Free opera, poetry and self-publishing events at Gig Harbor Pierce County Library

Opera enthusiasts, poetry lovers and authors interested in self-publishing will participate in free events at Gig Harbor Pierce County Library.

Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m. Poetry Reading: Michael Magee

Tacoma poet and teacher Michael Magee's work has encompassed dance, theatre and photography projects, radio scripts and a movie. His three chapbooks demonstrate his finely wrought and deeply intelligent verse, and reflect his love of travel to Czechoslovakia, Italy, Morocco and Turkey. He collaborated with photographer Peter Serko as co-curator and co-editor of “20/20: Tacoma in Images and Verse.”

Saturday, Sept. 24, 1 – 3 p.m. Author Event: Self Publishing

Library staff extends an invitation to any authors interested in publishing their work without a third-party publisher, as well as to currently self-published authors. The group will meet to share stories and advice. Authors who would like to sell books at this event may sign up on the Library’s online calendar @ http://www.piercecountylibrary.org/calendar.  

Sunday, Sept. 25, 2 p.m. Opera Preview: “Carmen”

Veteran opera lecturer Norm Hollingshead will inform and entertain with an enthusiastic preview of the Seattle Opera production of “Carmen” by Georges Bizet. This thriller, arguably the world’s most popular opera, features brilliant orchestration, an unrivaled procession of hit tunes, and a stage full of gypsies, smugglers, factory girls and toreadors. The opera packs all the sizzle of Spanish culture into an irresistible theatrical event.  

Thursday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. Poetry Reading: Brian Culhane

Brian Culhane’s poetry has appeared in the Hudson Review, the New Republic, and the Paris Review. The Poetry Foundation selected his first book of poetry, “The King’s Question,” from more than 1,600 submissions as the winner of the Emily Dickinson First Book Award. He was born in New York in 1954, lives in Seattle and teaches at Lakeside School.  

Thursday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. Poetry Reading: Tess Gallagher

This event takes place at Peninsula Christian Fellowship, 3114 45th St. Court N.W., Gig Harbor. Tess Gallagher has published eight volumes of poetry, two works of nonfiction, and four collections of short fiction, including a collaboration with the Irish storyteller Josie Gray, “Barnacle Soup: Stories from the West of Ireland.” With Adam J. Sorkin and Liliana Ursu, she translated two books of poetry by Ursu.        

Sunday, Nov. 6, 2 p.m. Poetry Reading: Carolyne Wright

Carolyne Wright’s nine books and chapbooks of poetry have won many prestigious awards. A Seattle native, she studied with Elizabeth Bishop and Richard Hugo, and spent a year in Chile on a Fulbright-Hays Study Grant. She serves on the faculty of the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts' Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA Program.    Friends of the Gig Harbor Library sponsor these free events.