The annual Booked for Lunch author luncheon presented by the Friends of the Simsbury Library and featuring a talk by Christina Baker Kline, author of the best-selling “Orphan Train” and “A Piece of the World” (Morrow, $27.99), will take place May 10 at noon at Hop Meadow Country Club, 85 Firetown Road, Simsbury. Tickets are $30, and reservations must be made by May 1. Reservations: at the library, 725 Hopmeadow St., or simsburylibrary.info or 860-658-7663.
Russo In West Hartford
West Hartford Reads, a community program focused on books by one notable author, this year chose Richard Russo, who has published eight novels, two story collections and a memoir and won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for “Empire Falls.”
Russo will complete the program with a free talk April 26 at 7 p.m. at West Hartford Town Hall, 50 S. Main St. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and seats are not reserved. Registration: bit.ly/WHREADSrusso. Information: 860-561-6950 or westhartfordlibrary.org.
The Albatross Press
Michele K. Troy, a professor of English at the University of Hartford and author of “Strange Bird: The Albatross Press and the Third Reich” (Yale University Press, $40), will give a free talk April 28 at 4 p.m. at Regents Commons in the Shaw Center in Hillyer Hall on the university campus, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford.
Albatross Press, a precursor of the Penguin publishing house in Germany, was supported by British-Jewish interests in the early 1930s and managed to survive the Nazi regime. For information or a parking pass, contact mtroy@hartford.edu.
Art World Thefts
Anthony M. Amore will give a free talk titled “The Art of the Con” on April 28 at 7 p.m., at Elihu Burritt Library, 615 Stanley St, New Britain, on the CCSU campus.
Amore is director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, site of the infamous unsolved theft of priceless paintings, and author of two best-sellers, “Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $19.99) and “The Art of the Con: The Most Notorious Fakes, Frauds and Forgeries in the Art World” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $19.99). 860-832-2060 or library.ccsu.edu.
‘Evicted’
Two MacArthur “genius grant” winners, Matthew Desmond, who won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction and other awards for “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” (Broadway Books, $17), and Juan Salgado, head of Instituto del Progreso Latino in Chicago, will speak April 25 at 5:30 p.m. at Hill Regional Career High School, 140 Legion Ave., New Haven. Their free talk is presented by Christian Community Action. 203-777-7848 or cca50th@ccahelping.org.
Arriving, Surviving, Thriving
Our Stories/Nuestras Historias, a program honoring Connecticut poet and memoirist Bessy Reyna, will be held April 29 at Norwich Arts Center, 62 Broadway, Norwich, from 3:30 to 6 p.m. It will include Peruvian dancers and stories of arriving, surviving and thriving in America. At 7 p.m., following a 6 p.m. reception, Latino authors Reyna, Jose B. Gonzalez, Carlos Hernandez and Luisa Caycedo-Kimura will read. A donation is requested. There will be post-event gathering at Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant, 252 Main St., Norwich. Tickets and information: 860-887-2789 or norwicharts.org.
Poetry Month Events
A free program, Words from The Wild: Words and Music to Celebrate Poetry Month, Spring, and the Natural World, will take place April 29 at 2 p.m., at Welles Turner Memorial Library, 2407 Main St., Glastonbury. David Leff, New England Trail poet-in-residence, will read; folk-jazz-gospel quartet Wait For It will play and there will be a tribute to Glastonbury poet Hugh Ogden. Information: 860-652-7719 or poet.laureate@glastonbury-ct.gov.
The free Poets On Poetry Series at Hartford Public library, 500 Main St., will continue April 29 from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. with a discussion of the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop Part II, led by local poet John Stanizzi. The Connecticut Poetry Society presents the series. Information: 860-655-3263 or ctpoetry.net.
A free talk about the poetry of World War I will be presented by Lawrence Court, of Westminster School in Simsbury, on April 24 at 3 p.m. at Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St. Court will focus on Wilfred Owen, whose work influenced the Modernist style of poetry. Registration: 860-658-7663 or simsburylibrary.info.
Belden Library, 33 Church St., Rocky Hill, will sponsor its third annual Poetry Reading and Open Mike Night on April 25 at 6:30 p.m. Poets Charles Chase, Pamela Guinan, Suzy Lamson, Cynthia Peck, Garrett Phelan, Margaret Plaganis, Shelly Weinberg, Claudia McGhee, William Moorhead, Mr. Sebastian and Victoria Ventura will read. Preregistration: 860- 258-7621 or rockyhillct.gov/library.
A book launch for “Connecticut Laureates: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry” (Grayson Books, $20), will take place Wednesday, Apr. 26, at 6:30 p.m., at New Milford Library, 24 Main St. The poet laureate readers will be Susan Allison, Kathy Carle, Ginny Connors, Allan Garry, Tarn Granucci, and Jim Scrimgeour. Registration: 860-355-1191, ext. 2, or newmilfordlibrary.org.
Clinton Art Gallery’s free 2017 Poetry Place Sunday Series, at the gallery at 20 E. Main St., Clinton, will present readings by Margaret Gibson, Greg Coleman and Brie Quartin and an open mike April 23 from 2 to 4 p.m.. Information: pattonybarone@aol.com or 203-627-4148.
Connecticut Poetry Society’s annual spring Poetry Blast will take place April 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. at MCC on Main, 903 Main St. Manchester. Events include an open mike and a reading from the “Forgotten Women” anthology and a Writers Resist Panel with Brent Terry. Information: 860-655-3263 or ctpoetry.net.
