Kelsey Timmerman, author of the book that is standing on top of this paragraph, will be signing his book at the IUPUI Barnes & Noble on Thursday, from 11 - 1.

About the book, Booklist says: "Journalist Timmerman travels the globe in search of the factories that manufactured his clothing. Tracking a T-shirt, underwear, jeans, and flip-flops leads him from Honduras to Bangladesh to Cambodia and China. It is not surprising that he encounters heart-wrenching poverty or gains an eye-opening view of how much the average piece of American apparel is marked up. What is unexpected is the revelation of just how much harm is done to workers when overseas manufacturers are boycotted. Timmerman’s interviews with numerous factory workers make it clear that taking away their jobs is akin to creating a poverty tsunami. Yet, as Timmerman confesses, 'There isn’t a single worker who makes my clothes who lives a life that I would find acceptable.'"

About his journalistic integrity, I say this: when I met him, he freely admitted that those are not his biceps in the cover photo.

Edible Diagrams. Who Knew?

Some reader reviews from Amazon.com, by way of agent Rachelle Gardner's blog:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:
“I don’t see why this book is so fabulous. I would give it a zero. I find no point in writing a book about segregation, there’s no way of making it into an enjoyable book. And yes I am totally against segregation.”

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
“While the story did have a great moral to go along with it, it was about dirt! Dirt and migrating. Dirt and migrating and more dirt.”

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“It grieves me deeply that we Americans should take as our classic a book that is no more than a lengthy description of the doings of fops.”

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
“I bought these books to have something nice to read to my grandkids. I had to stop, however, because the books are nothing more than advertisements for “Turkish Delight,” a candy popular in the U.K. The whole point of buying books for my grandkids was to give them a break from advertising, and here (throughout) are ads for this “Turkish Delight”! How much money is this Mr. Lewis getting from the Cadbury’s chocolate company anyway? This man must be laughing to the bank.”

Lord of the Flies by William Golding
“I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun. WRONG!!! It is incredibly boring and disgusting. I was very much disturbed when I found young children killing each other. I think that anyone with a conscience would agree with me.”

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
“The book is not readable because of the overuse of adverbs.”

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
“The only good thing to say about this 'literary' drivel is that the person responsible, Virginia Woolf, has been dead for quite some time now. Let us pray to God she stays that way.”

And finally, EXACTLY what you want to hear from someone who is going to review your book:

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
“This book is one of the worst books I have ever read. I got to about page 3-4.”

This makes me want to write poems. Or try to write poems. Or try to try.

So does this.

J G Ballard

This is making the rounds today - Author J G Ballard has died at age 78. From the site:

"The author JG Ballard, famed for novels such as Crash and Empire of the Sun, has died aged 78 after a long illness.

His agent Margaret Hanbury said the author had been ill "for several years" and had died on Sunday morning.

Despite being referred to as a science fiction writer, Jim Ballard said his books were instead "picturing the psychology of the future". "

On Monday, the Writers' Center will kick off their series of craft lectures with a talk by David Shumate. Details can be found in the Lit Events calendar (to the right on your screen). David Shumate is the author of three collections of prose poems and the recipient of numerous literary awards, including a 2009 NEA Poetry Fellowship.

Here's a note from Director, Barb Shoup:

Dear Members and Friends of the Writers Center of Indiana-
Please plan to join us-and bring a friend (or five)-for this first in our new series of free lectures on the craft of writing! I guarantee a stimulating evening that will enrich your understanding of the creative process and provide the opportunity to connect with other Indianapolis writers-and I also want to remind you that, in these difficult times for the arts, it is especially important for all of us to come out and support the kind of programs we value.

Funders look at numbers! The larger our audiences are, the greater case we have for convincing them that the Writers' Center of Indiana is an essential piece of the arts picture in Indianapolis.
So please, please, please give us your support by attending as many Writers' Center programs as you can-and take time to introduce others to what we do.

Also, a note from Andrew, of Andrew's Book Club:

Mini-cheeseburgers are all the rage. Now I've posted mini-interviews with two of this month's authors, Paul Yoon and Kevin Wilson. Tasty.

Another Fundraiser for The Second Story

Date:	Friday, May 8, 2009
Time:	7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:	Phoenix Theatre
Street:	749 N Park Ave.
City/Town:	Indianapolis, IN

Phone:	3174081366
Email:	jim@secondstoryindy.org

Description

All proceeds (ticket sales, beer and wine and baked treats) on May 8 at the Phoenix Theatre go to benefit The Second Story — thanks to a generous sponsorship by Nogginwerks. Please contact Jim Walker by phone or email to reserve seats. Tickets are $25 and are going fast. 

