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Christopher Hebert Tuesday, September 27, 7 pm at Boswell, in Conversation with Valerie Laken
Christopher Hebert’s new novel, Angels of Detroit, delivers a kaleidoscopic of an iconic American city, of abandonment, hope, violence, and resilience, and the lives intersecting on Detroit’s margins. We’re excited to host the author of The Boiling Season, winner of the 2013 Friends of American Writers Award, in conversation between Hebert and Valerie Laken, Associate Professor of English at UWM.
Milwaukeean Bruce Jacobs, co-owner of Wichita’s Watermark Books, calls Angels of Detroit “a Dickensian collection of Motor City characters bent on personal survival and rebuilding what they can.” From his review, which first appeared in Shelf Awareness: “The graveyard of Detroit is Hebert’s stage, and fully formed characters Constance and Clementine are the angels who just might bring it back to life. Ambitious, well-paced, observant – Angels of Detroit is a first-rate novel of flawed but admirable characters who want a brighter future in what one of them calls ‘the new Old West.'”
Christopher Hebert’s short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Five Chapters, Cimarron Review, and The Millions. He is Editor-at-Large for the University of Michigan Press, as well as the Jack E. Reese Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tennessee Libraries and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come for an enlightening conversation with Valerie Laken on Tuesday, September 27, 7 pm, at Boswell.
A Talk and Scene Preview by the Cast from Milwaukee Rep, Wednesday, September 28, 2 pm, at Boswell
Join us for a free talk and scene preview from the Milwaukee Rep cast of Man of La Mancha, adapted from the classic Don Quixote and the winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
It’s an adventurous tale of a knight’s heroic battle. It’s a fairy tale with a tragic love story. It’s a tale of an old man gone mad and his family searching desperately for him. It’s all of those things and more, including incredible songs that you know and love. Man of La Mancha will run from September 30 through October 30 and is recommended for audiences 14+.
The original production of Man of La Mancha won five Tony Awards. Dream your impossible dream and come to our free preview on Wednesday, September 28, 2 pm. Visit the Milwaukee Rep website for more info.
Boswell and Jennifer Chiaverini Hit the Road, to the Kenosha Public Library Northside Branch, Wednesday, September 28, 6:30 pm
Jennifer Chiaverini has once again brought he Civil War period to life, taking us on a history journey back to the Confederacy through the eyes of the four women integral in the life of John Wilkes Booth in the novel Fates and Traitors. As Jim Higgins notes in the Journal Sentinel, “Just as she does in her previous novels in this sequence, in Fates and TraitorsChiaverini depicts the constraints on women’s autonomy in this era – and of how shrewdly women worked through or around those constraints.”
John Wilkes Booth’s quest to avenge the Confederacy led him to commit one of the most infamous acts in American history and has long been the subject of speculation and even obsession. But what is less known is the story of the four women who were a part of the life of this unquiet American: Mary Ann, the mother he revered; Asia, his sister and confidante; Lucy Lambert Hale, the senator’s daughter who loved him; and Mary Surratt, the Confederate widow to whom he entrusted the secret of his vengeful wrath. From a tumultuous childhood on a farm in Maryland, to the glittering ballrooms of DC, the novel portrays not just a soul in turmoil, but a country at the precipice of immense change.
Want to hear more about one of the most infamous men in American history? Join us at the Kenosha Public LibraryNorthside branch, which is located at 1500 27th Ave in Kenosha, 53140, on Wednesday, September 28, 6:30 pm. And for those of you on the north and west sides of town, don’t forget that Chiaverini is at the Menomonee Falls Public Library on Saturday, September 24, 2 pm, with books furnished by our friends at Books and Company in Oconomowoc.
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Looking at Electoral Trends with UWM’s Thomas Holbrook, on Thursday, September 29, 7 pm, at Boswell
It’s a presidential year, and what better time to be hosting events about Herbert Hoover (from Glen Jeansonne, on November 1) and George H.W. Bush (as part of our ticketed event with Jon Meacham). But it’s just as interesting to hear about electoral trends. In Altered States: Changing Populations, Changing Parties, and the Transformation of the American Political Landscape, Thomas Holbrook looks at party fortunes in presidential elections since 1972, documenting the magnitude, direction, and consequences of changes in party support in the states.
