Lit Boston: What's Happening in August?
In the August 2019 edition of "Best of Boston," we bring you our top Boston lit events this month, curated from the Boston Literary District's event calendar, an essential source of literary happenings.
Brookline Booksmith Transnational Series: Ilya Kaminsky and Kaveh Akbar
When: Thursday, August 1st, 7:00pm
Stop by the Brookline Booksmith for an evening of poetry with Ilya Kaminsky and Kaveh Akbar. Ilya Kaminsky’s long-awaited Deaf Republic confronts our time’s vicious atrocities and our collective silence in the face of them. Calling a Wolf a Wolf, Kaveh Akbar’s highly-anticipated debut, boldly confronts addiction and courses the strenuous path of recovery, beginning in the wilds of the mind.
Speculative Boston Reading Series: K. Chess and Max Gladstone
When: Thursday, August 1st, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Don’t miss Speculative Boston, a quarterly event featuring authors of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror of all kinds. Guest authors will be K. Chess and Max Gladstone, who will be talking about their latest works and the wonders of speculative fiction.
Louise Miller presents The Late Bloomers' Club: A Novel
When: Thursday, August 1st, 7:00pm
Harvard Book Store welcomes Grubstreet Novel Incubator alum Louise Miller for a discussion of her new book, The Late Bloomers' Club: A Novel. She will be joined in conversation by writer Ellen Herrick, author of The Sparrow Sisters.
WDtS Egleston: Summer Lovin': Odes to the People, Places, & Things We Love
When: Friday, August 2nd, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Come celebrate the people, places, and things you love through the time-honored tradition of writing them an ode! You will look at examples from classic literature to modernity before composing our own. Examples will include odes by John Keats, Pablo Neruda, Keneth Koch, Bernadette Meyers, and more. Write Down the Street programs are offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard.
Poetry in the Parlor ft. Jennifer Barber, Jennifer Colella Martelli, & Alan Smith Soto
When: Friday, August 2nd, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Join us the first Friday of the month for an intimate poetry reading from local and regional poets from the New England Poetry Club. Cozy inside the historic carriage shed of the Old Manse during the winter, and on the lawn in the summer, you'll listen to poets share their work in the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
When: Friday, August 2nd and Saturday, August 3rd, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Join the Hub Theatre Company at Club Cafe for Steel Magnolia, a show full of sass, style and sisterhood that will make you laugh ‘til you cry with its big characters, big hair, and even bigger heart.
FEMS x Boston Immigrant Writers Salon: Workshop and Open Mic
When: Tuesday, August 6, 2019, 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Join FEMS Tournament and Boston Immigrant Writers Salon for a Poetry Workshop, followed by an Open Mic, and finally a performance by our Feature Artist and Workshop Leader Danielle Legros Georges, Boston's former Poet Laureate.
WDtS Mattapan: Building a Book of Essays
When: Saturday, August 10th, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
This drop-in class will discuss finding harmony among essays which may seem disconnected on the surface, and how to create harmony when there’s none to be found. We will also discuss what makes a strong list of essays for a book and what steps an author takes when looking to have their work published. Beginner and intermediate writers are welcome. Write Down the Street programs are offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard.
Mass Poetry’s 2019 Professional Development Seminar
When: Monday, August 12th - Wednesday, August 14th, 10:00am - 3:00pm
Join workshop leader Ben Berman at Mass Poetry’s 2019 Professional Development seminar to learn new techniques and invigorate your classroom next year. Over the course of three days, participants will have the opportunity to study the craft of poetry and will learn a range of hands-on techniques that they can use in their classrooms. (Fee: $100)
When: Wednesday, August 14th, 7:00 pm
Award-winning blogger, memoirist, and essayist William Dameron will discuss his debut memoir, The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out. He will be joined in conversation with Alysia Abbott, GrubStreet instructor and award-winning author of Fairyland, A Memoir of My Father.
Fall 2019 Open House and Showcase
When: Tuesday, August 20th, 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Drop by our Open House on Tuesday, August 20th for drinks, snacks, and the answers to your questions about all things GrubStreet. Grub staff members will be on hand to discuss your writing goals and recommend classes that are right for you, plus we have special class discounts for all attendees. Not only that, but current Grubbies will read from their work in our Student Showcase! Come with any questions between 5:30 and 6:55pm. Reading starts at 7:00pm.
Hank Phillippi Ryan: The Murder List
When: Tuesday, August 20th, 7:00 pm
Brookline Bookstore will host award-winning author and investigative journalist Hank Phillippi Ryan as she discusses her upcoming novel, The Murder List -- a cat and mouse game where the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.
Homeboy: Book Talk with Jawara Griffin
When: Thursday, August 22nd, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Join author Jawara Griffin as he shares his story and discusses his memoir Homeboy. Receive a copy of Homeboy when you spend over $20 on your ticket. All proceeds support More Than Words, a non-profit social enterprise empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
CBC Diversity // Boston: Summer Happy Hour
When: Thursday, August 22nd, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Join Candlewick Press School & Library for happy hour at Trident Booksellers & Cafe and bring your favorite #ownvoices or any diverse title to share with other diverse people and allies of the Boston book world!
When: Friday, August 23rd, 5:30pm - 6:00pm
Maximize that Friday feeling and kick off your writing weekend. Leave work behind and come on over to Grub HQ for our Happy Hour Writing Session. In 60 jam-packed minutes, you’ll meet fellow writers and get your creative juices flowing with some great writing exercises. Free drinks (beer, wine, coffee, water) and snacks provided.
Lying for a Living: Randy Susan Meyers, M.J. Rose & B.A. Shapiro
When: Tuesday, August 27th, 7:00pm
Join M.J. Rose, Muse presenter B.A. Shapiro, and Grub instructor Randy Susan Meyers as they explore why lying comes to them with such ease—is it in their characters, or did they have to learn this skill of dissimulation?
Maura Intemann
Maura is a third-year student studying English and Communications at Northeastern University. She's from Long Island, New York and in her free time loves watching movies, listening to music, and rock climbing.
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