Books

Giving and Receiving

Giving and receiving. It’s that time of year, and when it comes to books, I’m thrilled to be on both ends of the action.

I do love a gift book. In fact, some of my most treasured gifts have been books. My best loved? A signed, first edition of Mark Helprin’s Memoir from Antproof Case. It happens to be my very favorite book ever, but also, it was the “big” gift during what my husband dubbed the “Valentine’s Festival of Love Week” a few Februarys ago. (I’m told that festival was a one-time deal, but I’m ever hopeful for a repeat performance.)

Each year, my friends and family are on the receiving end of my book giving. Usually it’s a cookbook for my husband, novels for my daughters and a fishing-related book or a Peterson Field Guide for my son. I already have The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern (by brothers Matt and Ted Lee) set aside for one lucky recipient.

While considering the idea of gift books, I couldn’t help but think of the sort of situational gift I got when I picked Christina Sunley’s The Tricking of Freya off the new-book shelf at my local library. I knew nothing about this debut novel or its author, but what a gift! It really has been a nice, little reward for being at the right place at the right time and turning my gaze to just the right shelf. This doesn’t happen each time I choose indiscriminately, but that’s also how I found The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson a few years ago.

That said, I generally do give more thought to the gift of reading. One way I’ll do that this year is not with an actual book but rather with a donation to The Literacy Council so I can help others learn to read. The Literacy Council, a non-profit organization that serves a five-county area, is dedicated to reducing illiteracy. The group strengthens and supports organizations that provide literacy services in Central Alabama. This year, the LC is offering holiday cards that highlight some of the various programs available to people in our own community.

The cards are heartwarming and lovely. Each features someone learning to read through programs supported by The Literacy Council. A little boy named “Corey” illustrates the United We Read program. A young man named “Sam” shows the benefits of the Ready to Read program. A mother named “Deanette” highlights the GED Scholarship program, and a man named “Vincent” shows the Tutor Training program in action. The inside of each card reads:  “This gift of reading made possible by a holiday donation to The Literacy Council made in your honor.” Your recipients will know it came from you.

To order, you can visit The Literacy Council’s Web site at www.literacy-council.org.

There’s another way I’ll share a book this holiday season. Each year, my book group skips the December discussion. Instead, we get together to share a potluck supper and our favorite children’s books. The next day, one of us will take all the books to a local charity. It’s one of my favorite traditions and a wonderful way to pass along a good book to a child who probably doesn’t have that many. We’ve given to the YWCA several times in the past, and there are lots of other local agencies requesting books right now, too.

So I’ll ask you to also keep in mind young readers you might not know when you give gift books this season. Some of the local organizations that would love to have new books include Better Basics; Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham; Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Alabama; Children’s Health System; Family Violence Center; Gateway; Girls, Inc. of Central Alabama; Glenwood, Inc.; Jefferson County Department of Human Resources; Olivia’s House; Salvation Army; and Urban Ministry.

Please join me in giving the gift of reading.

These groups will make sure it gets where it needs to go.

Help Welcome the Author of The Help

And help The Literacy Council continue its good work.

Kathryn Stockett, who wrote the bestselling novel The Help, will be in Birmingham on Tuesday to visit with her fans and sign copies of her fantastic book about the vast differences and the surprising similarities between a few white women and the black women who work for them in Civil Rights Era Mississippi.  The Help was No. 3 on the NYT Bestseller List last time I checked (How’s that for great timing on our part? Full disclosure:  I’m one of the chairs of this event.)

This is the third of our three 2009 Signature Series events. It will happen on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the lovely home of Morris and Brenda Hackney in Mountain Brook. These special homes are always part of the attraction, I think, at these events. And this one is already decorated for the holidays! 

This Signature Series event will be catered by The Fish Market on Southside and will feature a variety of traditional Southern foods with a few tasty twists. Consider Fig Jam and Goat Cheese Crostini, Fried Chicken with a Gastrique of Honey and Lime Juice with Red Pepper, Cilantro, and Lime Zest; Cheese Biscuits; Texas Caviar with Black-Eyed Peas; Grilled White and Sweet Potato Salad; Country Ham with a variety of mustards and for dessert – Caramel Cake and Sweet Potato and Raisin Tartlets. We will have lovely, interesting wines paired with these dishes.