When Thomas M. Holbrook, Wilder Crane Professor of Government at UWM, spoke with Greg Walz-Chojnacki for the UWM Report, he talked about some of the changes in voting patterns. Holbrook noted, on changes: “A few things really stand out. Increases in highly educated voters – in places like Virginia, Vermont, and North Carolina – that really helps Democrats. An increase in foreign-born voters also benefits
Democrats. Thirty years ago, people in professional occupations were a Republican voting group. Now, they lean Democratic. They seem to be fine with economic conservatism, but are turned off by cultural politics.”
Holbrook also wrote a piece for The Washington Post, where he noted that immigrant groups are also making a difference in national elections, but that it’s not just Latino immigrants who are changing the dynamic, but also Asians. For more, come for our event with Thomas Holbrook on Thursday, September 29, 7 pm.
Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin Together for Their Newest Collaboration, at the Wauwatosa Public Library, Friday, September 30, 3:30 pm
There is nothing more fun that celebrating a birthday, right? And that’s why we’re excited to be cosponsoring a visit with author Doreen Cronin and illustrator Betsy Lewin for their new book,Click, Clack, Surprise!, at the Wauwatosa Public Library.
Little Duck learns how to celebrate his birthday with a little help from all the other animals on the farm. Everyone wants to look their best for the party. But Little Duck has never had a birthday before – so how better to learn how to prepare than to do what all the other animals do! Let’s just say that what works for other animals might not help Little Duck.
Among Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin’s other collaborations are Click, Clack, Moo, which was a Caldecott Honor Book;Click Clack Peep; Click, Clack Boo; Click, Clack, Ho, Ho, Ho; Thump, Quack, Moo; Dooby Dooby Moo; and Duck for President. This event is at theWauwatosa Public Library, 7635 W North Ave, on Friday, September 30, 3:30 pm. Quack, Quack, which means, “Hope to see you there.”
Teaching in the Mississippi Delta with Michael Copperman, Friday, September 30, 7 pm, at Boswell
When Michael Copperman left Stanford University for the Mississippi Delta in 2002, he imagined he would lift underprivileged children from the narrow horizons of rural poverty. Well-meaning but naive, the Asian American from the West Coast soon lost his bearings in a world divided between black and white. He had no idea how to manage a classroom or help children navigate the considerable challenges they faced. He chronicles his story inTeacher: Two Years in the Mississippi Delta.
Of the new book, Mario Albert Zambrano writes: “Michael Copperman weaves personal history and national statistics into a narrative that is at once heartbreaking and crucial. Crippled by the epidemic of educational disparity, this engaging memoir about a young professor’s journey into the Mississippi Delta’s impoverished districts to teach children how to read and write, how to find their voices and break their silence is what we look for in storytelling.”
About the author: From 2002 to 2004, Michael Copperman taught fourth grade in the rural black public schools of the Mississippi Delta with Teach For America. Now, he teaches writing to low-income, first-generation college students of diverse backgrounds at the University of Oregon. Hear the rest of his story on Friday, September 30, 7 pm, at Boswell.
Bradley Beaulieu at Discovery World’s Family Sci Fi Day, Saturday, October 1, 12:30 pm
Acclaimed Racine fantasy writer Bradley Beaulieu will be appearing at Discovery World Family Sci Fi Day, Saturday, October 1, 12:30 pm, for a family-friendly extravaganza of magnificent costumes, props, and displays from the sci-fi world! Featured are Wisconsin Ghostbusters, Kenosha Lego Group, Heroes Alliance, Milwaukee Astronomy Society’s planets demo, and more.