The Abolitionist Lymans
The Lyman family of Middlefield is famous for its orchards, but also played an important role in the 19th century abolition movement to end slavery in America.
On April 27 at 7 p.m. at the Senior and Community Center, 61 Durant Terrace, Middletown, the Middlesex County Historical Society will present a free talk by author Diana McCain, called “‘This Thing You Call Law, We Will Not Obey'”: The Lymans of Middlefield, Ardent Abolitionists and Underground Railroad Activists.” McCain’s talk is based on her research for her historical novel about the Lymans, “Thy Children’s Children: A Novel Based on the True Story of Five Generations of a New England Grassroots Dynasty”(CreateSpace, $19.95). 860-346-0746.
Braunstein At Westminster
Sarah Braunstein will read at Westminster School, 995 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, at 7 p.m. on April 28 for the free Friday Nights in Gund series. Student readers will be Yilun Zheng, Fred Seo, Morgan Peirce and Isaiah Preyer.
Braunstein’s novel, “The Sweet Relief of Missing Children,” won the 2012 Maine Literary Award. 860-408-3053 or dskeels@westminster-school.org.
Bank Square Books Events
Bank Square Books, 53. W. Main St., Mystic, will host a book signing from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 23 with Elyse Major, whose debut book is “I Modify IKEA” (Ulysses Press, $24.95). The book offers 200 illustrations showing how to customize the popular home furnishings.
On April 27 at 6 p.m. the bookstore will launch Mystic author Susan Kietzman’s book, “Every Other Wednesday” (Kensington, $15), about three wives and mothers brought together by a tragedy who help each other redefine themselves. 860-536-3795 or banksquarebooks.com.
Tom Ryan In Simsbury
Reservations must be made by April 28 to attend a free talk by Tom Ryan, whose latest book is the inspirational “Will’s Red Coat: The Story of One Old Dog Who Chose To Live Again” (Morrow, $25.99) on May 1, at 7 p.m. at Simsbury Public Library, Hopmeadow St., Simsbury.
Ryan, a journalist and author, also wrote the best-seller, “Following Atticus.” His latest book is about the rewards of adopting a 15-year-old disabled dog from a shelter. Reservations at the library, 725 Hopmeadow St., or simsburylibrary.info or 860-658-7663.
‘Lessons From The Road’
Manchester author Margaret Webster will give a free talk about “Lessons from the Road: USA” (Hawkeye, $17.99) on April 26 at 7 p.m. at Kent Memorial Library, 61 Ffyler Place, Suffield. The book is a humorous chronicle of her travels across the country in a pickup truck, a trip that lasted years. 860-668-3896 or suffield-library.org.
Authors At R.J. Julia
R.J. Julia Booksellers will host free talks by nonfiction authors and a YA novelist at the bookstore, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison.
On April 23 at 2 p.m., Nina Sankovitch will discuss “The Lowells of Massachusetts: An American Family” (St. Martin’s Press, $27.99), which traces their history from the 1600s to their influence on Boston’s culture. science and literary life.
On April 25 at 7 p.m., the bookstore and Jewish Community Center of New Haven will present a talk by Adina Hoffman, author of “Till We Have Built Jerusalem: Architects of a New City” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28). Hoffman’s book explores the lives of three architects who helped shape modern Jerusalem, from British rule in the 1930s through contemporary times.
On April 26 at 6:30 p.m., Margaret Peterson Haddix will discuss her YA novel, “In over Their Heads” (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $16.99), in which twins meet new step-siblings and begin a quest to save humanity from doom.
On April 26 at 7 p.m., Thom Brooks will discuss his guidebook, “Becoming British: UK Citizenship Examined” (Biteback Publishing, $19.95), which explains the complex rules and daunting cultural challenges of obtaining British citizenship.
All require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
Chaucer’s Tale
Jack Chaucer will sign copies of “Nikki White: Polar Extremes” (Createspace, $13.99), on April 23 at 2 p.m. at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Road, Washington Depot.
Its heroine, Nikki Janicek, is training for a one-way mission to Mars, and that is far from the only challenge in her life. Chaucer, who lives in Litchfield County, has also written YA and sci-fi thrillers. 860-868-0525 or hickorystickbookshop.com.
Independent Bookstore Day
A national event on April 29 celebrating independent bookstores will be marked at The Hickory Stick Bookstore in Washington Depot, R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison and Bank Square Books in Mystic Visit their websites for details.
Book Club Bookstore, 869 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor, will celebrate the day as well as its grand opening at its new location, hosting South Windsor authors from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They are Maria Carvalho, R. C. Goodwin, Cody Leet and Margaret H. Essebaggers Dopirak. 860-432-7411 or bookclubct.com.
![By KIMBERLEE KRUESI (Associated Press) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An initial hearing for country music star Morgan Wallen was postponed Friday until August in a case in which he’s accused of throwing a chair from the rooftop of a six-story bar and nearly hitting two police officers. Wallen’s attorney, Worrick Robinson, told reporters that the […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Morgan_Wallen_Arrest_25419.jpg?w=525 "By KIMBERLEE KRUESI (Associated Press) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An initial hearing for country music star Morgan Wallen was postponed Friday until August in a case in which he’s accused of throwing a chair from the rooftop of a six-story bar and nearly hitting two police officers. Wallen’s attorney, Worrick Robinson, told reporters that the […]")
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