This week features many of the things that readers of this column have probably figured out by now that I love: pie, multicultural author readings, Scandinavian musicians, ornithology and depressing foreign films. Here’s hoping you all love at least some of these things too.
Edwidge Danticat
Town Hall, Thurs. 10/17 at 7:30 p.m., $5
Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat will be here to read from her newest novel Claire of the Sea Light, which tells the story of what happens after a little girl goes missing from her Haitian seaside town. Danticat, whether it be in her best-selling family memoir Brother, I’m Dying, or her young adult novel Beyond the Mountains, is known for her bewitching prose and ability to paint her complex homeland in all its grief and magic. I came to Danticat by way of Junot Diaz, whose reverence of her is totally infectious.
Commonplace Book Of Pie
Richard Hugo House, Thurs. 10/17, Pie at 6 p.m., Reading at 7 p.m.
Kate Lebo’s lovable chapbook on pie (replete with recipes, poems, plays-on-words and mostly her passion for this unparalleled food) first premiered a few years ago. Now, she returns with her new (more than just chapbook!) Book of Pie. Also, hear fiction writer Sam Ligon and poet Elissa Ball on pie — and enjoy some fancy whiskey and FREE PIE.
T/OUR Reading
Vermillion, Thurs. 10/17 at 7:30 p.m., FREE
Literary journal T/OUR, which publishes the work of queer and queer-allied artists, will have its October reading party, per usual, at Vermillion. Featured will be readings by four local writers and music by Golden Space. Sample Vermilion's cheap drinks and take in its art exhibits while you’re there.
Birds at the Burke
Burke Museum, Sat. 10/19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $10
Eggs! Nests! Owl pellets! Birds, birds, birds. Dead AND alive! Experience the quick thrill of beholding a live Macaw to the more drawn-out pleasure of talks on subjects such as “How Do Birds Fly?” and “The Lives of Owls,” a multimedia presentation on North American owls (like that Spectacled Owl at left). Most wonderful of all is that the Burke’s entire collection of more than 100,000 bird-related specimens will be on display, along with curators, naturalists and professors who will sit down beside you and share their bird lore.
Oh Land
The Crocodile, Sun. 10/20, $13 advance
Danish artist Nanna Øland Fabricius has been recording under the name “Oh Land” since 2008. Her infectious elecro-pop has been called a mix of Feist, Lily Allen and Robyn — and who can resist that? The first Oh Land song I ever heard was her impressive cover of The National’s already lovely “Bloodbuzz Ohio.” Check out “White Nights” to get an idea of her more usual poppy style, though.
Seattle Polish Film Festival
SIFF, Now through Oct. 20th, generally $10
Now in its 21st year, the Seattle Polish Film Festival pays tribute to Polish cinema with films old and new. This year's festival opens with the (FREE) documentary Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir. I'm especially intrigued by Redcurrants (see entry below), but the entire line-up is strong and happens to include a number of spy genre movies (apparently very en vogue in Poland right now). Siberian Exile, showing Sunday, also looks incredible.
Redcurrants
SIFF Uptown, Sat. 10/19 at 4:20 p.m., $10
This 34-minute documentary captures the on-stage performance of Leo Kantor, now a prominent academic and journalist. After 42 years in exile, Kantor returned to Poland to tell the story of the Germans pulling out of Poland in 1946. He witnessed the withdrawal as a child. “During the Second World War 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered," says Kantor. "'ê¨We will never hear them speak again. Those who do speak, those who survived, always tell stories with happy endings.”
Behind the Scenes: Amazon & Jeff Bezos
Town Hall, Tues. 10/22 at 7:30 p.m., $5
Author Brad Stone and New York Times journalist Nick Wingfield discuss Stone’s book The Everything Store, billed as “the first fly-on-the-wall account” of the development of Amazon.
