My sister and her family are in town (they drove from Toronto!) so I probably won't have much chance to blog for a while, but I wanted to be sure to let you know about an upcoming event at Beyond Baroque that I'm very excited about:

28 July, Saturday - 7:30 PM

Code Pink WOMEN FOR PEACE Presents: Art & Activism: Writers on Politics Now, with GAYLE BRANDEIS and DIANE LEFER

Join us in exploring "Art & Activism: Writers on Politics Now," with GAYLE BRANDEIS - winner of Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for Fiction in Support of a Literature of Social Change. Her novel is Self Storage (Ballantine/Random House), a post-9/11 story of a woman buying and reselling of storage unit contents, launched on a path of self-discovery. DIANE LEFER's California Transit (Sarabande) examines the difference between justice and law in Southern California, "land of dislocation and assimilation." Oscar Hijuelos praised Lefer as "one of the most gifted and witty writers around."

Diane was one of my MFA mentors, and helped guide me through a radical revision of The Book of Dead Birds. She is a true force of nature, and a real model for weaving together art and social responsibility. I am so honored to be able to read with her. And I just found out that Jill Sobule is going to be playing!

Hope to see you there...