This Week in Lit: Farming, Food Trucks and Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Lit events this week are a little heavy on the food focus, but it’s impossible for me to ignore any listing that involves pies, oysters, or food trucks. I’m just saying. The non-edible options are enthralling as well, so enjoy this week’s spread!
Olga Grushin at Elliott Bay Book Co.:
With a knack for turning even the coldest and dreariest moments of life into something beautiful, this young writer from Moscow impressed with her first novel, The Dream Life of Sukhanov, and is blowing critics away with her more recent book, The Line. Though her story deals with a world that is far removed from ours (the Soviet world after the Revolution of 1917), anyone who can add a little sparkle to such tedious matter is worthy of a little face time.
Tuesday, 7 p.m. // Elliott Bay Book Co. // Free
Langdon Cook, Martha Silano, Kevin Craft and Kate Lebo at Richard Hugo House:
For our first food-involved listing of the week, we have a doozy—four pairings of writers with food from Tom Douglas Restaurants and High 5 Pie. The writers—Langdon Cook, Kevin Craft, Kate Lebo and Martha Silano—will read about everything edible from oysters, to cabbage, to apples…and the audience will stuff their faces. Not a bad deal for two of the best things in life.
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. // Richard Hugo House // Tickets $15, $10 for students and seniors
D.J. MacHale at Ravenna Third Place Books:
I only have one thing to say about this author: though he may be the brilliant creator of the Morpheus Road trilogy (this reading is about Book Two, Morpheus Road), he is also the brain behind Are You Afraid of the Dark?—the BEST show on SNICK in the 90’s. It just takes me right back to those slumber parties with New Kids On The Block nighties and Breyer’s ice cream.
Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. // Ravenna Third Place Books // Free
Essential Arts Presents Arts + Agriculture #2 at Washington Hall:
Though I essentially have a black thumb (or suicidal plants), there are a plethora of artists, farmers, and organizers in the second edition of this series that have foliage knowledge in excess. Novella Carpenter’s discussion of Urban Farming and her novel Farm City should be enlightening, and will be followed by the musical/performance stylings of okanomodé—I’m not really sure what that entails, but it should be wild. This evening also features a discussion with Rev. Robert Jeffrey of Clean Greens, Maria Elena Rodriguez of Community Alliance for Global Justice, and many others—just a random and interesting enough mix of people to make for an entertaining time!
Thursday, 7 p.m. // Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave., Seattle // $7 in advance, $10 at the door
CAConrad & Jeremy Halinen at Open Books:
Everyone’s got a complicated story about growing up, and CAConrad is no different—except that he’s turned these memories of a twisted youth into different collections, The Book of Frank, Elvis Course, and (Soma) tic Midge. Together with Jeremy Halinen, co-founder of Knockout LIterary Magazine and winner of "Exquisite Disarray First Book Poetry Contest" for his book, What Other Choice, it’s an evening of expression.
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. // Open Books // Free
Heather Shouse at Richard Hugo House:
I know we’re a little food-heavy in the listings this week, but I really can’t ignore an event that features food trucks. Especially when that event has the food trucks planted in the parking lot so that attendees have the opportunity to grab a quick snack! Heather Shouse is behind this brilliant idea—and as a Food & Wine reporter, Time Out Chicago correspondent, and the author of Food Trucks; Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels…she really knows her stuff. Maximus Minimus, Skillet, Hallava Faladel and StreetTreats will be on location—grab some before they roll on to the next location.
Saturday, 12-2 p.m. // Richard Hugo House // Free
