Edwidge Danticat will be stopping at Queen’s College in New York City on November 23 to read excerpts from her new book, Create Dangerously, as part of the 35th Anniversary Season of Queens College Evening Readings. In addition to reading from her work, Danticat will be interviewed by Leonard Lopate. This is an event you won’t want to miss!

“Create dangerously, for people who read dangerously. This is what I’ve always thought it meant to be a writer. Writing, knowing in part that no matter how trivial your words may seem, someday, somewhere, someone may risk his or her life to read them.”
– Create Dangerously

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This was taped earlier this morning. Edwidge will also be on Leonard Lopate this afternoon.

We have been partnering on author events with Zócalo in Los Angeles for the past year and more so I was incredibly pleased to see this LA Times article about the program here.

Invariably they put on stellar events across a broad range of subjects and in a variety of top-notch venues. Authors they have hosted include Ted Miguel, author of Economic Gangsters; Ian Buruma, author of Taming the Gods; Ben Wildavsky, author of The Great Brain Race; and Mark Kleiman, author of When Brute Force Fails. We have one event on the roster for the late winter — Robert Kurzban, author of Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite will lecture to a Zócalo crowd on February 7.

But, I should note that Zócalo’s contributions to the intellectual scene in Los Angeles are far greater than simply assembling a calendar of events. Their Web site features interviews and reviews of recent books. A few PUP titles that have been reviewed on their site over the last year or so are “If You Leave Us Here We Will Die” by Geoffrey Robinson; A Constitution of Many Minds by Cass Sunstein; Swindled by Bee Wilson; Portfolios of the Poor by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Murdoch, et al.

I apologize if this post is getting a “But wait, there’s more”-vibe, but there truly is more. The Zócalo team have interviewed several of our authors as they swing through Los Angeles on tour. Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, author of Delete; Edwidge Danticat, author of Create Dangerously (not posted just yet); and Andrei Codrescu, The Posthuman Dada Guide are a few PUP authors who have sat down with Zócalo in recent months.

So, this is a rather long-winded way of a) saying thank you to Zócalo and b) acknowledging the tremendous value they bring to Los Angeles via their events and Web site. Read the article in the Los Angeles Times for more info.

Edwidge Danticat will read from her new book Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work at the Princeton Public Library tonight, Friday, November 5th at 7 PM. Anne Cheng will moderate the discussion. In a review of Ms. Danticat’s recent event at Politics and Prose, the Washington Post noted there was scarcely a dry eye in the house. This promises to be a wonderful, thought-provoking evening of conversation and literature and I hope you can join us.

“Danticat is at her best when writing from inside Haiti. . . . As [her] recollections show, her singular achievement is not to have remade the actual Haiti, but to have recreated it. She has wound the fabric of Haitian life into her work and made it accessible to a wide audience of Americans and other outsiders. . . . Danticat’s tender new book about loss and the unquenchable passion for homeland makes us remember the powerful material from which most fiction is wrought: it comes from childhood, and place. No matter her geographic and temporal distance from these, Danticat writes about them with the immediacy of love.”–Amy Wilentz, New York Times Book Review

“A lean collection of jaw-breaking horrors side by side with luminous insights. . . . In Danticat’s many remarkable stories and pensées from the gut, one locates the inimitable power of truth. Authorship becomes an act of subversion when one’s words might be read and acted on by someone risking his or her life if only to read them.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

For more information about the event, please visit the PPL’s web site.

Tonight at 7:30, Edwidge Danticat will be reading from and signing copies of her latest book, Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She will be joined by author, poet, editor, and translator Linh Dinh, who will be discussing his debut novel, Love Like Hate.

This is a free event, so no tickets are required! If you’re in the area, don’t miss your chance to meet these two talented authors, tonight at 7:30 at the Free Library of Philadelphia. For more information about this event, click here or check out the Facebook Event.

Edwidge Danticat will read from her new book Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work at the Princeton Public Library on Friday, November 5th at 7 PM. Anne Cheng will moderate the discussion. In a review of Ms. Danticat’s recent event at Politics and Prose, the Washington Post noted there was scarcely a dry eye in the house. This promises to be a wonderful, thought-provoking evening of conversation and literature and I hope you can join us.