The Signature Series, sponsored by Alabama Power Company and in partnership with The Alabama Booksmith, brings three prominent authors to Birmingham for private cocktail receptions within a year. 

Patrons spend the evening with one of America’s most fascinating authors and receive a signed first edition of the author’s latest work in one of Birmingham’s most beautiful homes. Signature Series subscriptions are limited to preserve the intimacy of each reception. A few tickets are still available. They are $125 per person, and you can get yours by getting in touch with me at susan@swagler.net or through the Literacy Council at 205-326-1925 or 1-888-448-7323 or www.literacy-council.org.

Proceeds benefit The Literacy Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening and supporting organizations that provide literacy services in Central Alabama. Past authors include:  Frank Stitt, Richard North Patterson, Rick Bragg, Delta Burke, Shelley Stewart, Dixie Carter, Mark Childress, Charlton Heston, Howell Raines and Tracy Chevalier.

I do hope you can join us. It's going to be a lovely party, and the book is simply one that we all should read.

 

Strange and Heady Stuff

“My daddy saw you taking about a skull book on TV the other day.” This from my daughter’s friend Kendall. Then: “Can I see it?”

Strange. The book and the response.

It’s all anyone seems to remember from the short book segment I did on Fox 6 last Saturday. I also showed off and talked about the Lee Bros.’ new cookbook, Simple Fresh Southern. I spoke about my most recent bookgroup book, The 19^th Wife by David Ebershoff. I mentioned The Experts’ Guide to Doing Things Faster:  100 Ways to Make Life More Efficient by Samantha Ettus. And I spoke about my book column’s new print home in Birmingham Magazine. (Additionally, I showed off some of Melissa Springer’s georgous photos in a piece about the new Red Mountain Park, and I pointed out that a locally gathered Thanksgiving feast is easier than we might think.)

It’s Colin Dickey’s Cranioklepty – Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius that people are remembering.

That’s OK, really. It’s a fun, well-written and very interesting book.

A friend sent a link to one of Colin’s more recent skull-related tidbits, published on the Wonders & Marvels Web site. Read it yourself at http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2009/11/the-twice-bought-head-of-cardinal-mezzofanti.html

Beautiful Books (and Champagne!)

First of all, there’s a story behind this book. Go to http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4937453n, to see it.

Then, get ready to see these images for yourself (and meet the people behind them) at a very special book event at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (hosted by my friends at The Alabama Booksmith).

Jake Reiss at the Booksmith says, “Jonathan Singer and John Kress have produced the most beautiful book we've ever seen. The publisher is now sold out and signed copies will be priceless. These guys have agreed to include a visit to The Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, among the very few stops they'll make across the country. To celebrate, we're hosting a champagne reception. Dr. Singer and Dr. Kress will entertain with a short talk about the amazing process that led to this unbelievable work being selected as the only book by a living contributor on display at The Smithsonian Institution. So you'll get the idea, there is one other in this group of two - by John James Audubon.”

In addition to this treasure, Abbeville Press, publisher of Botanica Magnifica, is bringing a huge display of their other books on art and gardens - many signed by the authors on handsome bookplates. Dr. Singer will have magnificent prints, 28 by 30, which he will sign and offer for sale. Copies of Botanica Magnifica, in the regular slipcase edition, as well as the leather-bound limited edition, will be specially priced for this event.

Admission to the gala party is $10, and one hundred percent of the ticket price goes to the library at the gardens.

Who? Dr. Jonathan Singer & Dr. W. John Kress

What? Presenting Botanica Magnifica and other things

Where? The Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

When? Wednesday, November 18 from 5 - 8 pm

Why? Beautiful books and bubbly to benefit the Botanical Garden’s library ... why not?

Contact the Booksmith at www.alabamabooksmith.com for ticket reservations. If you can't attend, you may also make arrangements to purchase signed copies at The Booksmith. The publisher is sold out and will not re-print. These books will not last long (leather-bound limited edition - Retail Price $225 - only $185 at the event and slipcase edition -  Retail Price $185 - only $135 at the event).

Lee Bros. in Birmingham Tonight!

