more information, you can email info.nnaba@yahoo.com.

The Iraq War Film Series is coming in October! BookPeople will, of course, be selling tickets to this excellent event. A ticket to an individual showing is $5, or for $20, you can get a Sponsor Pass, which gets you in to all three showings! The dates and films are as follows: Gunner Palace - (86 min.) October 10th at 7pm Iraq In Fragments - (105 min.) October 11th and 12th at 7pm , and 13th and 14th at 4:45pm and 7pm. No End In Sight - (145 min.) October 17th at 7pm All showings will be at the Kenworthy, located at 508 S. Main St, Moscow, ID.

Thursday, October 11th, 7:30pm - Jonathan Johnson, author of "Hannah on the Mountain" will read at the WSU Museum of Art.

It's a jungle out there, Readers! So do your part to help the Latah County Youth Advocacy Council keep our kids safe! They're having a Benefit Dinner, Auction, and Dance! As far as ways you can help make the world a better place, this sounds like a pretty fun one! The event takes place October 13th, 2007, from 6:30 to 11:00pm. It will be at the University Inn, in the Silver and Gold rooms (which are really nice, I should add; only the best for the benefactors of the youth!). The price, for four-and-a-half hours of fun? A mere $30 per person! Live music will be provided by Beargrass and Bare Wires. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact: Gail Silkwood or Andrea Schumaker, ph# 208-882-2268, or email lcyac@latah.id.us.

The Common Ministry at Washington State University presents the 30th Annual Roger Williams Symposium. Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock will be giving lectures on Paradise and Empire, Paradise and Holy War, and an Ethics of Beauty (three separate lectures, mind you!) dinner, a light breakfast, and lunch are also provided as part of the enrollment. If you would like to register, or to find out more, then visit www.wsu.edu/~common . The event will be on October 14th and 15th, 2007.

Thursday, October 25th, 7:00pm - Mary Matsuda Gruenewald, author of "Looking Like the Enemy", will read at BookPeople.

Saturday, October 27th - Paul Brians, professor of English at WSU and author of "Common Errors in English Usage" (an excellent book (and calendar), which I enjoy immensely), will read from his new work, "How to Take Your Work from the Web to Print."

How in the heck do you act Shakespeare? Find out from the Mirror Theater, now offering Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Master classes. Beginners classes start on Monday, October 29th, with Intermediate and Advanced classes starting in 2008. For more information about the theater, visit their website at www.MirrorTheater.org or email them at Inquiry@MirrorTheater.org

The University of Idaho and Washington State University are both hosting some (very) distinguished visiting writers this fall semester! The University of Idaho will host Mark Halliday on September 26th, Patricia Hampl on November 14th, and Ann Pancake in March of next year. The readings will all be at 7:30pm, on their respective days, in the University of Idaho Law Building Courtroom. BookPeople will, of course, be present at all three events with plenty of books for sale, and we will also have their books for sale in the store before the events.

Washington State University will be hosting Jonathan Johnson on October 11th and Peter Chilson on November 8th. Both readings will be at the WSU Museum of Art, at 7:00pm. We might not make it to Pullman for those, but you can be darn sure we'll have their books out here! So come pick one up, read it, and go show your support for the author by getting it signed! There's nothing authors love more than to know that someone has enjoyed their books.

The Mirror Theater presents Shakespeare Sundays! You, the audience, will do the acting for these performances. Come sign in at 1:15 for the part you're dying to play. No preference is given for race, gender, or age, and scripts are provided! If you're musically inclined, then come accompany the acts on your instrument of choice! The schedule: Romeo and Juliet: October 14th and 28th The Merchant of Venice: December 2nd and 16th Henry the Fourth, Part I: January 13th and 27th Hamlet: February 10th, 24th and March 16th The Tempest: May 4th and 18th. A two-dollar contribution is required to participate. The plays will be based on the Oxford Shakespeare, second edition, but as noted above, scripts will be provided! For more information, visit www.MirrorTheater.org !

Finally, we have some words from Peter Chilson, who has written to share his experiences at the Fishtrap summer conference: "I attended Fishtrap's summer conference, devoted to the "Legacy of Vietnam." The event included Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, novelist Alfredo Vea and a host of other writers and musicians with strong connections to the Vietnam experience. There were veterans, war widows, scholars of the war, anti-war activists, and a Vietnamese war widow. Andrew X Pham, who was born in Vietnam in 1967 and came to the U.S. after the war, read from his memoir, Catfish and Mandala, about his family's escape from Vietnam and his eventual return to tour the country on his bicycle. This was one of the most powerful and emotional literary events I've ever seen--every presentation. Part of what made it that was the weight and diversity of experience, and the mix of points of view both American and Vietnamese. I've been to many writers' conferences and hundreds of readings and never experienced anything of such consistent quality and intense emotion." That sounds absolutely amazing, thank you for sharing!

Best Wishes, Readers!

--BookPeople of Moscow

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