Susan Larson interviews Cathy Schieffelin about her second novel, Snakeroot and Cohosh, and Chris Clarkson about his new collaboration, Songbird in the Light, with the great Billy Porter and illustrator Charly Palmer.
Here’s what’s on tap in the literary life this week:
Commentator David Griscom appears in conversation with Nathan Martin and signs “The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South,” Friday, April 17, at 6 p.m. at Garden District Book Shop.
The Friends of the Jefferson Parish Library hold their Big Book Sale Friday through Sunday, April 17-19, at the Pontchartrain Center, Williams Blvd. at the Lake, in Kenner. Hours are Friday and Saturday (April 17-18) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday (April 19) from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission and free parking. This is one of the largest book sales in the New Orleans area, with over 65,000 items for sale, including gently used adult and children's books, puzzles, DVDs, CDs, and records. Cash and credit and debit cards, no checks.
You still have a couple of days to make it out to the New Orleans Poetry Festival and Small Press Fair, which runs through Sunday, April 19, headquartered at the New Orleans Healing Center on St. Claude Ave. and at various venues in the neighborhood. The bookfair takes place at the New Orleans Healing Center (2372 St. Claude Ave.) all weekend long—Friday through Sunday, April 17–19, 10 AM to 5 PM. It’s free, open to the public, and the place to score fresh books straight from presses. New this year: the Small Press Fair Happy Hour (Friday, 4:00–5:00 PM) in the Grand Hall. Check out nolapoetry.com for the complete schedule. The Festival is free.
Local Author Annell Lopez, author of the short story collection I’ll Give You a Reason, will discuss the characteristics of the hermit crab essay at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, April 18, at the Wagner Library, 6646 Riverside Drive, Metairie. This event is free of charge and open to the public.
A hermit crab essay is a creative nonfiction form that adopts an existing, non-literary structure—such as a recipe, syllabus, or rejection letter—as a "shell" to contain personal, often vulnerable content. Coined by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola, this form uses the constraint of the borrowed structure to provide distance, focus, and playful, innovative storytelling.
The Really, REALLY Big Book Sale at Latter Library is Saturday, April 18. Open to members only from 10-11 a.m., then to the public from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Used books, movies and music.
Library patrons have the unique opportunity to meet ARCAthens NOLA/NYC Research Fellow Vicky Tsirou and Dionisis Christofilogiannis, at 7 p.m., Monday, April 20, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.
This event is free of charge and open to the public.
Tsirou is an independent curator, writer, and researcher whose work centers on the commons, public space, participatory art, and environmental concerns.
Christofilogiannis is a visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice examines mythology, memory, tradition, identity, and sociopolitical commentary through painting, installation, and performative action. Patrons will hear about their work and their experiences in the Greater New Orleans area, and take part in an informal conversation about research, contemporary art, and how art can deepen one’s understanding of everyday life.
