… or, at least, 10 minutes behind a microphone in a public venue.” Minerva Books is hosting a poetry reading September 12 at 7:30pm. Sign-ups for one of roughly 15 slots will begin August 15 and will be first come, first served until all the slots are filled. Note: you must stop by the store to sign up. And I quote: “You are allowed to perform your own original work, read from a favorite author’s work, or do some combination. But you will be limited to no more than 10 minutes of time, after which you will be gonged, drawn in crayon, and burned in effigy on the deck.” How cool is that?

Today’s RTD features a story on the region’s newest independent bookseller, Minerva Books — “Trading in ideas, coffee and comfortable seating since May, 2008.” And on the ‘ideas’ note, Minerva Books will host a poetry reading event in September. More on that in the next post.

During this month’s Friday For the Arts! (August 8), Minerva Books will host author Ella E. Schneider Hilton, who will read from and discuss her book entitled Displaced Person. The gripping and universally relevant book “chronicles Hilton’s remarkable childhood–one that took her from the purges of Stalinist Russia to the refugee camps of Nazi and postwar Germany to the cotton fields of Jim Crow Mississippi before finally granting her access to the American dream.” 

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Narissa Bond will perform at Minerva Books at 233 Bartow Alley, Petersburg July 11th at 8pm. The recipient of a Kansas Arts Commission fellowship, Bond has opened for national touring artists Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, Nina Gerber, L.J. Booth, Vance Gilbert and Ulali.

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Minerva’s Owl Club (the kids’ book club) will meet the third Saturday of every month — starting this very Saturday!! — at 11am at Minerva Books. Designed for children 8-12 years old, there will be reading, discussion, and fun reading-related activities. Participation is free and books for the club are discounted 10%. The book for July’s discussion is Betsy Byars’ The Summer of the Swans, available for purchase now at Minerva Books’ online and regular stores.

June 10th at 7 pm: Our inaugural Book Club Meeting. The meeting this time will consist of a get-to-know-you session, and copies of July’s discussion book, Hillary Jordan’s Mudbound, will be available at a 10% discount.

June 11th at 1 pm: Children’s Story Hour: Designed for 3 to 5-year-olds and a caretaker, this will involve the reading of an age-appropriate story and a treat afterwards to say thanks for coming!

June 13th at 7 pm: Friday For the Arts poetry reading. Poet Cynthia Atkins will be reading from and signing copies of her latest book, Psyche’s Weathers. Come early and get a good seat!

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Cynthia Atkins, poet and author of Psyche’s Weathers, a poetry collection, will be at Minerva Books for the June Friday For the Arts, June 13, for a reading and book signing.  The event starts promptly at 7 pm.

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May 28th, 1 pm: Children’s Story Hour. Designed for 3-5 year olds and a caretaker, this will involve the reading of an age appropriate story and a treat afterwards.
May 29th, 7 pm: Writing Group Meeting. Designed for aspiring writers of all genres, this affords members the opportunity to meet and talk about writing, and to practice the craft of writing.

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Minerva Book’s grand opening extravaganza is set to coincide with the May Friday for the Arts (May 9). Best-selling author Sheri Reynolds will be reading from her latest book, Firefly Cloak, and signing books at 7pm.  MB will have copies of all of Sheri’s books available for sale before and after the reading.

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What the folks at the soon-to-open Minerva Books have to go through to hook us up with good reads:

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In an unrelated thread, books with different perspectives on history have been mentioned. Got me to thinking. If you want to share a book that you think is outstanding, maybe we can aggregate a list here. Maybe give the book’s title and ‘category’ — And maybe there can be a tie-in somehow with the soon-to-open Minerva Books? Feel free to submit ideas…