THINGS TO DO Author events Friday-thursday

■ Georgia Poetry Out Loud State Finals Competition. Nine state finalists will compete for the title of state champion and a chance to compete at the national competition in Washington, D.C. 1 p.m. Saturday. Livestream competition. Free. Atlanta History Center. atlantahistorycenter.com

■ Rebecca Solnit, “Recollections of My Nonexistence.” In describing her formation as a writer and as a feminist in 1980s San Francisco, Solnit offers an electric portrait of the artist as a young woman that asks how a writer finds her voice in a society that prefers women to be silent. With Eula Biss (“On Immunity”). 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Talk on Crowdcast. $17.25-$27.25 includes book. Charis Books & More. charisbooksandmore.com/

■ John Archibald, “Shaking the Gates of Hell.” In his memoir, Archibald writes of the conspiracy of silence his father — a Methodist preacher and moderating force during the racial turbulence of ’60s Alabama — faced in the South, in the Methodist Church and in the greater Christian church. With Cynthia Tucker. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Talk on Zoom. Free. Atlanta History Center. atlantahistorycenter.com

■ Chanda Prescod-weinstein, “The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred.” One of the leading physicists of her generation, Prescod-weinstein shares her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin and the latest theories of dark matter — all with a new spin informed by history, politics and the wisdom of “Star Trek.” With Imani Perry. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Conversation on Crowdcast. Free. Charis Books & More. charisbooksandmore.com/

■ The Atlanta International Poetry & Translation Festival. The 2nd Translation Summit brings together a group of phenomenal Belarusian and U.S. poets to share and translate their work. 4 p.m. Thursday. Readings on Bluejeans. Free. Georgia Tech. poetry.gatech.edu