Friday, February 15, 2008

Literary Legends

I received a press release about a new series presented to the Twin Cities by The Loft Literary Center and the Hennepin Theatre Trust: Literary Legends. From March to October the series welcomes literary greats for special in-person appearances. I'm really excited about this, not only because I would love to see a few of them speak, but because I think gaining access to authors is a cool experience for many of us. Here's a bit from the press release:

Literary Legends launches March 30 with Mary Oliver, the beloved American poet acclaimed for her lyrical connection to the natural world, and recipient of the Pulitzer, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Book Award. The series continues on June 23 with the groundbreaking Armistead Maupin, who is now back with more eagerly awaited “Tales” in his 2007 book “Michael Tolliver Lives.” October 2 brings a not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear David McCullough, two-time recipient of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, comment on the U.S. presidency as the country prepares for an historic election. October 17 offers another special highlight with Khaled Hosseini, the Kabul-born author of two recent worldwide best-sellers—“The Kite Runner,” just released as a hailed yet provocative film, and “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” On October 19, David Sedaris, the funny and sardonic perennial favorite of the literary world, reads from his much anticipated next collection “When You Are Engulfed in Flames.”

Minnesota Public Radio also offers up great authors to Twin Citizens through Talking Volumes. One I would love to see: Judy Blume. In June she talks about her new children's series, an off-shoot of her hit "The Pain and the Great One." I read that book so many times when I was little.

What author would you love to see if you had the chance?

1 comment:

willikat said...

JUDY BLUME. i know!i saw that! i saw david sedaris one time and i almost cracked a rib laughing. i love hearing what the author's voice looks like, and what inflections they would put into their words.