Chefs all over the United States are digging deeper into Southern traditions, but we’re not talking about my grandmother’s fried chicken (although that was really, really hard to top). Lately, I’ve been hearing more and more about two Southern boys who do amazing things in the kitchen. My friends Bob and Tondee are two of the best cooks I know, and they absolutely swear by recipes from the Lee Bros., Matt and Ted. Having tasted a few recipes from their first book The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook (20070, I realized why. Then, after cooking from their second book myself, I am a huge fan, too.

The brothers will be in Birmingham today (Nov. 12 @ 6 p.m.) at the Alabama Booksmith in Homewood with this new cookbook, The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor. 

Matt and Ted are contributing editors at Travel + Leisure and frequent contributors to the New York Times Dining section, Food & Wine, and GQ, Matt Lee and Ted Lee took the country by storm with their first book; it won an unprecedented two James Beard Awards and two IACP Awards and was on the year’s best lists of Food & Wine, Gourmet, as well as being named one of Food Network Kitchen’s 25 all-time favorite cookbooks.

The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern delivers dishes that are quick and easy but have every bit as much Southern soul as the long-simmered, the slow-smoked and the deep-fried. Their style of cooking brooks no compromise on flavor or lusciousness, consider these dishes:

• Cocktails and Coolers:  Watermelon Margaritas, Ginger Lemonade and Spiced Rum-n-Cokes

• Snacks and Appetizers: Garlic-Chile Crabs, Jade Shrimp Cocktail, Sweet Potato and Okra Fritters with Garlic Buttermilk Dip, Squid with Watermelon and Basil and Buttermilk Fresh Cheese

• Soups: Oyster Soup, Creamy Sweet-Onion Soup, White Gazpacho, Chilled Tomato Soup, and Hominy Stew with Chicken and Chile

• Salads and Cold Sides: Easy Ambrosia, Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts, Carrot and Turnip Slaw with Dill, and Field Pea Salad with Gingered Beets and Lemon

• Hot Sides: Collard Greens with Poblano Chiles and Chorizo, Skillet Green Beans with Orange, Lemon-Glazed Sweet Potatoes (made it; it’s wonderful), Pimento-Cheese Potato Gratin, Roasted Parsnips with Mint, Smoked Cauliflower, and Roasted Zucchini with Toasted Pecans and Lemon

• Main Dishes: Caesar Salad with Catfish “Croutons,” Crispy-Skin Salmon with Buttermilk-Mint Sauce, Shrimp and Deviled-Egg Salad Rolls, Pork Tenderloins with Madeira and Fig Gravy, and Duck Breasts with Raspberries and Rosé

• Desserts: Cornmeal Drop-Biscuit Peach Cobbler, Cantaloupe with Black Pepper and Mint, Banana Pudding Parfaits, Buttermilk Pudding Cakes with Sugared Raspberries, Mint Julep Panna Cotta

If you can’t make it to the signing, call the Booksmith at 870-4242, and they will reserve a signed copy for you. These books will make great holiday gifts. (If you know me, just act surprised when you open yours.)

 Who? The Lee Bros.

What? THE LEE BROS. SIMPLE FRESH SOUTHERN: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor

Where? Alabama Booksmith (2626 19th Place in Homewood) 

When? November 12^th @ 6 pm

Why? Chicken and dumplins have never been this easy (or this good)

Where the Heart Is

I’m thinking of home lately. One reason is because my book column, which I've been writing for Birmingham-area readers for about 12 years now, in one publication or another, has a new home. Starting with the November issue, it will be in Birmingham Magazine. There's a great team in place there, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I hope you'll look there for book news from me. 

To kick this off, I'll share part of this month's book column: 

A friend of a friend just moved to Birmingham, and after a vanilla latte on a recent Wednesday morning, I’ve decided she’s now my friend, too. This is one really cool woman (who happens to share my passion for literacy), and I’m doing my best to make her feel at home.

