Monday
THAT STARBUCKS "I WAS A CHILD SOLDIER" GUY: At twelve, Ishmael Beah found himself fleeing rebels, wandering from village to village. At thirteen, he was a soldier in Sierra Leone, hooked on drugs and capable of things he would never have imagined. Now, rehabilitated and living in the U.S., he tells his story in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, in an attempt to raise awareness of the child soldier phenomenon.

7pm // University Bookstore // FREE // Also at Elliott Bay (7:30pm Tuesday)

BILLY COLLINS RECOMMENDS: A poet born and raised in Seattle, Teresa White is over from her present eastern Washington home to read from her new collection of poems, Gardenias for a Beast. Collins says, "More impressive than Teresa White's light touch on the tragic and her way of keeping the reader pleasurably off-balance is the fact that no word is wasted here. Every morsel of her diction counts."

7:30pm // Elliott Bay // FREE

Tuesday
CATCHING UP WITH THE KERRYS: Teresa Heinz Kerry and John Kerry discuss This Moment on Earth: The New Pioneers on the Environmental Frontier --hey, it's working for Al -- based on their first hand meetings with individuals working passionately to solve pressing environmental problems and save the world they know and love. Factoid: Teresa Heinz first met John Kerry at an Earth Day rally in 1990.

7:30pm // Town Hall // $5

CELEBRATE SEATTLE FESTIVAL Doug Fullington, Pacific Northwest Ballet Educational Programs Director, presents a lecture/video preview of PNB´s inaugural "Celebrate Seattle Festival." The festival´s fourteen ballets are choreographed by people who have lived and worked in the Northwest, from Mark Morris and Donald Byrd to Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown.

noon-1pm // Seattle Central Public Library Microsoft Auditorium // FREE

Wednesday
SUBTEXT AT HUGO HOUSE: Subtext presents Jocelyn Saidenberg and Curtis Bonney. Saidenberg (author of Mortal City, CUSP, and Negativity) lives in the Bay Area. Bonney's poetry has appeared in New American Writing, Bird Dog, The Boston Review and other publications. He teaches at North Seattle Community College.

7:30pm // Hugo House // $5 donation

LATE TEA: Not just what you sip with your scone, tea has a fascinating history: from Chinese medicine, to Japanese spirituality, to its political role, with Western merchants and spies bartering and smuggling for the beverage that was valuable for sobering up besotted Brits. Liquid Jade connects past and present and spans 5,000 years. Tea tastings hosted by Choice Organic Teas.

7pm // Third Place Books // FREE

Thursday
WE LOVE L.A.: Poet and activist Luis J. Rodriguez is a Chicano writer whose works include Always Running, a memoir of gang life in L.A., The Republic of East L.A., and Hearts and Hands. He reads his poetry and shares his ideas in a talk titled "Imagining Peace and Community in a Time of Violence and Chaos."

7pm // Town Hall // FREE

YOUR BRAIN ON BUDDHISM The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness explores the practice, the benefits, and the neuroscience of Buddhist meditation -- thanks to work with the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior to examine the brain in a meditative state, shedding light on the ways meditation may enhance activity in the areas associated with happiness and compassion.

7pm // University Bookstore // FREE

Friday
QUIET BOY SNAPS: Bullied since childhood, 17-year-old Peter is pushed to commit an act of violence which impacts his community forever. In her novel 19 Minutes, Jodi Picoult presents another exploration of social issues that has at its center a haunting question: Do we ever really know someone?

6:30pm // Third Place Books // FREE

FROM SIR, WITH LOVE: After everybody else gives up on a difficult high school student, Paul White willingly steps in. Drop outs, drunks, addicts—he's worked with them all, from San Francisco to Detroit, Michigan. And he's gotten results with a combination of unconditional love and unbreakable rules. In White's Rules, he shares his secrets with readers.

7pm // University Bookstore // FREE

Saturday
IMAGINE AN ALL-DAY WORKSHOP: Voices in Wartime presents an all-day workshop called "Teach the Legacy of War -- Imagine a Culture of Peace," on how to teach "the most important subject of the 21st century."

9am - 5pm // Hugo House // Registration $35

POETRY, LIVE IN FREMONT: The Washington Poets Association presents "Poetry Live in Fremont" at the Fremont Public Libary. Four accomplished local poets (Michael Spence, Elizabeth Austen, Alexandra Oliver, Aaron Silverberg ) will read from their work. There will be Open Mic time as well, so adults and teens alike are invited to read their own poetry or poems by their favorite authors. Refreshments will be served.

3-4:30pm // Fremont Public Library // FREE

Sunday
LOCAL HISTORY BOOK: Debunking the theory that Indian and urban histories are mutually exclusive, in Native Seattle University of BC professor Coll Thrush weaves together the strands of Seattle’s Native and civic stories in a book that reviews the founding of the city and also shows how Natives are part of today’s community, on their own terms.

5:30pm // Third Place Books // FREE

EASTER: Crucifixion best practices. Using a cautionary tale, Roman centurions elaborate on the importance of making sure someone's dead before you let family bury them. Even if it seems like that spear did the trick, you can't be too careful.

Morning // Area churches // FREE