Independent Bookstore Day
Prairie Lights Bookstoreat Prairie Lights
at Prairie Lights
New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal will read from Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. Called by Roxane Gay "a perfect book," in a Starred review, Kirkus Reviews says, “Stradal...displays his gift for writing female characters who are fully realized, sometimes unlikable, but always as flawed and compelling as real people. The Midwest setting...
Prairie Lights Bookstore Jeanna Kadlec will read from her memoir of growing up evangelical in Iowa, Heretic. She will be joined in conversation by author/journalist Lyz Lenz. “Brilliant and well-read, Kadlec braved the emotional tides of religious trauma, divorce, and coming out as queer all before her thirtieth birthday. … Giving a voice to past and...
Prairie Lights Richard Meier will read from his new collection of poem-essays, A Duration (Wave Books). Richard Meier has published the collections February March April April (Oxeye Press, 2017), In the Pure Block of the Whole Imaginary (Omnidawn 2012), Shelley Gave Jane a Guitar (Wave Books 2006), and Terrain Vague, selected by Tomaz Salamun for the Verse Prize and published by Verse Press in 2001. ...
Prairie Lights Writer and internationally exhibited artist Rebecca Keller will read from her new novel, You Should Have Known. "Who cares about the gentle death of an elderly woman in a retirement community? You will--desperately--as you dive into the marvelous mystery at the heart of You Should Have Known. This book kept me up past my bedtime,...
Prairie Lights Please join us with poets Timothy Donnelly and Christine Kwon, who will read from their new poetry! Timothy Donnelly will read from his fourth collection of poems, Chariot.“If Whitman had had a young kid and a Brooklyn apartment, too many bills, and stack of takeout menus in the top drawer of his Ikea desk,...
Prairie Lights Please join us with celebrated poet Eileen Myles, who will read from their new poetry collection, a "Working Life" . The first new collection since Evolution from the prolific poet, activist, and writer Eileen Myles, a “Working Life” unerringly captures the measure of life. Whether alone or in relationship, on city sidewalks or in the country, their lyrics always engage with...
Prairie Lights Writers' Workshop alum Jane Roper will read from her timely and witty new novel The Society of Shame, one of the Washington Post's Most Anticipated Books of the Year. "Fans of Where'd You Go Bernadette and Dietland are sure to love The Society of Shame. This down-to-earth, biting, cinematic, and funny novel perfectly captures the many absurdities of our modern age and the indignities of...
Prairie Lights Acclaimed writer and professor of philosophy Clancy Martin will read from his intimate, insightful, at times even humorous memoir, How Not to Kill Yourself:A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, based on his viral essay, “I’m Still Here.” He will be joined in conversation by Iowa City therapist Tyler Fyotek. Author David Shields calls the How Not to...
Prairie Lights Associate Professor of Music Education Mary L. Cohen will read from her book, Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices. This important new work looks at the role music-making can play in achieving goals of accountability and healing that challenge the widespread assumption that prisons and punishment keep societies safe. Cohen and her co-author, Stuart P....
Prairie Lights Prairie Lights and Rescue Press presents poets Sara Deniz Akant and Adrienne Raphel, who will read from their new collections of poetry published by Rescue Press! Turkish-American poet and performer Sara Deniz Akant will read from Hyperphantasia, which was listed as a top poetry book of 2022 by the New York Times. "Akant conjures the...
Prairie Lights The University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing and Translation MFA Programs present Raquel Gutiérrez, who will read from her new book, Brown Neon. “In these essays by a poet, arts writer, and self-identified ‘queer brown butch,’ encounters in Los Angeles and the Southwest with aging punks, border activists, lesbian legends, and others give rise to...