David Sedaris started his reading last night at Jones Hall with a story he later described as long and maudlin. "A Man Walks Into A Bar Car" tells the story of an arduous train ride during which Sedaris forms an unlikely, brief and booze-induced friendship with another traveler. The story marked a sensitive departure from the humorist's usual musing on Americans and their idiosyncrasies (Sedaris himself included). But that's not to say the night......

:: 30TH ANNIVERSARY SUSAN SMITH BLACKBURN PRIZE DRAMATIC READING :: The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize honoring women playwrights from around the world, has decided to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary by hosting a reading and the awards in Houston. Five short works by local women playwrights (a talented bunch) will be presented as dramatic readings by Houston’s acting community (another talented bunch) at the Alley Theatre’s Neuhaus Stage this Sunday, March 9th at 3:00PM. Excerpts......

::Poison Pen Reading Series with Robert Wilder:: Robert Wilder has taken an extremely fun column about parenting from the Santa Fe Reporter and has turned it into a book, Daddy Needs a Drink: an irreverent look at parenting from a dad who truly loves his kids. He's written for NPR, Salon.com, Details, Newsweek and elsewhere, and when he's not writing, he's teaching -- hence his second book, which came out in December: Tales from......

::Steve Almond Reads At Brazos Bookstore:: Houstonist saw Steve Almond read several years ago after the publication of his first book, My Life in Heavy Metal. He was fantastic -- very funny, charming, a great storyteller and cute as hell. He's no stranger to writing about sex and all the tension, humor and hubris surrounding the event, which just makes for one more reason to go to Brazos tonight. He's also written a book......

::Inprint Brown Reading Series Featuring Dave Eggers and Chimamanda Adichie:: Houstonist just finished reading the new books by both these authors and was *blown away.* HALF OF A YELLOW SUN, Chimamanda Adichie's novel about the Biafran War in Nigeria in the late sixties, follows the political and military developments through the eyes of several civilians, painting a human and devastating portrait of war. Similarly, Dave Eggers' fictionalized autobiography of the very real Valentino Achak......

Ok, ok. We listened to you. We DO do that sometimes. And you've said that even though you can't live without really enjoy the Daily-ist everyday, a feature that picks out one kick arse event each day from the thousands, um, ok, lots and lots of things going on in the city, you are busy people. And you would like to plan ahead. Ok, we hear ya. So it's back: The Weekly-ist List. We'll......

Remember when you were a little bitty Houstonist and someone would read to you at night and you could just lose yourself in the story, abandoning all other thoughts of the day? Well you can still do it now, you know. In fact, you might be all the more eager to shed your quotidian annoyances now that you're grown. Here are a few places to hear some stellar writers read from their work: Friday......

Dammit, Houston *is* a literary town! Here's a slew of readings happening this week, from the hilarious David Sedaris to the wry Nick Hornby and the unbalanced Lisa Belkin. Her word choice, not ours. We love books. Wednesday, October 24th at 7:30PM William Henry Lewis and Justin Cronin at DiverseWorks 1117 East Freeway, *FREE* Two heavy-hitting writers with a bucket of awards apiece. Lewis is the author of In the Arms of Our Elders......

::Inprint Brown Reading Series - Richard Powers & Jennifer Egan:: For the 27th year, Inprint presents one of the finest reading series in the country, giving Houstonians a chance to hear from and meet some of the world’s leading writers. From September through April, 14 renowned authors will come to Houston, many for the first time, sharing their work and insights. These authors’ works address pressing contemporary issues, taking us on a journey around the......

Monday? Really? AGAIN? Not buying it. Ugh. Let us help you though it with a little spoken word for a rainy day. Join the Rice University English Department as they welcome Steve Gehrke and Nadine Meyer, husband and wife and both winners of the 2005 National Poetry Series, as part of the Cherry Reading Series. Both Gehrke and Meyer have been widely published and recognized for their poetic work. Gehrke is an assistant professor of......

::Maurice Manning and Emily Fox Gordon Poetry Reading at Diverseworks:: Giving Houstonians a chance to hear tomorrow’s great writers today. The Inprint Studio Series, presented by Inprint in association with the University of Houston Creative Writing Program and Diverseworks, features some of the best young writers in the country, as well as alumni from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program and leading local authors. Now in its second season, the 2007-2008 Inprint Studio Series,......