Here’s a little more about his novella, Of Sand and Malice Made, just released from DAW books, the home of the finest fantasy writer* of all time, Tad Williams. Çeda, the heroine of the widely praised Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, is the youngest pit fighter in the history of the great desert city of Sharakhai. In this prequel, she has already made her name in the arena as the fearsome, undefeated White Wolf; none but her closest friends and allies know her true identity. But all changes when she crosses the path of Rümayesh, an ehrekh, a sadistic ancient creature forged by the God of Chaos. Ehrekhs are usually desert dwellers, but this one lurks in the dark corners of Sharakhai, toying with and preying on humans. Rümayesh seeks to unmask the White Wolf and claim Çeda for her own, in a struggle that becomes a battle for Çeda’s very soul.
Bradley P. Beaulieu is the author of the Lays of Anuskaya Trilogy. He has published work in Realms of Fantasy Magazine, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Writers of the Future 20, and several anthologies. Tickets for this event at Discovery World, 500 N Harbor Dr, are $18 for adults, with sliding scale for children, students, and seniors. This event is from 10 am to 5 pm and tasteful costumes encouraged. And don’t forget, Beaulieu’s presentation is 12:30 pm.
*per Jason Kennedy, our buyer.
Book Club Discussion in Conjunction with a Florentine Opera World Premiere, Monday, October 3, 7 pm, at Boswell
Everybody’s been celebrating the world premiere of the Florentine Opera’s Sister Carrie on October 7, with a second performance on Sunday, October 9. But before that, the Boswell in-store lit group will be meeting with folks from UWM and the Florentine to talk about Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, the classic novel that inspired the opera.
From Dave Begel at OnMilwaukee: “Sister Carrie will be a commissioned world premiere of a new opera, something that the opera world takes very seriously. There have long been questions of where the new operas are going to come from, and while Puccini and Verdi still resonate and sell tickets, the developmental grants and funds are for new operas. That’s why there will be so much national and international attention paid toSister Carrie and why this is a big deal in the world of classical music.”
As always, our book club is free and open to the public, with no registration required. You don’t have to read Sister Carrie, but it helps. Our discussion is Monday, October 3, 7 pm, at Boswell. And here’s the link to buy tickets to the opera.
Ben Hatke at the Cudahy Family Library, Tuesday, October 4, 6:30 pm
What a week of kids events we’re cosponsoring! Tuesday’s feature, at the Cudahy Family Library, is Ben Hatke, the author and illustrator of Zita the Spacegirl, Little Robot, and the just released Mighty Jack. If you or your kids love graphic novels, you’re going to love Ben Hatke! Boswellian Olivia Valenza offers this recommendation: “If ever there was a more appropriate time to exclaim ‘Cool beans!’ it would be when discussing the awesomeness of Ben Hatke’s latest graphic novel twist on Jack and the Beanstalk, Mighty Jack. Hatke is a master storyteller, having a magical talent to take life’s everyday adventures and imbue them with the mysterious, the amazing, and the fantastical. Hatke artfully manages to take a classic story of a boy and beanstalk and have it resonate more as a modern tale.”
Cory Doctorow is a huge fan. From Boing Boing: “Hatke himself is a real-life superhero: a fire-breathing, sword-fighting, acrobatic archer, and he handles the combat sequences here with real authority, beyond anything else we’ve seen in his work. But in other regards, this is a pure Hatke title, populated by smart, likable kids whose friendships and loyalty are the key to their victory. There’s heart in here to match the action, and a mix of characters – male and female, neurotypical and spectrum, young and old – that will appeal to any kid or their grownups.”
Meet Hatke at the Cudahy Family Library, 3500 Library Drive, just south of Layton Ave, on Tuesday, October 4, 6:30 pm. The library is offering attendees a chance to decorate your own cupcake with magic beans, and the school that sends the most kids to the event will get a copy of Mighty Jack for its library.
Robert Olen Butler in Conversation with David Riordan at Boswell, Tuesday, October 4, 7 pm
We are excited to present Pulitzer Prize winning author Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, in conversation with David L. Riordan, Assistant Professor of English at Cardinal Stritch University. Butler returns to Vietnam in Perfume River, the story of Robert and Darla, whose marriage was forged in the fervor of anti-Vietnam war protests, and now bears the fractures of time, with solitary jogging and separate offices. But while this couple’s cracks remain under the surface, the divisions in Robert’s families are more apparent.