About the show: This is the world premiere of Indiana playwright Jack O’Hara’s The Zippers of Zoomerville, or 200 Laps and a Lass: a mini-mockeretta in the Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre at the Phoenix May 7 through June 6, 2009. The book and lyrics are by Jack O’Hara, and the music is by O’Hara and Tim Brickley.

O'Hara is a Nashville (IN) based writer, musician, comedian, actor, and director. In The Zippers of Zoomerville he has written a gentle send-up of all things Indy 500 -- but also a gentle send-up of all things Gilbert & Sullivan.

O’Hara studied theatre at IU-Bloomington and taught theatre at Marian College. In the 1970s, he was a key member of The Nebulous Players, a comedy troupe that was wildly popular on the Indianapolis club scene. He has worked as an ad agency creative director, and has acted recently for the Phoenix Theatre, Brown County Playhouse, and Jewish Theatre of Bloomington.

O’Hara describes The Zippers of Zoomerville, or 200 Laps and a Lass: A mini-mockeretta this way: “Speed, greed and the dirty deed drive this world premiere musical spoof of fast-track fever, wherein an oval raceway rouses a circular city to revel ‘round its maypole. A rite-of-springish, Gilbert and Sullivanesque celebration of flat-out folly and full-throttle love, The Zippers of Zoomerville fancifully celebrates and gently spoofs the Circle City’s love affair with the Indianapolis 500.” 

ABOUT THE PHOENIX THEATRE

“The Phoenix Theatre has cornered the market on hip new works….it is a shrewd outfit willing to turn on a dime.” 

-- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

Simic at Last

Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Simic, the 15th poet laureate of the United States will offer a public reading next Tuesday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Krannert Room of Clowes Memorial Hall.

All are welcome and no tickets are needed.

In addition to writing 18 books of poetry, Simic is also an essayist, translator, editor and professor emeritus of creative writing and literature.

Delacorte to Issue Unpublished Vonnegut Stories

From Publisher's Lunch:

Delacorte Press has assembled a collection of previously unpublished short stories by the late Kurt Vonnegut, which will include illustrations by the author, for publication in November 2009. The publisher has plans for a second collection of unpublished Vonnegut "writings" and a book of correspondence to and from the author. They also have acquired a follow-up memoir by the author's son, pediatrician Mark Vonnegut.

Bantam Dell editor-in-chief Nita Taublib and editor Kerri Buckley are credited in the announcement as having "put the collection together, often comparing and contrasting many annotated drafts of individual stories."

What are "writings?"

I just plugged this into the Lit Events Calendar, but I thought it deserved an extra plug here (and probably another extra one as it gets closer). This should be awesome.

@mywife: start calling up babysitters.

To celebrate the release of FOUND's brand-new book, Requiem for a Paper Bag, FOUND road warriors Davy and Peter Rothbart are climbing back in the tour van for a 55-city cross country odyssey. They stop at Big Car on May 19. Tickets are $8.

At each show, Davy (FOUND's plucky point guard) will share the latest magnificent and mesmerizing finds that've landed in the mailbox here at FOUND HQ, plus hilarious found tales from contributors to the new book including Seth Rogen, Chuck D., Sarah Vowell, Devendra Banhart, and Wire creator David Simon. And Davy's brother Peter (FOUND's international heartthrob) will dazzle with a glittering constellation of new breathtaking songs based on FOUND notes. Will he bring back "The Booty Don't Stop"?

No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency Author to Speak at Indiana University

Alexander McCall Smith, author of the best-selling serial novels The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency will visit Indiana University in Bloomington on April 20.

McCall Smith will give a public talk at 5:00 p.m. in the Whittenberger Auditorium as a guest of the College Arts and Humanities Institute.

McCall Smith's United States tour coincides with a new HBO television adaptation of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which debuted on March 29th, and with the North American publication in April of the 10th novel of the series, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built. The new novel finds the tenacious Botswana lady detective Mma Ramotswe, proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, involved in the intricate and sometimes currupt world of Botswana football.

McCall Smith was born in what is now Zimbabwe and was educated there and in Scotland. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Edinburgh, where he taught medical law for many years. . . Okay, I'm going to cut the bio here. I get peeved when more space is given to the author than his work.