For more information about the event, please visit the PPL’s web site.

Congratulations. You’ve done your civic duty. Next stop? The holiday gift hunt.

After a Herculean feat of self restraint, I allowed November 1 to pass without rushing full-tilt from Halloween into the official holiday season. Patience is a virtue, after all, (though a somewhat overrated one) and I made the conscious decision to pace myself. No use wigging out when there’s leftover candy to be devoured to fuel the creative thrust of merry-making.

Now then, November 1, as you’ll note, is over…and so is the waiting! So on this Election Day, I celebrate democracy with a healthy dose of pre-holiday cheer brought to you by the PUP Gift Elf.

In order to maximize the season upon us, the Elf will post gift book recommendations from PUP staff members once a week now through December 23: that’s eight whole weeks of insider tips to make informed holiday book purchasing decisions. You’ll find a range of choices which reflect our multitudinous tastes/personalities; some will be books we’ve published while others might include perennial favorites. Let PUP’s Gift Elf take the guess work out of your next trip to the bookstore. No malls required! Give the gift that keeps on giving: knowledge.

And now our inaugural picks for Holiday 2010 brought to you by Jennifer Roth, Sales Associate and Copywriter.

• Create Dangerously by Edwidge Danticat – It’s easy to spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s hunkered down and Snuggie-clad, lost in your own little world. I suggest instead slipping into someone else’s experience for a bit with this deeply personal book by Danticat. The stories she tells may not be as sunny as the holiday specials on TV, but they are much richer and infinitely more satisfying.

• A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks – This seasonally appropriate novel was one of the best books I read in 2010. The two main characters that drive the plot—a greedy hedge fund manager and an angry young Muslim—could have easy become one-dimensional stereotypes, but Faulk’s smart pacing and quirky details will keep you guessing and turning the pages.

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss – Still the book that best captures that warm, peppermint-scented holiday spirit. Even better when paired with the original cartoon, impeccably narrated by Boris Karloff.

Stay tuned for our next installment on Tuesday, November 9.

-Gift Elf Out

© iStockphoto.com

On November 4, Edwidge Danticat will be at the Free Library of Philadelphia to read from and sign copies of her latest book, Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work.

Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti in 1969 and moved to the United States when she was twelve. Inspired by Albert Camus’ lecture, and combining memoir and essay, Create Dangerously is an eloquent and moving expression of Danticat’s belief that immigrant artists are obliged to bear witness when their countries of origin are suffering from violence, oppression, poverty, and tragedy.

The event next week will also feature author, poet, editor, and translator Linh Dinh, who will discuss his debut novel, Love Like Hate. Don’t miss your chance to meet either of these talented authors!

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Edwidge Danticat will be interviewed on Tavis Smiley this Friday evening. I hope you have a chance to tune in to hear her discuss her new book Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work.

Edwidge had two sell-out events in Washington DC at Busboys & Poets and Politics & Prose. Next up, she is in Los Angeles for an event with the ALOUD series at the Los Angeles Public Library on October 26th. See you there!

Edwidge Danticat will be in Los Angeles this coming Monday and Tuesday to promote her new title, Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work. If you’re in the area, we hope you can make it out to some of the events! See the Facebook page for a complete listing of events featuring Edwidge.

On Monday evening, you’re invited to an intimate evening sponsored by the Hatian Cultural Foundation and Galerie Lakaye in Los Angeles, a unique art gallery showcasing Hatian artwork in a lush, Caribbean-style home setting. In this appropriate space, Edwidge will read from and sign copies of Create Dangerously. She will begin reading from her book at 7:45 pm and will sign until 9:00 pm. Light refreshments will also be served.

Don’t miss your chance to meet Edwidge! Details about this event are below.

Hope you can make it to Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. on October 21, where you can meet Edwidge Danticat and get your copy of her new book, Create Dangerously, autographed!

A starred review in Publishers Weekly recently described Create Dangerously as a “lean collection of jaw-breaking horrors side by side with luminous insights” and wrote, “In Danticat’s many remarkable stories and pensées from the gut, one locates the inimitable power of truth. Authorship becomes an act of subversion when one’s words might be read and acted on by someone risking his or her life if only to read them.”

Details for the event are below.

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