From Chris Lee at Boswell, this enthusiastic review of Perfume River: “At once lyrical and driving, Butler’s newest novel returns to an imagined landscape that has held sway over his work in the past, the Vietnam war and its hold on the lives and memories of those across three generations. A novel of reflection and refraction, the narrations deftly follow characters whose lives are propelled by the influence of memories as their thoughts drift and swirl between the present and the past. An aging professor is pulled between the regret he feels for killing and his deep need for approval from his dying father. His brother, who deserted to Canada, feels the pull of familial ties cut decades before. His wife, who protested the war, remembers the soldier she once met, bright eyed and eager for a new life, and considers the subtle ways the war has shaped their lives ever since. And a chance encounter with a drifter, the disturbed son of an abusive vet, threatens to bring the violence of war home to them.”
Other great reviews include Colette Bancroft in the Tampa Bay Times, who called the novel an “insightful portrait of a family shaped and shaken by war, even 50 years after its last soldier returned.” Enjoy an evening with Robert Olen Butler and David Riordan, a former Schwartz Bookseller who left bookselling to study with Butler in Louisiana, on Tuesday, October 4, 7 pm, at Boswell.
Laurie Halse Anderson Triumphantly Concludes Her Seeds of America Trilogy. See Her at the West Allis Public Library, Wednesday, October 5, 6:30 pm.
When Simon and Schuster called us and told us we might be able to host Laurie Halse Anderson for a day of school visits and public events, our first instinct was to say that we already had too much on our plate. But who can say no to Laurie Halse Anderson, beloved by educators and readers, booksellers and book fans.? And Ashes is not just any book but the conclusion to the Seeds of America trilogy. How cool is that?
In Ashes, the Revolutionary War rages on, and Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel’s little sister, Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state where bounty hunters are thick as flies. Heroism and heartbreak pave their path, but Isabel and Curzon won’t stop until they reach Ruth, and then freedom.
Laurie Halse Anderson’s work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Chains also received the 2009 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and Anderson was chosen for the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award. Our cosponsored event is at theWest Allis Public Library, 7421 W National Ave, on Wednesday, October 5, 6:30 pm.
Historian Candice Millard on Winston Churchill, Wednesday, October 5, 7 pm, at Boswell
At age 24, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become Prime Minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal he must do something spectacular on the battlefield. In historian Candice Millard’s new book, Hero of the Empire, The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill, that leap to greatness is captured in exciting detail.
Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, there to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels. But just two weeks after his arrival, the soldiers he was accompanying on an armored train were ambushed, and Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape but then had to traverse hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits.
Candice Millard is author of the bestselling history books River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic. Our event with Millard, cosponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio, is Wednesday, October 5, 7 pm.
Want to get a preview? Millard will appear on the Kathleen Dunn Show on Wisconsin Public Radio (locally WHAD) on Tuesday, September 27, 2 pm.
More Events in October
Thursday, October 6, 7 pm, at Boswell: A Pizza Man Pizza Party with Jennifer Niven, author of Holding Up the Universe and All the Bright Places, and Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces. This event is free – registration is requested by not required.
Friday, October 7, 6:30 pm, at the Shorewood Public Library, 3920 N Murray Ave: Trenton Lee Stewart, author of The Secret Keepers and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Friday, October 7, 7 pm, at Boswell: Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and Mercury, in conversation with UWM’s Liam Callanan. Cosponsored by UWM English Department Creative Writing Program.
Tuesday, October 18, 7 pm, at Boswell: a ticketed event with Jennifer Weiner, author of Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing, in conversation with the Journal Sentinel’s Jim Higgins. Tickets are $28 and include a copy of the book.
Friday, October 21, 6:30 pm, at Milwaukee Public Library’s Centennial Hall, 733 N Eighth St: Jacqueline Woodson, author of Another Brooklyn and Brown Girl Dreaming. Cosponsored by YWCA Southeast Wisconsin.
Saturday, October 22, 11 am, at Boswell: Patricia Polacco, author of Because of Thursday and The Mermaid’s Curse.
