A Probably Incomplete But Sizable List of Orlando Literary Events
3.30 ~ Not listed on last month’s post but coming up this Friday: Orlando Literati. A social, networking event for anyone with a passion for books. 7:00 – 10:00pm at Urban ReThink. Free.
4.5 ~ KIDNAPPINGS, DRAG QUEENS & EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS.
A 15 Views of Orlando Reading & Signing featuring Mark Pursell & Jay Haffner
FREE. 7:30pm @ Sip. 724 Virginia Drive.
Bask in the glow of the Parliament House. Listen for the ghost-town whistle of an abandoned Albertsons. Even if you attended the 15 Views book release party, come to this one (I mean, come on, it’s free). Hear Jay Haffner’s strangely nostalgic story about crushed hopes in Oviedo, and Mark Pursell’s glittery portrait of Orlando’s drag queen sub-culture (for the purpose of verisimilitude, Mark has promised to bring some actual drag queens). Come for the readings, stay for the drinks and the food trucks, and buy a book if you haven’t already.
4.8 ~ PARCELS: MFAs in Progress. Reading series featuring current UCF MFA students. 7:00pm at Urban ReThink. Free.
4.10 ~ There Will Be Words # 11 featuring Vanessa Blakselee, Hunter Choate, Jason Eaton & J. Christopher Silvia.
FREE. Show starts at 7:00pm @ Urban ReThink, 625 E. Central Blvd.
This month’s edition of Orlando’s favorite (according to us) prose reading series will answer questions such as whether or not seagulls explode if you feed them Alka Seltzer, what our world will look like when aliens use entertainment to make us their puppets, and other troubling queries that have plagued human existence since the dawn of time, and iPhones. This much is free. If you want to read along, you can buy a chapbook for $5 cash.
4.14 ~ OCLS 2nd Saturday – 15 Views of Orlando Reading / Signing / Discussion
featuring Nathan Holic, John King, Jay Haffner & Susan Hubbard
FREE. 2:00 – 5:00pm.@ The Downtown Library on Central Blvd.
Editor Nathan Holic will be on-hand to discuss his own views of Orlando, John King will read from his satirical I-Drive-skewering “Crocodile World,” and Jay Haffner will round out the 2011 contributors with his story “Lifting Veils.” Also, Susan Hubbard will be on-hand to read “Greenway,” the first installment of the 2012 edition of “15 Views.”
4.15 ~ Holly Tavel reading. 7:00pm at Urban ReThink. Free. Last time she read in Orlando she brought an accordion and played a song while reading a satirical piece about the Swiss.
4.17 ~ Speakeasy open mic @ Will’s Pub. 9:00pm-ish. Almost anything goes, whether you write on that month’s theme or not. It’s rowdy, it’s smoky, it’s fun, it’s hosted by Tod Caviness. This month’s theme is ZOMBIES!
4. 19 ~ We Will Celebrate Our Failures Release Party. Free. 7pm at Sip. Celebrate J. Bradley’s new chapbook + readings from Anna Claire Hodge, Ashley Inguanta, Whitney Hamrick, Elle Malcolm, J. Christopher Silvia, Jamie Jessup.
Outside the Burrow: BP Contributors Elsewhere
Nathan Holic & Lindsay Hunter released THIS amazing e-book (for free, by the way) through Artistically Declined Press. Originally a short story called “Kitty,” Nathan turned it into a demented graphic narrative. Well, Lindsay’s text-only version was pretty demented, too.
Vanessa Blakeslee’s “ClÃnica Tikal” appears in Ascent.
Jonathan Kosik’s “Pensacola” will appear in the June edition of Bartleby Snopes.
Recent Stories, Articles & Books We Found to Be Exceptionally Good
A non-lit-related but nonetheless excellent essay on the limits of free markets and a discussion of what should and shouldn’t be for sale… in the Atlantic Monthly.
Over at The Rumpus: A level-headed assessment of the non-level-headed assessments of / a review of The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal.
Harper Perennial just released a fantastic book of short stories by Kevin Moffett called Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events. It is awesome. Read it.
