Wednesday is April Fool’s Day, but the subject of a talk at 7 p.m. at The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford, while outrageous, is no hoax.
Author Paul Fischer will give a free Book/Mark talk about his nonfiction book, “A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator’s Rise to Power” (Flatiron, $27.99).
It tells how Kim Jong-Il ran North Korea’s Ministry for Propaganda and its film studios before becoming that country’s dictator. He was producer and screenwriter for all the movies his country made and ordered the kidnapping of Choi Eun-Hee (Madam Choi) —- South Korea’s most famous actress —- and her ex-husband Shin Sang-Ok, its most famous filmmaker. Forced to pledge loyalty to Kim Jong-Il, they eventually made seven films and fled to the U.S. Embassy in Vienna while working on a movie there. This real-life thriller offers insights into how North Korea became the enigma it is today.
The Mark Twain House & Museum also will host a free Book/Mark talk on Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m. with author and philosophy professor Rebecca Goldstein in discussion with Shane Ewegen, assistant professor of Philosophy and Classics at Trinity College. They will discuss Goldstein’s book, “Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away” (Vintage, $16.95).
Goldstein is a MacArthur “genius grant” Fellow and a professor of philosophy who taught for a time at Trinity, and has published five novels and a collection of short stories. Her book details Plato’s key influence on the creation of the intellectual discipline of philosophy and speculates on its future in our culture. Reservations are recommended for both talks: 860-685-3448 and marktwainhouse.org
Stewart And Stevens
Susan Stewart, who has been named the 52nd Annual Wallace Stevens Poet, will give two free readings of her poetry. Stewart will read at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, at the Konover Auditorium of the Dodd Center, 405 Babbidge Road, on the UConn Storrs campus and at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 2, at the Hartford Classical Magnet School, 85 Woodland St., Hartford.
Stevens, the noted modernist poet, lived in Hartford and was a vice-president at The Hartford, which began the Wallace Stevens Poetry Program in 1964 to honor him. This year’s events are sponsored by The Hartford and various programs in the University of Connecticut’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Stewart, who has won many major awards for her work, including a National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and also translates contemporary Italian poetry, is the Avalon Foundation University Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts at Princeton University, as well as a 1997 MacArthur “genius grant” Fellow. She also has been a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
Information: wallacestevens.uconn.edu.
Authors At R.J. Julia
R. J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, will present a free talk on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. by Abigail Thomas, whose newest book is “What Comes Next and How to Like It: A Memoir” (Scribner Book Company, $24). Thomas, an author and painter whose acclaimed 2006 memoir, “A Three Dog Life” described how her husband suffered a devastating brain injury, here chronicles how her life has changed since she lost him and how she is dealing with aging, family and friends.
On Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m., Paige McKenzie, the 19-year-old author, with Alyssa Sheinmel, of “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl: Book One” (Weinstein Books, $16), will speak. The book, a paranormal mystery about a teenage ghost and evil spirits, began as a popular YouTube series starring and created by McKenzie when she was 16.
On Thursday, April 2, at 5 p.m., Jeanne Birdsall, author of “The Penderwicks in Spring” (Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99) will give a free talk. Birdsall is a National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author, whose series featuring the Penderwick family has sold more than 1 million copies.
All events require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
Writing At Wesleyan
Poet, translator and critic Rowan Ricardo Phillips will give a free reading, presented by Writing at Wesleyan, on Wednesday, April 1, at 8 p.m. at Russell House, 350 High St., Middletown, on the Wesleyan University campus.
Phillips, who has won major awards, has published several poetry collections, and his latest, “Heaven,” will be available in June. He also is the author of the literary criticism collection, “When Blackness Rhymes with Blackness.” He also will take part in a discussion with the author and professor Rachel Ellis Neyra from 4:15 to 4 p.m. in Allbritton 311. wesleyan.edu/writingevents.
Scott Simon In New Haven
Scott Simon, the award-winning host of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday” will give a “Join the Conversation” talk presented by R.J. Julia Booksellers and WSHU Public Radio on Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m., at The Study at Yale, 1157 Chapel St., New Haven.
Simon will discuss his memoir “Unforgettable: A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime” (Flatiron, $24.99). His book expands on the tweets he sent while at his dying mother’s side in the hospital, a chronicle of love and caring that went viral. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved at wshu.org.
Harris Zafar At UCONN Co-op
Harris Zafar, author of “Demystifying Islam: Tackling the Tough Questions” (Rowman & Littlefield, $35) and national spokesperson for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, will give a free talk about his timely book on Tuesday, Mar. 31, at 6 p.m. at the UConn Co-op, One Royce Circle, 101 Storrs Center, Storrs. The book describes the political and cultural issues facing Muslims and the Community’s work to support pluralism and understanding. Information: 860-486-8525 or coopbks@uconn.edu.
