BOOKISH: "You're a ghost haunting your former life"

POSTED: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts Books

Each week, Francesca Crozier-Fitzgerald puts together a rundown of book-centric events that’ll keep you “lit” like a jack-o-lantern all week long.

[Tonight]

➤ Grunge Roots
While many writers have chronicled the Nirvana- and Soundgarden-heavy days of the early-nineties punk and grunge scenes, author Stephen Tow (pictured) has chosen to look further back. In his new book, The Strangest Tribe, he highlights the individuals and bands that were the true roots of this movement, ending with the period when mainstream grunge began. He focuses on short-lived bands from Seattle — like The Fartz and 10 Minute Warning — that supplied the necessary fuel for '90s-grunge momentum. Like all artistic movements, there were many crucial layers of hard work before grunge hit the big scene. These are the layers that Tow explores, and he'll talk about it all tonight. 6 p.m., free, Penn Bookstore, 3601 Walnut St., 215-898-7595, upenn.edu/bookstore.

[Wednesday]

➤ Book Club: Bring Cheese and Whine
If you are reading this post with ease, you are clearly not a contestant for writing a memoir about your personal struggle as a blind citizen. Stephen Kuusisto, author of Planet of the Blind, however, has lived this challenging lifestyle, making his narrative honest and dynamic. With his book featured this month in Big Blue Marble Bookstore’s Life Stories Book Group, members will have a helpful template for practicing the art of the memoir. Hosted by local author Minter Krotzer, the club will discuss the technical and creative elements of writing a tragic or triumphant personal account. The book club meets every last Wednesday of the month, 7:15-8:30 p.m., free, Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, 215-844-1870, bigbluemarblebooks.com.

[Thursday]

➤ Phederalist Papers
Powdered wigs or dreadlocks, the defenders of the Constitution and the campers of Occupy Philly have something in common: they are peacefully, but relentlessly questioning the authority of those in power. On this day in 1757, Alexander Hamilton and collaborators James Madison and John Jay published the first of The Federalist Papers. Pick up a copy in our Founding Fathers’ honor to read how many of their proclamations resemble today’s poster boards. All day and night, free, Dilworth Plaza, 15th and Market St.

[Friday]

➤ Amos Oz
For this acclaimed author, it is easier to describe the troubled situations in Israel with allegorical representations than with hard, cold facts. In his new novel, Scenes from Village Life, Amos Oz (pictured) takes readers through a fictional town, troubled with fictional injustice and fictional characters that endure fictional religious and political unrest. In the end, it’s clear that all this fiction is eerily close to the truth. With the use of allegory, Oz makes his tale about a “Tel Iran” recognizable for all of us. He will discuss the inspiration behind his work today. Noon, free, Free Library of Philadelphia, Main Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5372, freelibrary.org.

[Saturday]

➤ Enough about Fight Club, Damn(ed) it!
Even though the first rule of Fight Club is to never talk about Fight Club, everyone has heard of Chuck Palahniuk’s 1999 bestseller. Since the release of that novel and the mania surrounding the motion picture with Ed Norton and Brad Pitt, Palahniuk has made many attempts to outdo the first hit’s frenzy. This month, with the release of Damned, we encounter a psychoanalytical thriller from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl. She is speaking to us from her new residence in Hell where she roams the Dantescan circles to plead to Satan for freedom. Whether you are part of his cult following or not, hear Palahniuk speak at the Philadelphia Free Library tonight. If you are among the first 100 people in line, you will get to shake his hand. 2 p.m., free, Free Library of Philadelphia, Main Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5372, freelibrary.org.

[Sunday]

➤ Sugar Substitute
Channel the Halloween-candy-infused anticipation of the younger people in your life by doing something literary. And I don’t mean reading the back of that Reese’s wrapper. Mighty Writers, a non-profit organization devoted to conquering Philadelphia’s high illiteracy rates, invites kids 5 to7 years of age to join the weekly Stage to Page event. After creating the plot and developing characters orally, director Tim Whitaker, Rachel Loeper and team will guide students through the art of translating scenes from the imagination into words on a page. 1-2:30 p.m., free, Mighty Writers, 1501 Christian St., 267.239.089, mightywriters.org.

[Monday]

➤ Sweeping with Zombies
When Colson Whitehead (pictured) was in junior high, his parents brought him to see Dawn of the Dead in theaters and he’s had anxiety about zombie invasions ever since. So he decided to write away his stress. In his new novel Zone One — set in post-apocalyptic New York City — Whitehead introduces us to the “sweepers” that roam the streets each day without purpose or progress; they are the men and women you see walking lifelessly to work, talking monotonously about their routine and camping out in the cubicle next to you. Hear Whitehead speak about why his zombie theories apply to all cities, even Philadelphia. As Whitehead said in a recent interview on NPR, "Whether you're a zombie or a survivor, you're pretty much in Zone One. You're going through your remembered motions. You're a ghost haunting your former life." 6 p.m., free, Free Library of Philadelphia, Main Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5372, freelibrary.org.

Have a lit event you'd like to see in an upcoming Bookish? Email the deets to francesca@citypaper.net.

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