SATURDAY: Although our diaries and letters are now online and go by different names, we're no less committed as a society to expressing our daily lives through words than we were 200 years ago. And social networking makes it all too clear that the only thing we love more than keeping diaries and writing letters is reading those that belong to other people.
Snooping? Maybe. We like to think of it as "searching for a window into someone else's soul," but you can be mean about it if you want to.
In "Yours Ever: People and Their Letters," Thomas Mallon has compiled a fascinating and detailed look into the private correspondence of notable historical figures, such as Sacco and Vanzetti, Madame de Sevigne and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He'll be speaking this weekend at Politics and Prose.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Sat., Nov. 21, 1 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Pantheon
SATURDAY: Although D.C. rappers have struggled over the past few decades to leave a mark on American hip-hop (well played, Wale) our hardcore scene has been consistently fertile. Blame it on our socially conservative city, our relatively stable economy or ... who knows what?
One thing's for sure, our leafy suburbs have produced some serious musical rage.
This weekend, Mark Jenkins and Mark Andersen, the authors of "Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital" will discuss the updated edition of their book. The re-release features deeper research into the scene's origins and highlights local heroes Dischord Records, Positive Force, Henry Rollins, Minor Threat and Fugazi.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Sat., Nov. 14, 3 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Soft Skull Press
THURSDAY: America may revere its leaders and traditions, but we like to maintain a healthy disrespect. As long as we've had venerable institutions, cheeky artists have been around to make fun of them. Thus: the political cartoonist.
One of the finest was The Washington Post's cartoonist Herbert Block, better known as Herblock. The ardent liberal and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winner delighted in using his poison pen to skewer D.C.'s elite. None other than Katharine Graham wrote of him, "Since he arrived at The Post, five editors and five publishers have learned a cardinal rule: Don't mess with Herb."
Former colleague and friend Haynes Johnson will discuss Herblock's more than 70-year body of work and the biography he co-authored, "Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist" at Politics and Prose. The book includes a DVD containing more than 18,000 cartoons.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Thu., Nov. 12, 7 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy W.W. Norton & Co.
IN THE INTRODUCTION to his new book, "¡Obámanos! The Birth of a New Political Era," Hendrik Hertzberg explains that he has followed 15 elections during his lifetime, beginning in 1952 when Adlai Stevenson ran against Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was only a fourth grader at the time, but his mother was an avid Stevenson campaigner and recruited her son to help pass out buttons and stuff envelopes. Hertzberg grew up to be a similarly staunch Democrat, who served as a speechwriter for Jimmy Carter and now covers politics for The New Yorker.
In many ways, the 2008 election was very different from anything he had previously witnessed. It was certainly one of the longest and most expensive races in American history, and perhaps one of the most crucial. For Hertzberg, it was one of the few where he had a heavy investment in the outcome: After reading "Dreams From My Father" and watching its author speak at the 2004 Democratic Convention, Hertzberg says he "jumped on Obama express." He saw in the junior U.S. senator from Illinois not just a corrective to eight years of conservatives in power, but a candidate of remarkable principle and temperament.
In his columns and blog posts for The New Yorker, where he is a staff writer and editor, Hertzberg covered that arduous election, offering incisively analytical and exactingly penned commentary on what he saw as the failures of the Bush administration, the shortcomings of the Clinton and McCain campaigns, and the steady ship of Obama's candidacy.
Nearly a year after election night, Hertzberg is recounting those crucial two years in American history in "¡Obámanos!" which gathers his columns into a report from the front lines, a firsthand account of a strange and unprecedented presidential race.
Express spoke to Hertzberg about organizing the book, his own impressions of the candidates, and what the election of Barack Obama means for America.
WEDNESDAY: Dear Mary Karr: When you title your memoir "Lit," we're going to expect it to be about literature, rather than alcoholism. Luckily, your book is so good that you're off the hook for your poor communication skills. It's a story of addiction and redemption, told with uncommon humor. Karr will be speaking and reading at Politics and Prose tonight.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Wed., Nov. 4, 7 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Photo by Marion Ettlinger
THURSDAY: Nick Hornby became justifiably famous upon the publication of "High Fidelity," a gentle expose of the psyche of a certain species of adult who never really grew up.
The book was made into an equally popular and almost as excellent film, and Hornby continued to explore the concept of emotional arrested development in his subsequent books, the latest being "Juliet, Naked." Explore with him at Politics & Prose tonight.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Thu., Oct. 1, 7 p.m., free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Photo by Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post
TUESDAY: Frank Bruni follows the standard "What Do You Do After the New York Times" pattern by writing a memoir. He'll be reading from "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater" at Politics and Prose.
You may wonder why a man with a food addiction would choose to be a restaurant critic, to which we say "When life gives you lemons..." Maureen Dowd will appear with him, for no apparent reason.
» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Tues., Sept. 29, 7 p.m, free; 202-364-1919, Politics-prose.com. (Van Ness)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Penguin Press
FOR NEARLY 25 YEARS, author Lorrie Moore has been regaling readers with mischievous stories that find comedy in tragedy and vice versa. Her fourth novel, "The Gate at the Stairs," follows a young narrator named Tassie as she takes a job as an au pair for an eccentric and evasive couple. We put Moore on the spot (via e-mail) to discuss this long-gestating work, which is one of her best.
» EXPRESS: You've been working on this novel for nearly 10 years now. What took so long?
» MOORE: I was captured by space aliens and then a sort of Stockholm syndrome ensued. I have a list of prosaic reasons and excuses, such as being a working, single, book-reviewing mom, but I grow vaguely but perceptibly hysterical when I recite them, so I've decided to go with the space alien tale.
SUNDAY: Any bookstore that survives in today's economy should get at least some sort of medal. So Politics & Prose's 25th anniversary? That's definitely worth a party.
Head up there on Sunday to enjoy free food, live music and the smugness that comes with supporting independent bookstores.
» Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Sun., Sept. 20, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)
Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
AUTUMN IS THE SEASON for literary blockbusters, when publishers haul out the biggest authors — and sometimes their weightiest tomes — for readers who left their thrillers and romances on the beach. This year is no different, and, locally, autumn means big events that are musts for bookhounds.
Addison Road