First off, what better time for UT Press to release The French in Texas (François Lagarde, editor; $55, $24.95 paper)?… Secondly, Louis Mendoza and Subramanian Shankar, co-editors of Crossing Into America: The New Literature of Immigration (New Press, $27.95), will be at Resistencia Bookstore on Friday, April 4, at 6:30pm. Both the book — which includes stories, memoirs, diary entries, and more from the likes of Maxine Hong Kingston and Teresa Palomo Acosta — and the event are highly recommended… Thirdly, MonkeyWrench Books turns 1 on Sunday, April 6, and the collective will celebrate with one of its famous backyard parties, 1-6pm. Music, food, raffles, “HUGE” savings, and the slight chance that a nude Noam Chomsky will leap from a giant spelt-flour cake… Fourthly, April is National Poetry Month, and May is Texas Writers’ Month (and May 3 marks the return of Free Comic Book Day). For now, we’ll focus on April, since it’s April outside and since poetry as a form has been saved once again not only by the Academy of American Poets‘ yearly contrivance, but by international strife, as well, thus deserving a proper welcome back. If you’re in Austin and/or its environs and it’s at least a half-hour till 2pm on Thursday, April 3, you still have time to see Ai‘s final reading as Southwest Texas State University’s 2002-2003 Mitte chair in creative writing. The National Book Award-winning poet (Vice) is about as worthy a celebrant for NPM as one could wish for, and she’ll be at the Southwestern Writers Collection at SWT’s Alkek Library today, Thursday, April 3, at 2pm… Here, now, comes a shout-out to my fellow ‘Melo and the ‘Cuse. Can you feel me? I’ve always believed in the 2-3. Always… The Austin International Poetry Festival 2003 launches on Thursday, April 10, 5pm, at Ruta Maya on South Congress. Vicki Goldsberry Colker will host opening ceremonies. For a full calendar of events, featured poets, and more, visit www.aipf.org… Later that evening, poetry MFAs Darin Ciccotelli and Philip Pardi will join their fellow Michener Center spring 2003 grads at 7:30pm in the Avaya Auditorium (24th and Speedway) for a reading. The roster: Karen Davidson in screenwriting; Rebecca Johnson, Arthur Lee, Dominic Smith, and Sandra Spicher in fiction; and Tom Senning in playwriting… Speaking of Michener, current poetry fellow Abe Louise Young will join Susan Briante and Judith Kroll (In the Temperate Zone) for “Women Poets in Praise of Peace” on Saturday, April 5, 7pm, at 12th Street Books (827 W. 12th). All and any donations will go to Every Child Has a Name: No War Against Iraqi Families, which provides emergency medical aid to the women and children of that most currently war-torn of countries… Lastly, Subway‘s Jared Fogle — I mean, Everything Is Illuminated‘s Jonathan Safran Foer — will be at BookPeople in support of his breakout novel in paperback on Tuesday, April 8, 7pm, but you can mix and mingle with him and your fellow fans from 5:30 to 6:30pm during the store’s recently — and dare I say boldly — conceived “Literary Happy Hour.”
This article appears in April 4 • 2003.