09/27/04, Monday

Anne Lamott

A writer who speaks with self-effacing humor and ruthless honesty, Anne Lamott opens our third season of Readings and Conversations. Her subjects are things most of us do not like to think about: sadness, frustration and disappointment. She tells her stories without sugar-coating, all the while keeping us laughing. Her understanding of the challenges that face writers and the process of writing make her a frequent guest at writing conferences across the country. Her biweekly Salon Magazine online diary “Word by Word” was voted the Best of the Web by Time magazine. Ms. Lamott has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and is the author of six novels and three best-selling non-fiction titles, including Bird by Bird and Operating Instructions.

11/08/04, Monday

Russell Banks

A prolific writer of fiction, Russell Banks has made a life’s work of charting the causes and effects of the terrible things “normal” men can and will do. He writes with an intense empathy and a compassionate sense of humor that help to keep readers, if not his characters, afloat through the misadventures and tragedies of his books. The Sweet Hereafter, Cloudsplitter, and Affliction are some of his most familiar titles. Mr. Banks’ newest release (October 2004) The Darling, is set in late 20 th-century Liberia and deals with civil and political upheaval and strained loyalties to country and family. Having been recognized with dozens of honors, his most recent is being named New York State Author 2004-2006.

02/16/05, Wednesday

N. Scott Momaday

Poet, playwright, painter, storyteller, essayist, professor, commentator, and novelist, Scott Momaday is called the “dean of American Indian writers” by the The New York Times. Born a Kiowa in the Oklahoma dustbowl, he was raised on reservations in the Southwest. Dr. Momaday holds an important place in American literary arts where he is known for his brilliant crafting of language and imagery. In his lectures, he brings the oral tradition of his culture to life. His books have been translated into French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish. Among the awards he has earned are a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pulitzer-prize for his first novel, House Made of Dawn. Other works include The Way to Rainy Mountain and In the Bear’s House, which includes his own paintings.

04/25/05, Monday

Sarah Vowell

Author and social commentator Sarah Vowell is best known for her monologues and documentaries for public radio’s “This American Life.” She writes about everything from her father’s homemade cannon and her obsession with the Godfather films to the New Hampshire primary and her Cherokee ancestors’ forced march on the Trail of Tears. Her fourth title, Assassination Vacation, will be released about the time she appears in Boise. When Newseek named her Rookie of the Year in nonfiction in 1997, based on her first title, Radio On: A Listener’s Diary, they called her “a cranky stylist with talent to burn.” Ms. Vowell is a critic and reporter for major publications, writing essays on American history, pop culture, and her own family.