This Week in Lit: Terrorists in Love, Bleached Hair, and Jeffrey Eugenides
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There's so much going on this week! Get excited--then put your scarf on and stop by some of the lit events in Seattle this week...
Jeffrey Eugenides at Seattle Public Library, Central Branch:
It’s pretty exciting that Jeffrey Eugenides (of the crazy popular and Pulitzer Prize winning Middlesex) will be popping by the Seattle Public Library to read from his latest novel, The Marriage Plot. I feel like I covered most of my bases by saying “Pulitzer Prize winner”, but if you still need convincing the novel involves college, books and love—what more does the nerdy English Major in all of us actually need?
Monday, 7 p.m. // Seattle Public Library, Central Branch // Free
Stephen Tow and Friends at Elliott Bay Book Co.:
I know that you can’t be sick of hearing about the Seattle Grunge scene, so I’m throwing another event your way! Writer Stephen Tow takes a closer look at this infamous community in his book The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge. He even branches out a little—we’re not just talking Nirvana and Pearl Jam—and interviews Tom Price (of U-Men, Gas Huffer, The Tom Price Desert Classic) and John Leighton Beezer (of the Thrown Ups)—just to name a couple. At least pop your head in to check out what guest might swing by…
Wednesday, 7 p.m. // Elliott Bay Book Co. // Free
David F. Martin and Nicolette Bromberg at Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle Public Library:
These two art experts (Martin is an art historian, and Bromberg is the visual materials curator in Special Collections at UW Libraries) have a special evening planned! They’ll be sharing their new book, Shadows of a Fleeting World: Pictorial Photography and the Seattle Camera Club. Their book focuses on the impact of Japanese American photographers, and includes much work that hasn’t been previously published. Though it’s a free event, it’s on a first-come, first-serve basis—so don’t be late!
Thursday, 7 p.m. // Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle Public Library // Free
Kenneth Ballen at Town Hall:
This event is co-presented with Town Hall, and is bound to be both fascinating and terrifying. For over five years author Ken Ballen interviewed over one hundred Islamic radicals—all for the sake of his book Terrorists in Love: The Lives of Islamic Radicals. Ballen is a former federal prosecutor and congressional investigator (so he’s much more equipped for this kind of thing than the rest of us), and his probing questions managed to get to the hearts of even the most intense “terrorist”. An incredibly unique approach to exploring the minds of people considered enemies—and already described by many to be both shocking and absorbing. I’m intrigued!
Thursday, 8 p.m. // Town Hall // $5 tickets at door
Duff McKagan at Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University:
This strange and exciting event is co-presented with the Seattle University Office of Alumni Relations, and features Duff McKagan, a name you may recognize from such tiny bands as Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver. Heard of them? Well, McKagan will be spending an evening sharing stories, memories, and pieces from his new memoir It’s So Easy and Other Lies. Free, most definitely entertaining, and bound to be a unique experience—check it out!
Friday, 7:30 p.m. // Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University // Free
