Spoken Word / Comedy: April 2012 Archives

FROM FALLBROOK- Fallbrook's Writers Read is pleased to present An Evening with Ann Patchett, a special fund-raising event celebrating the bestselling author's latest novel, "State of Wonder." The event is Monday, May 7, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at the Fallbrook Art Center on 103 S. Main.

Patchett will discuss her book, her writing life, and her commitment to neighborhood bookstores. The author's belief in the importance of brick-and-mortar shops has resulted in her partnership in the new Parnassus Books in her hometown of Nashville. The store, named for the Greek mythological home of literature, is a bold venture in the face of retail bookstore closures across the country, as consumers adopt online shopping. The audience will hear about the store's many successes, including job creation.

"An Evening with Ann Patchett" is a community collaboration to benefit the Friends of the Fallbrook Library and Fallbrook Arts Inc.

Tickets for the event are $30, paid in cash or by check at the door, and they include a glass of wine and hors d'oeuvres provided by the Café des Artistes. Doors open at 5:30, and seating is open, so organizers recommend arriving early. To reserve tickets, call Fallbrook Arts Inc. at 760-731-9584.

Publishers Weekly said of "State of Wonder," "Patchett is a master storyteller who has an entertaining habit of dropping ordinary people into extraordinary and exotic circumstances to see what they're made of. An expansive page-turner ... Patchett's fluid prose dissolves in the suspense of this out-there adventure, a juggernaut of a trip to the crossroads of science, ethics, and commerce that readers will hate to see end." "State of Wonder" will be available at the event for sale and signing.

Ann Patchett is the author of five other novels: the New York Times bestselling "State of Wonder" and "Run"; "The Patron Saint of Liars," which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; "Taft," which won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize; "The Magician's Assistant"; and "Bel Canto," which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, the BookSense Book of the Year, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is also the author of two works of nonfiction: the New York Times bestselling "Truth & Beauty" and "What Now?" Patchett has written for many publications, including the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Magazine, the New York Times, Vogue, the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

FROM FALLBROOK- Fallbrook's Writers Read, a free monthly gathering of writers and readers, is pleased to present Celebrate Poetry!, in recognition of National Poetry Month. The reading will feature Kate Harding, of Rainbow, and the launch of her new poetry collection, "Santa Monica Disposal & Salvage," followed by open mic. The reading is Wednesday, April 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is hosted by the Café des Artistes, at 103 S. Main, Fallbrook.

Harding, who has published her new collection under her pen name, Penny Perry, is a Pushcart Prize nominee in both fiction and poetry. Her work has appeared in numerous print journals and online at "Perigee," "Contemporary World Literature," "Contemporary World Poetry" and "Literary Mama." She was a fellow at the American Film Institute, and PBS produced and aired her movie "A Berkeley Christmas." Harding's chapbook "What Women Do" was a finalist in the Earth's Daughters chapbook competition.

"Santa Monica Disposal & Salvage" will be available for sale and signing.

For the open mic segment, bring a favorite poem to share -- your own or someone else's.

For those who would like to dine during the reading, the Café offers a special bistro supper menu. Call Café des Artistes at 760-728-3350 to reserve a table. Plentiful seating for those not dining is also available. The Café entrance is in the rear of the Art Center, off Alvarado Street.

For more information, visit http://www.excusemeimwriting.com/events/.