An Evening with Vicente Lozano

W. Joe’s Poetry Corner offers something rather special: the chance to get up-close-and-personal with an extraordinary poet. Each month W. Joe Hoppe ever so politely grills his esteemed guest with thoughtful questions on the poetic process, and after the reading inquisitive audience members get to ask a few posers of their own.

W Joe and Vicente W. Joe’s guest this month was Vicente Lozano (above left, with W. Joe), a brilliant poet and the recipient of numerous accolades and fellowships—and now the proud owner of a delightful Malvern Books T-shirt! (The back of the shirt says “A Different Kind of Adult Bookstore,” an allusion to our venue’s rather sordid past.)

T-shirt front

T-shirt back

Be sure to check out our footage from the evening (below). And if it whets your appetite for all things poetic, join us for the next installment of W. Joe’s Poetry Corner, when we’ll be celebrating National Poetry Month with an exhilarating evening of poetry karaoke (here’s how it’s played).

Meet The Malverns #6

Today we’re thrilled to introduce another member of the Malvern team: Adam, who you might remember as our metal maven. When he’s not musing on the Melvins or tipping his hat to Helmet, Adam is browsing the Malvern shelves for the very best in books—and here’s what he has to say about one of his faves…

Adam“Screen Door Jesus” by Christopher Cook (from the short story collection of the same name) is a story that takes place in a quiet, highly religious southern town. The story follows several different characters, all of whom have been affected differently by a town sensation. It is a very well written third-person narrative that vividly portrays the debate on religion and how both sides are affected by it. The characters in the book are portrayed in a way that allows the reader to feel a sense of understanding of what they are going through in their stories. This is definitely a book worth having for a reader who is looking for an original, exciting story with memorable writing and inspiring characters to go along with it.

Saturday Night Special

If you missed Saturday night’s reading at Malvern Books, you missed something rather wonderful (and you should probably keep a closer eye on our schedule—just saying!—so as not to miss out on other awesome stuff, like, for example, tonight’s poetry corner).

Whited and Oliphant

Whited, Slovak, and Oliphant 01

The evening got off to a stunning start with a beautiful performance from jazz guitarist Margaret Slovak (pictured above with our two readers). And we continued in fine style with poetry from acclaimed writers Gary Whited (left) and Dave Oliphant (right). Gary is a man of many p’s: he’s a poet, psychotherapist, and philosopher (with a particular passion for Parmenides). He grew up on a ranch in eastern Montana, and his poetry is imbued with a strong sense of place. And Dave is an old and dear friend of Malvern Books—whilst wearing our publisher’s hat, we released several works from the Oliphant oeuvre, including a number of fantastic poetry collections and translations. Gary and Dave were a superb poetic pairing, as evidenced below in these samples from our Whited & Oliphant playlist.

More Of Everything

The weekend is almost upon us, Malverinos, and while we bustle about getting the store’s stage all spick-and-span for tomorrow night‘s sure-to-be-awesome Gary Whited and Dave Oliphant reading, we suggest you amuse your fine selves with some photos and footage from Wednesday’s Everything is Bigger extravaganza.

Tyler

As always, Tyler Gobble (above) hosted with aplomb (and yes, he made his I AM A GOB shirt) and gave away some curious prizes to lucky raffle winners. A hearty and wholesome thanks to our three readers, Nick Courtright, Thomas Courtney Vance, and Trey Moody (below), who all did a smashing job and kept the (rather boisterous) crowd thoroughly entertained.

Everything is Bigger

Our next Everything is Bigger bash will be on April 16th (our Facebook page is a good place to check for updates on all our events), and we’re looking forward to it already. Meanwhile, take it away, YouTube…

A Week of Malvern

Here’s a brief and bonny reminder for y’all: events, they are a-happening! Tomorrow night we have another installment of our lively and irreverent Everything is Bigger reading series, in which the delightful Tyler Gobble presents a trifecta of extraordinarily talented writers and gives away whimsical raffle prizes. This month we’re thrilled to have Trey Moody, Nick Courtright, and Thomas Courtney Vance gracing the Malvern stage. (And if you’re curious to learn more about this Bigger business, do check out our footage from past events.)

Everything is Bigger

But wait, there’s more! On Thursday night we’re hosting a gathering of the Finnegans Wake Reading Group of Austin. This event is open to absolutely everyone and no prior knowledge of the book is required, so please do join us as we ponder Joyce’s weird and wonderful masterpiece.

Gary and Dave

And don’t think we’re neglecting you at the weekend. We would never do that! On Saturday night we’re hosting something rather special: an evening of jazz and poetry, featuring live music from Margaret Slovak and Tony Morris and a reading from acclaimed poets Gary Whited and Dave Oliphant (pictured above).

So, we’ve sorted out your evening plans for half of the rest of the week… and if you’re feeling lonely on Friday or Sunday, why not stop by the bookstore and pick up a poetry collection by Dean Young? We have quite the selection (displayed below, with trusty fire extinguisher nearby—because some poems are so good they start fires!) and Mr. Young is awfully good company.

Dean Young books

An Extraordinary Start To Your Week

Our bookstore might be closed on Mondays, but that’s no reason to forgo your daily dose of Malverny goodness! In fact, we recommend starting each and every week with at least thirty minutes of literary loveliness, brought to you by everyone’s favorite pirate-approved bookshop. So top up your cup of coffee and plump up those sofa cushions in preparation for something rather extraordinary—Noelle Kocot reading her “Poem for the End of Time.”

Pretty astounding, huh? Last Thursday we teamed up with the New Writers Project to host an evening with the exceptionally accomplished Noelle. It was a moving and mirthful event, and I recommend you check out the additional footage below. And may I also remind you, in a gentle but quite firm voice, to visit our Events Calendar from time to time, as we’re constantly adding readings, discussions, and other engrossing shenanigans. Next up? On March 19th we’re hosting a positively Spring-like edition of Everything is Bigger, with readers Trey Moody, Nick Courtright, and Thomas Courtney Vance. You won’t want to miss it!