She moved here from New Orleans, where she and her family lived pre- and post-Katrina. I asked her about that and then immediately was dismayed to see tears in her eyes. She talked about people who left and never came back. She described pleading with the schools in Memphis, where they initially fled, to please, please just trust her on her kids’ immunization records. She talked about the lines at the grocery store, once they returned, where everyone gratefully bought whatever the store had, be it fresh apples or canned corn. Then (thank goodness!), I laughed to hear how our mutual friend, a journalist who stayed behind, broke into this woman’s home (with permission!) when she ran out of food a week or so after the storm. This mother of three – with the pantry supplies to prove it – told our friend: “Just go in one of the back windows. There’s wine in the dining room and an amazing number of cereal bars in the pantry. You don’t need a grocery store!”

Her story and her efforts to create a home here – along with my own recent reading of Jill McCorkle’s Going Away Shoes – have me contemplating the very idea of home.

Reading McCorkle’s latest collection of short stories was like welcoming a dear friend into my home again. This is her first collection in eight years, and I’ve missed her. Oh, I’ve connected with McCorkle’s stories here and there. Two of the eleven featured in this book were selected for the Best American Short Stories series (“Intervention” in 2004 and “Magic Words” in this year’s volume). Her epistolary story “P.S.” was in the Atlantic Monthly’s August 2009 annual fiction issue. But it’s been far too long since I’ve sat down to her wisdom and wit, her commonsense understanding of human nature, the way her stories are both heartbreaking and humorous.

A different woman tells each story in Going Away Shoes, and reading them is very much like meeting a friend of a friend and then discovering a new friend for yourself. By the end of each story you know these women, you understand what they are going through. All of them are searching for something – very often, it’s some kind of a happy home.

What I enjoy most is that these stories have, at their core, a sense of sadness, but then, invariably, there’s a measure of lightheartedness. 

The women in the book are living lives in transition. McCorkle says, “All of these characters are on some kind of journey as they come to recognize what they should do or should have done.” Don't we all at some time or another?

My move to Birmingham Magazine is exactly what I needed to do. For several years now, many of you have shared a running conversation with me about great books of all kinds and for all ages. With this new home in Birmingham Magazine, we can keep this going. I’m looking forward to it. And who knows? Maybe one day we can figure out how to do this over a cup of coffee.

Remembering and missing a friend

Very recently, a dear friend of mine passed away. Dr. J.D. Nall was our family's veterinarian. In the time I knew him, he took care of two dogs and four cats for us (and, once, he even gave me a flu shot). He also was the first real friend I made in Birmingham. He had taken care of my husband’s dogs when he was a boy, so I took our dog to him for a check-up. When I left his clinic that day, some 15 years ago, I knew without any doubt that we were home.

Dr. Nall touched way too many lives to count. Plus, he was the most enthuasitc Auburn fan I've ever met. A few years ago, I wrote an article about Dr. Nall for a local magazine. I'd like to share it with you.   

For more than half a century, Dr. J.D. Nall has practiced veterinary medicine in Homewood. Tuesdays and Thursdays still see him at Nall-Daniels Animal Hospital treating cats and dogs; gerbils and birds; and the occasional monkey, which he doesn’t recommend.

A graduate of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, he opened Nall Animal Hospital on “the last day of February in 1950.” But he started his career taking care of animals long before that.

“When I was a little, bitty kid in the country, I had an animal hospital,” he says. “People would give me sick or dying things, and I would feed them and nurse them and get them well. And then I would sell them. I started a bank account in a bank down in Greenville, and I’d put the money in there. When I decided to start my practice, I borrowed $5,000 from that same bank. He knew me because of my account when I was a kid.”

The practice today, with Drs. David Daniels and Cathy Rice, sees mostly cats and dogs.

“I see a lot of little pets,” Dr. Nall adds. “Rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, birds. I think I inherited a lot of that practice from my time at the zoo. I got a smattering of knowledge about exotic animals. We’ve operated on parakeets. We use little tiny ‘trach’ tubes on hamsters. We can repair fractures, remove tumors. I’ve (put pins in) the legs of parrots. They do very well.”

Dr. Nall spent some 20 years as the consulting veterinarian for The Birmingham Zoo.

“The zoo was just getting started so we grew together,” he says. “I told them that I knew nothing about zoo medicine but was more than willing to learn. At this time, there were only about ten full-time zoo veterinarians in the country, and I looked to them for guidance.

“During the time I was there, I handled everything from elephants to gorillas,” he says. He helped hand-raise Siberian tigers, and he sutured spider monkeys. “There was a time when we had to test all the primates for tuberculosis. We sedated and tested all of them without the loss of any animal.”

