This Month’s Literary Calendar The following events this week are free to the public unless otherwise noted. This is not a complete listing; each store or institution may have more events that are not listed here.
24 Tuesday
7:30 p.m. Former chairman of the U.S. Safety Commision Nancy Harvey Steorts discusses her new book on home and family safety, “Safety and You,” at Barnes & Noble-Bethesda, 4801 Bethesda Ave., 301/986-1761.
25 Wednesday
6:30 p.m. Civil rights activist Marvin Caplan discusses and signs his new memoir, “Farther Along,” at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW, Room 307, 202/727-1213.
7 p.m. The Fourteen Friends and editor Joan Hunter Cooper discusss their new book, “The Fourteen Friend’s Guide to Eldercaring,” at Borders – Vienna, 8311 Leesburg Pike, 703/556-7766.
26 Thursday
7 p.m. Alison Landes talks about the new edtion of her travel guide, “Pariswalks,” in a slide-illustrated presentation at Travel Books & Language Center, 4437 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202/237-1322.
27 Friday
7 p.m. Social critic and feminist Barbara Smith lectures and takes part in a panel discussion in an evening celebrating her new book, “The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom,” at the Josephine Butler Park Center, 2437 15th St. NW. Guest panelists include local artists E. Ethelbert Miller and Michelle Parkerson. A reception and book signing follow. Please call 202/483-4721 for more information.
28 Saturday
1 p.m. Professor Linda Patterson Miller presents her new book of correspondence between Hemingway and friends, “Letters From the Lost Generation,” in a lecture and slide presentation at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, 202/357-2991.
2 p.m. Local author Jeffrey Ellinport discusses and signs “Collecting Original Comic Strip Art” at Barnes & Noble – Gaithersburg, 21 Grand Corner Ave., 301/721-0860.
29 Sunday
Noon. Edgar Award winner James Lee Burke reads from and signs his second Billy Bob Holland book, “Heartwood,” at MysteryBooks, 1715 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202/483-1600. He will also be reading later that day at 3 p.m. at Borders – Baileys Crossroads, 5871 Crossroads Center Way, 703/998-0404.
3 P.M. Dominic Grassi discusses “Bumping Into God: 35 Stories of Finding Grace in Unexpected Places” at Borders – Friendship Heights, 5333 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202/686-8270.
Special Events
The Washington Literacy Council, devoted to teaching adults to read, will be conducting the first of its tutor-training workshops on Wednesday, Sept. 8, from 6-9 p.m. The training, done in three sessions, continues on the two consecutive Wednesday evenings, Sept. 15 and Sept. 22. Please call 202/387-9029 for more details, or visit the council’s Web site at [email protected].
A Poetry Festival is being sponsored by Barnes & Noble – Georgetown, which invites all poets to read their work (published or unpublished) in an open-mike format. It takes place Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the store at 3040 M St. NW. Please call 202/965-9880 for more details.
The Fairfax County Public Library celebrates its 60th anniversary with “A Night in the Stacks,” a gala fund-raiser being held Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Herndon Fortnightly Library, 768 Center St. Gen. Colin Powell, Sens. Charles Robb and John Warner, Congressmen Tom Davis, Frank Wolf, and Jim Moran, and Librarian of Congress James Billington are all slated to attend. There will also be live music, food and a silent auction. Tickets are $60 per person, all proceeds going to support the Fairfax County Public Library Foundation. Please call 703/324-8300 for ticket information, or e-mail [email protected].
The Goethe-Insitut Washington is celebrating the 250th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Saturday, Aug. 28, with a day of music, art, theater, literature and culinary festivities. The institute is located at 814 Seventh St. NW above Chinatown. Please call 202/289-1200 for more details.
The William Morris Society, in collaboration with the Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Georgetown University Department of English and the National Gallery of Art, is sponsoring “The Arts of the British 1890s,” an interdisciplinary conference taking place Sept. 10-12 in Washington. Author Merlin Holland, grandson of Oscar Wilde, will present the keynote address opening the conference on Friday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Freer Gallery of Art. Saturday, Sept. 11, the conference moves to the Inter-Cultural Center at Georgetown University with a day of academic talks from 9:30 – 5:45. The conference closes on Sunday, Sept. 12, at the National Gallery of Art, with Professor Linda Gertner Zatlin speaking on Aubrey Beardsley as part of the Sunday Afternoon Lecture Series. For further information, please visit the William Morris Home Page at www.ccny.cuny.edu/ wmorris/conference.htm, or contact any of the associated sponsors.
The Library of Congress is now accepting submissions to apply to read in the 1999-2000 Poetry at Noon Series. Please submit two of your poems as well as three poems by other poets from any time period on one or more of the following themes: Favorite Fall Poems (Sept.), Thanksgiving and Gratitude (Oct.), Century’s End or Millennium (Dec.), Love (Feb.), Fun Poems for Children (March), and Poems About Growing Older (May). Submissions for each theme should include a cover sheet listing the theme, your name, address and daytime phone number. The deadline postmark for submissions has been extended to Aug. 31. Call 202/707-1308 for information.
How to submit your Literary Calendar Event to Book World
All submissions for the Literary Calendar must be received no later than 28 days in advance. Priority will be given to literary events that are free of charge and open to the public. They should be sent to: Literary Calendar/ Book World, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Our fax number is 202/334-5059; our e-mail address is [email protected].