Callaloo, among the top literary magazines in the country, is sending four writers (all faculty from Callaloo's Creative Writing Workshops) to read in Houston for one night only. Terrance Hayes, Mat Johnson, Tayari Jones, and Tracy K. Smith will give a public reading Thursday, August 16 at 6:00 p.m. at the Ensemble Theatre, located at 3535 Main Street. These four writers have won more than a dozen national awards and fellowships; they are at......

Art Institute of Houston Poetry Forum Kickoff Borders Books and The Art Institute of Houston offer a monthly Poetry Reading Series at Borders River Oaks, hosted by Ken Jones, instructor at The Art Institute of Houston. The readings are the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Borders River Oaks at 3025 Kirby Drive at the corner of West Alabama. These monthly poetry events are free, open to the public, and part of......

No, it's not by driving as fast as we can around loop 610, but it does include city-wide celebrations, all hoping for the same thing: No rain. Here are a few of the events we'll be checking out tomorrow. Where will you be? Tell us, maybe we'll ditch our plans and join you. But probably not. >>Freedom Over Texas Festival Houston's Official 4th of July Celebration. Chevy presents a concert and Independence Day celebration at......

Hello, scholar. Remember Homer? Or at least remember having that big old book with highlighting on the first 3 pages and then nothing after? Still having trouble getting through the classics? Why read Homer when you can have it read to you? Exactly - which is why Thursday night, May 31, the Museum of Fine Arts is hosting a Dramatic Reading of The Odyssey. Homer's epic poem will be brought to life by several actors......

Saturday, Feb 10 + Sunday, Feb 11 VISUAL ARTS Exhibits Opening this week: Justice for All: Artists reflect on the Death Penalty M2 Gallery, 325 West 19th Street, Saturday, Opening Reception @ 7pm Bringing Hope to Houston Houston Center for Contemporary Craft Reading the Movies: Photoplay Editions from the Collection of Stuart Kane Museum of Printing History February 5-April 30, 2007 Exhibits Closing this weekend: Christian Renonciat: The Way of Wood | Gremillion &......

Hello Houstonians! Here's what's on tap.... Friday, November 3 For all your possibly-pretentious dance needs, the Hope Stone dance troupe will respond to the work of Paul Klee through dance over at the Menil Collection (one of Houston's hidden treasures--you must go if you haven't been. We're serious, we're requiring it.) The performance will be in Richmond Hall @ The Menil (1500 Richmond) at 7:30 pm. It's free, and a talk follows the performance. Saturday,......

When her debut, White Teeth, was published in 2000, Zadie Smith was hailed as a wunderkind of literature: her characterizations drew comparisons to Dickens and her unique voice was celebrated right and left. This weekend, Smith read from her newest novel, On Beauty, as [part of the 2006-2007 Imprint Brown Reading Series, sponsored by Imprint Houston, a nationally-heralded creative writing organization with roots at U of H. Imprint's reading series, which this year includes writers......

Transplanted Houstonian Stephanie reads Phillyist all the time and thought coming home for the summer would be a ton more fun if we started our version of one of their features: a list of things to do each week on the cheap. Everything on this list'll be $10 or less, so we're calling it "Fun for a Hamilton". Thanks for the idea, Stephanie ... enjoy! Friday, June 9th Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries,......

As part of their 25th anniversary of bringing big-name authors to Houston, the Inprint Brown Reading Series presents John Updike (he wrote a bunch of books your teachers should have made you read in high school instead of Great Expectations) tonight at the Alley Theatre. Following a banner year of literary appearances that included Louise Erdrich and Mary Gordon, tonight's event will include a reading from Updike's new book, Terrorist, a brief interview and a......

Mary Gordon's latest novel, Pearl, explores the relationship between an American mother and her daughter, the title character, who goes on a hunger strike and chains herself to the American embassy in Dublin. It's familiar territory for Gordon: Her writing often tackles relationships, uncovering their dynamics with wonderful, precise, usually perfectly crafted language. Patricia Powell's The Pagoda, set in late-19th century Jamaica, also focuses on relationships — but its interactions, between a Chinese shopkeeper, a......