The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This week’s literary events
Nina Norstrom, “Not a Blueprint: It’s The Shoes That Matter, A Journey Through Toxic Relationships” and Julia McDermott ,“Daddy’ s Girl”
2 p.m. Feb. 19. Tea, talk, signing. Free. Bookmiser Roswell, 4651 Sandy Plains Road, Roswell, 770-9931555, bookmiser.net/ Norstrom explores the effects that her relationships with grief, pain, trauma, and forgiveness have had on her life. In McDermott’s novel, a woman’s comfortable life is rocked when her wealthy father’s will leaves her much less than she expected.
Southern Writers Onstage: Alice Walker, “Nineteen-Fifty-Five”
12 noon Feb. 21. Discussion. Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. NW, 678-5281500, calendar.gsu.edu/event/southern_writers_ onstage_women_black_white_-_alice_walker#. WJte6YUXqDo Walker’s short story, “Nineteen Fifty-Five,” imagines what might have occurred after Elvis Presley’s manager bought out Big Mama Thornton’s song “Hound Dog.” Presenter Valerie Boyd is the editor of the forthcoming “Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker.”
Patricia Bell-Scott, “The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship”
7 p.m. Feb. 22. Talk, signing. Free. Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, 404-865-7100, jimmycarterlibrary.gov/ events/ Long-listed for the National Book Award, this groundbreaking book tells the story of how the enduring friendship between Pauli Murray, a brilliant writer-turnedactivist, and Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady of the United States, helped to alter the course of race and racism in America.
Trudy Nan Boyce, “Old Bones”
7:15 p.m. Feb. 23. Talk, reading, signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur, 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285, georgiacenterforthebook. org/Events/show. php?id=928 Boyce, a former beat cop and homicide detective with the APD, returns with the second book of her gritty, evocative series about Detective Sarah “Salt”Alt. When students from Spelman College are assaulted by drive-by rifle fire during a vigil calling for police reform, Salt, called onto emergency riot detail, must delve into the past for answers.
International Poetry Event: Dean Parkin, Judson Mitcham and Chris Salerno
7:30 p.m. Feb. 23. Readings. Free. Georgia Institute of Technology, Kress Auditorium, Robert C. Williams Museum of Paper Making, 500 Tenth St., Atlanta, 404-894-2000, poetry.gatech.edu/events Parkin has published four chapbooks; his first full collection is “The Swan Machine.” Named poet laureate of Georgia in 2012, Mitcham’s most recent book is “A Little Salvation: Poems Old and New.” In “Sun and Urn,”Salerno’s prize-winning fourth collection of poems, he examines, repositions, and makes art from grief and loss.
Sycorax’s Daughters: A Horror Anthology of Prose and Poetry
2 p.m. Feb. 25. Reading, discussion, signing. Free. Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, 404-730-4001, ext. 100, afpls.org/events-aarl This thought-provoking horror anthology of AfricanAmerican women writers includes stories of vampires, ghosts, and mermaids, from slavery to science-fiction futures with trans-humans and alternate realities — all of it deeply informed by a history of real-life horrors.
Malik Ismail,“From Old Guard to Vanguard: A Second Generation Panther”
3 p.m. Feb. 25. Talk, signing. Free. Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, 404-7304001, ext. 100, afpls.org/ events-aarl Ismail’s compelling book explores the historical importance and the ongoing contemporary relevance of the Black Panther Party.
George Saunders,“Lincoln in the Bardo”
7 p.m. Feb. 25. Reading, signing. $30 includes signed, first-edition book; $40 admits 2 and includes signed first-edition book. Ticketed event. Highland Inn Ballroom, 644 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, 404-681-5128, acappellabooks.com/pages/ events/ 74/george-saundersdebut-novel-lincoln-in-the In his first novel, George Saunders (“Tenth of December”) delivers his most original and transcendent work yet: a moving father-son story featuring Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and invented.