Poetry Atlanta Presents … Call & Response
7:15 p.m. Feb. 27. Talk, signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur, 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285, georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=929
Collin Kelley and Karen Head, two award-winning local poets, will read their poetry round-robin style, selecting poems on the fly to find common themes, moods and imagery.
A. Roger Ekirch, “American Sanctuary”
7 p.m. Feb. 28. Talk, signing. Free. Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, 404-865-7100, jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events/
Ekrich, professor of history at Virginia Tech, delves into the ramifications of the 1797 mutiny on the British ship HMS Hermione, arguing that the fallout caused a constitutional crisis in the young republic and affected the presidential election of 1800.
Troy Ball and Bret Witter, “Pure Heart: A Spirited Tale of Grace, Grit, and Whiskey”
7:15 p.m. Feb. 28. Talk, signing. Free. Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library,1282 McConnell Drive, Decatur, 370-8450, Ext. 2225, georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=930
After a lifetime in Texas, Ball and her husband moved to Asheville, N.C. — a booming Appalachian city of hippies, farmers, artisans, and retirees — and found happiness and purpose in the most unexpected of places.
Carapace: Stranger Love
7 p.m. Feb. 28. Storytelling. Free. Manuel's Tavern, 602 North Highland Ave., Atlanta, 404-525-3447, manuelstavern.com/
Bring a story 5-7 minutes long crafted around your experiences with a person different or foreign to you; or tell about your “stranger” affections: your fondness for a particular place, thing, or feeling that others can’t always accept.
Joe Lansdale, “Rusty Puppy”
7 p.m. Feb. 28. Signing. Free. Eagle Eye Book Shop, 2076 N. Decatur Road, Decatur, 404-486-0307, eagleeyebooks.com
Hap, a former ’60s activist and self-proclaimed white trash rebel, and Leonard, a tough, black, gay Vietnam vet and Republican, team up to investigate a racially motivated murder that threatens to tear apart their East Texas town.
John Nixon, “Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein”
8 p.m. Feb 28. Talk, signing. $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta, 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/programs/category/author-programs
What Nixon learned about the former Iraqi dictator after his capture in 2003 provides many contrarian currents to what we know about Iraq and America’s motive for our involvement there, and insight on the way government bureaucracies often care more about taking credit and prestige than real intelligence.
Dr. Michael Simanga, “Amiri Baraka and the Congress of African People: History and Memory”
7 p.m. Feb. 28. Talk, signing. Free. Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, 404-730-4001, ext. 100, afpls.org/events-aarl
Dr. Simanga will discuss the role of the poet Amiri Baraka and the Black Arts Movement, the African Liberation Support Committee, the Gary Convention, the National Black Agenda, the Black Women’s United Front, electoral politics, and the new left.
Rodger Brown, “Party Out of Bounds”
7 p.m. March 1. Talk, reading, signing. Free. Highland Inn Ballroom, 644 North Highland Ave., Atlanta, 404-681-5128, acappellabooks.com/pages/events/112/rodger-brown-party-out-of-bounds
Originally published in 1991, Brown’s cult classic offers an insider’s look at the underground rock music culture of Athens, Ga. Brown uses stories, local anecdotes, and legendary lore to chronicle the 1970s and 1980s and the spawning of Athens bands such as the B-52’s, Pylon, and R.E.M.
Bren McClain, “One Good Mama Bone”
2 p.m. March 4. Talk, reading, signing. Free. Tall Tales Book Shop, Toco Hill Shopping Center, 2105 LaVista Rd. NE, Atlanta, 404-636-2498, talltalesatlanta.com/events.html
Set in early 1950s rural South Carolina, McClain’s debut novel chronicles a young woman’s quest to find her maternal impulses by caring for an unwanted child and a mother cow and her calf.
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