Megan Marshall on Margaret Fuller at the First Unitarian Society, Sunday, October 9, 1 pm
Megan Marshall, author of Margaret Fuller: a New American Life, is the speaker for the annual Irma Morter lecture at the First Unitarian Society. The book, which received the Pulitzer Prize for biography, chronicles the life of the passionate and adventurous life of a 19th century woman, an early advocate of the Transcendental and Feminist movements. The lecture is titled: Fullness of Being: Margaret Fuller and the Transcendental Self-Dependence.
Megan Marshall is the Charless Wesley Emerson Professor at Emerson College in Boston, where she teaches nonfiction writing for the MFA program. In addition to Margaret Fuller: a New American Life, she is also author of The Peabody Sisters: Three Women who Ignited American Romanticism, which was awarded the American Historical Society Francis Parkman Prize. There are receptions prior to and following the lecture.
Irma Morter lived in the Milwaukee area in the first half of the 20th century, where she enjoyed nature and philosophy. The Irma Morter Lecture Fund supports programs centered on the concept of individual responsibility and offering our best selves to others. The First Unitarian Society is located at 1342 N Astor St, just north of downtown. For more information, contact Lorraine Jacobs or call (414) 273-5257.
Timothy Snyder at Marquette Law School, Wednesday, October 19, 12:15 pm.
His critically acclaimed book, Bloodlands, received multiple honors for its powerful, detailed examination of the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes. In 2015, Professor Timothy Snyder followed up with another best-seller, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, which presents a new explanation for the Holocaust and what it could portend for the future. The Wall Street Journal callsBlack Earth “remarkable” and “mesmerizing.” The Washington Postsays “Snyder’s historical account has a vital contemporary lesson.” Black Earth was named a best book of the year by The Washington Post and The Economist, and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
Boswell is cosponsoring what is sure to be a compelling and provocative conversation when one of the nation’s leading historians, Prof. Timothy Snyder, visits Eckstein Hall for On the Issues, in conversation with Mike Gousha. This event is free, but registration is required and slots are filling up quickly. Eckstein Hall is located on the Marquette University campus, at 1215 W Michigan Ave. The talk is Wednesday, October 19, 12:15 pm. This event is presented by Marquette University Law School. Boswell will be selling books at this event.
Tickets Now on Sale for the Woodland Pattern Annual Gala, Friday, November 11, at Centennial Hall
Eileen Myles – poet, novelist, performer, and art journalist – is the author of 19 books, including I Must Be Living Twice: New and Selected Poems, and a 2015 reissue of Chelsea Girls. Myles is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, an Andy Warhol/Creative Capital Arts Writers grant, four Lambda Book Awards, and the Shelley Prize from PSA.
Myles is the featured speaker at the annual Woodland Pattern Anniversary Gala, at Milwaukee Public Library’s Centennial Hall, 733 N Eighth St, on Friday, November 11. The program features a reception at 5:30 pm and a program starting at 7. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, for the program only, and $80 for the reception and program, or $150 for a couple. The reception features catered hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, mingling with Gala Honorees, and a cash bar. More info here.
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Two pieces of big news. Boswell is now selling Antoine Laurain’s books in French, perfect for native speakers or students alike. And even bigger, Laurain is coming back to Boswell on Sunday, October 23, 3 pm. Among Laurain’s books are The President’s Hat,The Red Notebook and most recentlyFrench Rhapsody, another must read: “When Doctor Alain Massoulier gets the letter in the mail, telling him that Polygram Records would be interested in meeting with the Holograms to discuss a record contract, he doesn’t know what to think. After all, the letter arrived 28 years late. But his first thought is where is his copy of that tape? And his second thought is to find the group members. But the Holograms are no longer close – the drummer is now a contemporary artist, the bassist a populist politician, the lyricist an antiques dealer, and the producer a business tycoon. The keyboard player has abandoned France for Thailand. And the singer? There’s no trace of her. This wonderful novel has all the French charm we’ve come to expect from Antoine Laurain, but it’s also surprisingly timely, with the political climate of both France and the United States being reflected in the plot line. Like his previous novels, French Rhapsody is about a quest, but this is not just a search for a music tape, it’s a search for the soul of France itself.”