The Hill-Stead Museum, 35 Mountain Road, Farmington will present its second Sunday afternoon Sunken Garden Poetry Festival program on Sunday, Aug. 9.
“Outspoken: Celebration Of Asian Poetry” will feature poets Li-Young Lee, who has won many honors for his work and has published four collections, including “Behind My Eyes” (Norton, $14.95), and Tina Chang, the author of several poetry collections and the first woman to be poet laureate of Brooklyn.
Chang will lead a community reading of Asian and Asian-American poetry at noon in the Carriage Barn. The festival gates will open at 1:30 p.m; a prelude conversation with both poets led by Jeffrey Partridge will be at 2 p.m.; a children’s Asian art activity will also be at 2 p.m., Chang will read at 3 p.m.; Celadon Youth Ensemble will play Asian music at 3:30 p.m. and Li-Young Lee will read at 4:15 p.m.
Original Asian wood-block prints, Chinese porcelain and other Asian art objects from the museum’s collection will be on display.
Guests can bring their own seating and food or can buy food and wine there. Tickets are $12 online in advance or $15 at the door; free for those 18 or younger.
Information: 860-677-4787 or www.hillstead.org.
Big Bird At UConn
Puppeteer and cartoonist Caroll Spinney, known worldwide for his performances as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on TV’s “Sesame Street,” will sign copies of “The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers” co-written with Jason Milligan (Villard, $16.95) at the UConn Co-op, One Royce Circle, 101 Storrs Center, Storrs.
Spinney has appeared as Big Bird and Oscar in every episode of Sesame Street, which is broadcast in 150 countries, since 1969. He is visiting UConn for the National Festival of the Puppeteers of America, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 16, on campus.
Another festival participant, Chuck McCann, known as the “man of a 1,000 voices” for his work in film, TV, stage and recordings, also will sign copies of his 2012 book, “Chuck McCann’s Let’s Have Fun Scrapbook” (Filmland Classic, $30) at the Co-op on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 1 p.m. Information: 860-486-8525 or generalbooks.bookstore.uconn.edu/event.
Book/Mark Program
The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford, will present a free Book/Mark talk with Edwin Sanchez on his novel “Diary of a Puerto Rican Demigod” (CreateSpace, $15.95) on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m. The book is a lively comic tale about Javier, a former chorus boy, and his billionaire lover Jason, and what happens when, after 20 years, Jason dumps Javi for a younger boyfriend.
Poet and writer Bessy Reyna will be the moderator for Sanchez’s talk. Reservations and information: 860-280-3130 or marktwainhouse.org.
Authors At R.J. Julia
Authors of memoirs and novels will speak at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. All the events are free and will begin at 7 p.m. Reservations are required: 203-245-3959 or www.rjjulia.com.
Annita Perez Sawyer will discuss her book, “Smoking Cigarettes, Eating Glass: A Psychologist’s Memoir” (Santa Fe Writer’s Project, $17.95.), on Monday, Aug. 10. The book details her struggle with mental illness and how she overcame it after many years of misdiagnosis, institutionalization and electroshock therapy. Perez Sawyer has been a practicing psychologist for more than 30 years and is a member of the clinical faculty at Yale University. Her essays have won prizes and have been included among the “Notables” in the Best American Essays series.
Steve Katz, a guitarist and founding member of the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears, will talk about his memoir, “Blood, Sweat, and My Rock ‘n’ Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star?” (Lyons Press, $26.95), on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Katz has won Grammys and other awards, had gold and platinum hits and went on to become a record producer, working with Lou Reed and others. Katz and his wife own a ceramics shop, Alison Palmer Studio, in South Kent.
Anne A. Wilson, a Naval Academy graduate who served nine years active duty as a Navy helicopter pilot, including deployment to the Persian Gulf, will talk about her debut novel, “Hover” (Forge,$24) on Wednesday, Aug. 12. It is about a female helicopter pilot whose vow not to stand out in the man’s world of the military is challenged when she is chosen to be the executive pilot of a secret Navy SEALs mission.
Jessica Knoll will discuss her thriller, “Luckiest Girl Alive” (Simon & Schuster, $25), which is drawing comparison to “Gone Girl” on Thursday, Aug. 13. In it, a girl who overcomes a serious humiliation in private school goes on to become a successful businesswoman, but her almost-perfect life is threatened by a secret in her past. Knoll was a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and articles editor at SELF.
Connecticut Authors Trail
The 2015 Connecticut Authors Trail, presented by a group of libraries in eastern Connecticut, offers free talks by authors who live in the state or write about it. At each event, guests can acquire “passports” that are guides to the series and offer a chance to win a themed basket. The trail will conclude at the Mohegan Sun Cabaret Theatre on Sept. 10 at 6:15 p.m., with a talk by baker, cookbook author and culinary arts expert Robert Landolphi.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. at Canterbury Public Library, 1 Municipal Drive, Canterbury, Lisa Saunders will speak. Saunders, of Mystic, has published seven books and is a local TV talk show host. She also is the history columnist for Pathfinder magazine.
On Thursday, Aug. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Cragin Library, 127 Norwich Ave., Colchester, Janice Law, an award-winning mystery writer, will speak. Her many books include “The Big Payoff,” which introduced Anna Peters and was inspired by the Watergate investigation, which was happening at that time. “Moon Over Tangier” completed Law’s award-winning trilogy, which began with “Fires of London” and continued with the Lambda Award-winner, “The Prisoner of the Riviera” (Open Road Integrated Media, $14.99).
Information: connecticutauthorstrail.org.
Avon Local Author Festival
The free Avon Free Public Library Local Author Festival, held at 281 Country Club Road, Avon, will include a free Story Walk on its grounds during July and August based on the children’s book, “Market Maze” by Roxie Munro, a story about collecting things to take to a farmers market. Visitors can solve the maze and find objects hidden in pictures. Information: 860-673-9712, ext. 235.