An Irish Reading
Author Claire Kilroy will give the annual Gerson Irish Reading on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. at the Alumni Center, 2384 Alumni Dr., on the UConn campus in Storrs.
Kilroy, who lives in Dublin, is a prominent Irish writer and author of four novels, most recently “The Devil I Know” (2012), which features a character from Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake.” She won the 2004 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Her talk is sponsored by the Irish Studies Program at UConn. Information: 860-486-8525 or coopbks@uconn.edu.
Sunken Garden Benefit Event
Reservations must be made by Friday, April 3, to attend Eve of Poetry in the Libraries, a poetry reading on April 10 at Hill-Stead Museum, 35 Mountain Road, Farmington, that will benefit the museum’s annual summer Sunken Garden Poetry Festival.
Hill-Stead’s Live Poets Society will present a reception and reading by award-winning poet Sue Ellen Thompson, author of several collections. The party will begin at 5:30 p.m. with wine and hors d’oeuvres, followed by jazz music, readings by area poets and Thompson, book signings and dessert. Admission is a $100 donation.
Registration is required: contact Lisa Lappe at 860-677-4787 ext. 111 or lappel@hillstead.org.
Gabrielle Calvocoressi Reads
A Women’s History Month poetry reading by Gabrielle Calvocoressi will take place at Mercy Hall at the University of Saint Joseph, 1678 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, on Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m.
Calvocoressi, an award-winning poet who grew up in Connecticut, has published two poetry collections: “The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart” and “Apocalyptic Swing”. She is Senior Poetry Editor at Los Angeles Review of Books and teaches at UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina.
Information: 860-231-5294 or choyser@usj.edu.
Marie Bostwick At Hickory Stick
Litchfield County resident Marie Bostwick will discuss her latest novel, “The Second Sister” (Kensington Books $15) at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Rd., Washington Depot, on Saturday, April 4 at 2 p.m. Bostwick is the author of the popular Cobbled Court Quilt series and her new book also involves quilting. In it, a woman returns home to Wisconsin to settle her mentally impaired sister’s estate and finds beautiful quilts that help her unravel the mystery of her sister’s life.
Information: 860-868-0525 or hickorystickbookshop.com.
Is This Thing On?
Author Abby Stokes will give a free talk titled Is This Thing On? Navigating the Digital World, on Wednesday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m., at Berlin-Peck Memorial Library, 234 Kensington Road, Berlin.
Stokes will discuss the ever-changing world of technological innovations and how to understand and access new devices and programs. She is the author of “Is This Thing On: A Friendly Guide to Everything Digital for Newbies, Technophobes, and the Kicking & Screaming” (Workman, $17.95). Registration: 860-828-7126.
Sherrilyn Kenyon At Mohegan Sun
Bestselling writer Sherrilyn Kenyon will give a free Winning Authors talk on Tuesday, March 31 at Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville. She will discuss her latest in her Chronicles of Nick series for Young Adult readers, “Instinct” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $19.99) at 7:30 p.m. at The Cabaret Theatre and will sign books at 8:30 p.m. at The Shops at Mohegan Sun.
The book tells the further adventures of Nick Gautier, whose friends include zombies, demons and vampires and how he must fight to control the demon that possesses him. Kenyon has more than 60 million copies of her books in print in more than 100 countries. Information: 888-226-7711 or mohegansun.com.
‘Becoming Richard Pryor’
Scott Saul, an associate professor at UC Berkeley, will visit New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St., New Haven, on Monday, March 30, at 5 p.m. to give a free talk, “Living with Richard Pryor: A Biographers Tale.” His book, “Becoming Richard Pryor” (HarperCollins, $27), details the complex life of the talented and troubled comedian and brilliant social critic, using interviews with family and friends, unpublished journals and court records as its sources. Information: 203-432-1186.
Mystery Discussion
Carole Shmurak, of Farmington, who writes the Susan Lombardi mystery novels, will lead a free discussion for the Wallingford Mystery Group: After Grafton: The Contemporary Female Detective, Part 4, on Wednesday, April 1, at 3 p.m., at Wallingford Public Library, 200 N Main St, Wallingford. The book to be discussed is “Blanche Cleans Up” (1998) by Barbara Neely. Information: 203-265-6754 (snow date April 2).
![Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405040611TMS_____FASTCOMP_19685_ctnfc_media.jpg?w=620 "Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]")