Once he brought a male orangutan to his clinic for x-rays. On its way back out through the clinic’s waiting room, it woke from sedation, sat up on the stretcher and started yelling.

“Handling the elephants was very difficult,” Dr. Nall says. “One time we had to move them, and that was a job. We knew if they got loose and out of the fence they would be walking down the middle of Mountain Brook in no time. We moved them 150 yards, and it took six hours. They just ambled here and there. Along the way, they pushed over every little tree they could get to.”

By far, the most unusual animal experience Dr. Nall had was closer to home.

“I raised the first white lion born in captivity in this world that survived. He was born in Canyon Land Park in Fort Payne.”

The folks there knew Dr. Nall because of his zoo work and because he had removed a nail from the foot of one of the park’s zebras. They told him the cub was insured for some 2 million dollars and asked him to raise it.

“He lived with me as a house pet for a little over a year. I got him when he was about 12 hours old and raised him on a bottle.”

King Solomon, Solly for short, was leash- and house-trained (his litter box was a tub).

“I could take him out and walk him on a leash,” Dr. Nall says. “I would also take him with me to the clinic during the day.”

Some 30 young veterinarians have rotated through this clinic and gone on to set up practices here in Birmingham or other places.

Dr. Nall says the practice of veterinary medicine has changed dramatically over the years. 
“Today, we have so much more in the way of facilities and capabilities— x-ray equipment, ultrasound, echocardiogram. Labs in the clinic can run blood work in 20 minutes so you know what you need to know. It has totally changed since I started.”

Pet ownership has changed, too.

“I think it has improved greatly,” he says. “People are so much more responsible for their pets. I think a lot of that goes back to the Humane Society (he served on that board for 27 years) and the education they do.”

Dr. Nall has cared for generations of animals belonging to generations of owners. He says the most rewarding aspect of his years of practice has been the people he’s met.

I’ve enjoyed my time,” he says. “It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve met a lot of fine people.”

During our conversation for this story, I asked Dr. Nall why some animals tend to look like their owners. He answered:  “I guess it’s just a natural association we have with them. Some dogs remind me of some people. I once knew a man with a mustache and a beard and he had a schnauzer. This man looked like his schnauzer. One day the receptionist said to him, ‘Hello, Mr. Schnauzer.’ ”

That was just one story out of many he told to me in the years I knew him. My life is better for those stories. It's better for having known this fine, fine man.

Books on Fox

Here are the books I talked about last weekend on Fox 6:  You'll see a great bookgroup book; a sandwich cookbook (yes, strictly sandwiches, but they are amazing!) and a couple of scary selections. I love, love, love the witch book for kids (ages 8 and up).

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

My book group recently read this book, and we loved it! Set in Crosby, Maine, it’s a series of connected short stories that all have one person in common:  Olive Kitterridge is a retired schoolteacher and one complex woman. In some of the stories, Olive take a leading role; in others, she’s only mentioned in passing. Rather like real life, one of my book group friends pointed out. At times laugh-out-loud hilarious and at other times terribly sad, this book is perfect for group discussion. Even asking the simpel question: “Did you like or dislike Olive?” will have your group talking for a good half hour.

‘Wichcraft:  Craft a Sandwich into a Meal -- a and a Meal into a Sandwich by Tom Coliccho (head judge on the television show Top Chef)

Who doesn’t love a sandwich ... the ease! The convenience! The ability to eat them in your car! You’ll find scores of inventive sandwich recipes in this new book from the guy behind the national chain of ‘wichcraft sandwich shops. Learn how to create new classics like Roasted Turkey with Avocado, Bacon and Onion Marmalade; Sicilian Tuna with Fennel, Black Olives and Lemon; and Chopped Chickpeas with Roasted Peppers, Black Olives and Lemon Confit. There are breakfast sandwiches here such as Kumquat-Rosemary Marmalade with Goat Cheese as well as the more meal-like Slow Roasted Pork with Red Cabbage, Jalapenos and Mustard. There are even sandwiches sans bread – lettuce holds it all together.

