Wisconsin Book Festival 2008: "Changing Places"

In keeping with the theme of "Changing Places," let's pretend this scene
depicts the crowd that flooded State Street last year to hear Ron Wallace read instead of, say, some political rally with Bruce Springsteen.

Now that it's October, we're beginning to count the days until the seventh annual Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison (Oct. 15-19). This year's Festival includes Ann Beattie, Marilynne Robinson, Ron Wallace, Yi-Fu Tuan, C.J. Hribal, Reginald Gibbons, C. Mikal Oness, and Todd Boss among others. Before you're overwhelmed by all the great options, we thought we'd let you know about three big readings you won't want to miss.

Friday, Oct. 17, Wisconsin Historical Society, 7:00pm
ANN BEATTIE

"Beattie has a facility . . . that is breathtaking, a fluidity that delights. . . . [She is] one of the most influential short-fiction writers of her generation." --Newsday


Saturday, Oct. 18, Wisconsin Historical Society, 7:00pm
MARILYNNE ROBINSON & RON WALLACE

"Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering and precise; the revelations are subtle but never muted when they come, and the careful telling carries the breath of suspense." -Publisher's Weekly

"Wallace takes his place with Mary Oliver and William Stafford as one of our preeminent poets with the ability to speak, like Whitman, of 'nature without check with original energy.'" -David Citino, Prairie Schooner


Sunday, Oct. 19, Wisconsin Studio/Overture, 4:00pm
REGINALD GIBBONS, TODD BOSS, & C. MIKAL ONESS

"Gibbons is an empathic and arresting storyteller [who] creates drama with just an eyeful of perfectly balanced lines." -Booklist

"Todd Boss is going to be a poetry all-star. . .He can make any rhyme feel like a concealed weapon." -Sherman Alexie

"Elegy, exorcism, expiation, charms against dread: poetry's old work is disarmingly vital in C. Mikal Oness's poems" -Mark Doty


October is a huge month for literary happenings in Madison, so check back with us often. For more information and a complete schedule, check out the Wisconsin Book Festival homepage