Bret Witter, "The Monuments Men." 7 p.m. Dec. 4. Reading and signing. Free. Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. 404-865-7100, www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events. World War II was the most destructive war in history and caused the greatest dislocation of cultural artifacts. Recently, a cache of 1,500 paintings came to light — works by such artists as Picasso, Matisse and Chagall — confiscated by the Nazis and hidden for decades in a Munich apartment. Many items remain missing. During the war a select group of curators, archivists, artists and art historians were tasked with saving and preserving what they could of Europe's great art, and they were called the Monuments Men. (Look for the movie in early 2014.)
Edwidge Danticat, "Claire of the Sea Light." 7 p.m. Dec. 5. $10. Margaret Mitchell House Literary Center, 990 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, www.margaretmitchellhouse.com/page.asp?ID=244&EventID=114. From the best-selling author of "Breath, Eyes, Memory" and "Krik? Krak!" comes a work about the intertwined lives in a small town where a little girl, Claire, has gone missing. As her father and others look for her, painful secrets and startling truths are unearthed among a host of men and women whose stories connect to Claire, her parents, and the town itself.
What's New in Poetry: Jiyoon Lee, Steven Karl, Alexis Orgera, Amber Nelson, Serena Chopra. 8 p.m. Dec. 5. Readings. Free. Ground floor, Barnes & Noble @ Emory, 1390 Oxford Road, Atlanta. 404-727-6222, www.bookstore.emory.edu/events. "We have different ideas of forbidden. / Lamentations and lip-gloss. / Halloween again and again / Another night dressed as / Someone from Leviticus. / The Law is to keep you / From doing what you / Desire most." That's from the title poem in Karl's upcoming collection, "The End of Dork Swagger."
True Story #23: David Harris-Gershon, Suzanne Van Atten and Austin L. Ray. 8 p.m. Dec. 6. Readings. Free. Kavarna Bar & Coffeeshop, 707 East Lake Drive, Decatur. 404-371-1113, http://truestoryga.com. Harris-Gershon ("What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?") blogs for Tikkun magazine, teaches day school, and writes about Israel, the Middle East and America's role in the region. Van Atten, Sunday features editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has written two travel guides, "Moon Puerto Rico" and "Moon San Juan," and is a writing instructor for Hollis Gillespie's Shocking Real Life Learning Center. Ray has spent 13 years writing about music, beer, comedy and culture, and has contributed to publications such as Rolling Stone, Creative Loafing and the Oxford American.
Janice McDonald, "The Varsity," "The Fox Theatre." 1 p.m. Dec. 7. Signing. Free. Barnes & Noble Town Center Prado, 50 Barrett Parkway, Suite 3000, Building 3, Marietta. 770-422-2261, http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4637819. Nothing says Atlanta quite like the Varsity ("What'll ya have?") and the "Fabulous Fox." McDonald's books, part of the Images of America series, combine history, vintage and rarely seen photographs, illustrations, maps and memorabilia such as menus and programs to celebrate the histories of two of Atlanta's best-known and most cherished landmarks.
Congressman John Lewis, "March: Book One." 2 p.m., Dec. 7. Signing. Free. Bound To Be Read Books, 481-B Flat Shoals Ave., S.E., Atlanta, 404-522-0877, www.boundtobereadbooks.com. U.S. Rep. Lewis (D-Atlanta), one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, shares his remarkable story with new generations in the first volume of his graphic memoir, spanning his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement.
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