Wee Winnie Witch’s Skinny by Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Hamilton was one of America’s most distinguished storytellers. She received nearly every award in her field including the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the John Newbery Medal and a National Book Award. This hauntingly scary story of bewitchment is an original African American Scare Tale. Ms. Hamilton’s research over the years led to her finding a vast number of witch beliefs in black folklore – including tales of a witch hanging up her skin (as is the case here). A picture book for ages 8 and up, it features fantastic, suitably dark and edgy engravings by National Book Award-winning illustrator Barry Moser.

 Extreme Halloween:  The Ulitmate Guide to Making Halloween Scary Again by Tom Nardone

This fun book is full of exciting (albeit sometimes icky) decorating ideas and party tips. (Author Tom Nardone also wrote the national bestseller Extreme Pumpkins.) The ideas here are very user-friendly. I'm thinking of lining the walkway with flaming pumpkin tiki torches or making a yard serpent out of rebar and pumpkins. One entire section of this fun book is devoted to scary things to do with a coffin. Another tells how to make your own fake blood. Still another offers “demented ways to dress up your baby.” My favorite:  glue dust mops onto the baby’s pajamas and turn his crawling into useful work. From anatomically correct Halloween party invitations to creating a haunted lavatory to a Blob scene made with banana pudding, there’s a lot here to make this a Halloween to remember. I simply cannot wait!

Shop and Give

I always give books of some kind or another to my friends during the holiday season. For the past two years, I thought I gave myself Gourmet magazine since issues started showing up in my mailbox and no one else spoke up about them being there. But then, I couldn't remember actually doing the buying. So I'd go along and cook along and celebrate another fabulous new food around the first of each month. At a dinner party recently the host told me the dish she made came from the current issue of Gourmet. "But you have it," she said. "I've been giving you a subscription for the past two Christmases. I buy one and get one free. Yours is free."  

So it is. 

This kind of intimate gifting—gifting with real thought and feeling— gets even better when there's a deal involved. It's a win-win.  

Today here’s a deal for you that puts quality books into the hands of smart, little children who have none now. My friend Elisabeth Lyman told me about a FUN Fundraiser called Shop, Save & Share.  It’s fun because it combines shopping with giving.  

For $40, shoppers buy a card that comes with a directory of stores that have agreed to give shoppers some great discounts. In fact, more than 500 retail shops and restaurants will participate with a 20 percent discount during 11 days—from Oct 22^nd to Nov 1^st.  Cards may be purchased online at www.shopsaveshare.net.  Some 130 of the participating retailers will be selling the cards during the week of the sale. 

You should know that 100 percent of the proceeds raised will directly sustain the 32 Birmingham Community projects that the Jr. League of Birmingham supports.  

Those projects focus on four impact areas—Health, Education, Financial Stability, and Safety and Crisis Intervention. 

Here’s where the book part of all this comes in:  Say a project is under the “education umbrella.” For instance, let’s look at the All Aboard Read with Me Imagination Library. Do you know the No. 1 reason why some parents don't read to their children at home?  It is because they don't own any children's books. The Junior League of Birmingham, through the Imagination Library, is trying to change that—one child at a time.  Children enrolled in the program receive one hardback book in the mail every month from birth to age 5. The first book that the children receive is The Little Engine that Could. (Think how many of us have fond memories of that one!) The program ends with the delightful Mrs. Bindergarten is Getting Ready for Kindergarten. (Thanks to this program, many of the young readers will be ready, too.)

I hope you’ll join me and get one of those shopping cards. I can’t think of an easier way to help get dozens of quality reading books into the hands of hundreds of children who want to learn.

Poetry and Stars

Poetry under the stars, actually. My friend Irene Latham invited me (and all of you!) to join her and her fellow Big Table Poets Jerri Beck, Robert Boliek, Suzanne Coker and Barry Marks for a poetry reading at the Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

They’re calling it Vox Equinox II and it’s a fun way to celebrate the first day of fall.

The poets will read selections from Einstein at the Odeon Cafe. For other Big Table news, reviews, videos and more, see the Churn Dash Press website www.churndashpress.com. 

Who? The Big Table Poets

What? Reading poetry under the stars

Where? Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University

When? Tuesday, Sept. 22 @ 7 p.m.

Why? Fall is finally here!