Category Archives: Malvern Events

Introducing Ash Smith & Monofonus Press

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Malvern Books said a fond farewell to February with two lively literary events. First up, we enjoyed another installment of W. Joe’s Poetry Corner. This month’s esteemed guest was Ash Smith, who began her poetry career in the eighth grade, selling romantic poems to friends who needed a little help in the love-note department! Check out the footage below to hear more about Pigeon of Tears, her writing process, and her lasting admiration for that “word pig” Walt Whitman…

And the following night we hosted a reading with the brilliant folks from Monofonus Press, an Austin-based record label and multimedia imprint. They were celebrating the release of Bad Jobs III, a new memoir from William Z. Saunders (part of a series in which he chronicles his misadventures in the workplace). William was joined on our stage by Karen Davidson, Morgan Coy, and Grant Cross. Morgan (who founded Monofonus) and Karen created the Shadow Healer graphic novel together, and Morgan directed the short movie that you’ll see in the first video below. Grant, meanwhile, shared mostly haiku (“I was going to read no haiku poetry tonight, I was going to take a big plunge, but I got to the edge of the pool and then I decided to put my clothes back on, and so I’m going to read mostly haiku…”)—plus a short poem called “Limp Old Testament.” It was a fun, eclectic reading, and I strongly encourage y’all to watch the clips below and then come by the store and check out our Monofonus Press offerings in person.

Exquisite Events at Malvern Books

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We’ve been a busy little bookstore of late, and it’s about time we caught you up on three of our most recent happenings. Let’s start with Fun Party, the beloved local reading series that connects literature, art, and film. We were delighted when they suggested we stage a Fun Party event at Malvern Books, and on a recent Saturday night we happily teamed up with Fun facilitator Cindy St. John to host poets Noah Eli Gordon, Lisa L. Moore, and Ryan Bender-Murphy—check them out below.

Last Tuesday we were thrilled to host a reading with Christine Fischer Guy, who introduced her recently released debut novel, The Umbrella Mender, a fascinating story inspired by the memoirs of Christine’s great uncle.

And last Wednesday we had two El Pasoan writers in the house! Valentin Sandoval debuted his new novel, SOUTH SUN RISES, and Daniel Apodaca shared some of his poetry. As always, we had our video camera at the ready, and we hope you’ll enjoy checking out the footage from a fabulous night of poetry and prose. Be sure to keep an eye on our events calendar so as not to miss out on future excellent events, like, for example, the highly anticipated book launch coming up this Saturday.

Mind Maze & Novel Night at Malvern Books

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We have a couple of fantastic literary happenings to share with y’all! Last Wednesday the splendid Raw Paw crew returned to our stage for their fifth Mind Maze chapbook release. This month it was a brand-new title from Montsho Jarreau Thoth, who gave a moving, meditative reading. Montsho was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia around Christmas, and many of the poems in his chapbook were finished while he was in hospital undergoing treatment. (If you’d like to help support his speedy recovery, Raw Paw also has a benefit coming up.) Montsho was joined by spoken word poet Joe Brundidge (aka Element615) and Ash Smith (who will also be W. Joe’s guest for his next poetry corner), and the evening was ably hosted, as always, by Wade Martin and A.R Rogers.

And last Thursday we turned our attention to all things prose, with the second installment in our Novel Night series, featuring debut novelists Howard A. Schwartz and Ernie Wood. We also heard from Malvernite Schandra, who introduced us to The Passion According to G.H. by Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (stay tuned till the end of Schandra’s talk to see how Ms. Lispector forms a puzzle). And our open mic-er, a middle-school teacher, read an excerpt that gave us an insightful account of eighth-grade life. Check out the footage below, and be sure to join us for next month’s Novel Night on March 12th.

January’s Fond Farewell

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We were a supremely lucky bookstore on Saturday night, as we got to play host to a talented quartet: Christopher Petkus, Danielle Sellers, Ricardo Acevedo, and Greg Brownderville (below, left to right). The perfect finale to a brilliant month of events!

Christopher, Danielle, Ricardo, Greg

Christopher opened the show with some ethereal experimental guitar…

Danielle read some new work, as well as a selection of poems from Bone Key Elegies, her moving collection of mostly autobiographical poems about growing up in Key West.

Greg read “The Homemade Fireworks,” a captivating poem/prose work addressed to a writer friend who was thinking about putting down his pen. (Also: I heartily approve of the student from Memphis who spelled Brownderville with a little wondervillage.) And last but certainly not least, Christopher returned with his guitar to accompany the multi-talented Ricardo, who read a selection of poems—my favorite was the one in which he reminisces about visiting his grandfather, who described distant lightning storms as “heaven taking pictures.”

Sunday Delights at Malvern Books

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Last Sunday we were thrilled to host an afternoon of poetry featuring the ridiculously talented D.R. Goodman, Cyrus Cassells, and Lisa Huffaker (below, left to right).

Goodman Cassells Huffaker

Lisa’s reading began with a distinctly feline theme: she read (in both English and French) Diane Furtney’s beautifully lush translation of Paul Verlaine’s “A Woman and Her Cat,” and then shared a cat-related poem of her own. As kitty enthusiasts, we can’t help but think that all readings should start this way…

Cyrus read some new poems set in Italy, his former home. Have a listen to the evocative “The Pines of the Villa Pamphili”—I guarantee it will make you long to take a stroll beneath the “colossal parasols” of Cyrus’ favorite Roman park.

D.R. read from her new collection, Greed: A Confession (Able Muse Press). I especially loved “The Face of Things,” which she introduced as addressing “the phenomenology of perception” or, for those of us who are not philosophy students, as “a sonnet about seeing a hummingbird in a tree.”

If you like what you hear, you’re in luck—we have another weekend treat coming up for you! On Saturday at 7pm we’re hosting a reading with Danielle Sellers, Ricardo Acevedo, and Greg Brownderville, so be sure to come by the bookstore to see this wonderful trio in person!

Midwinter Mic Warmers

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What a sensational Saturday night at Malvern Books! We were thrilled to once again team up with VSA Texas and the Pen2Paper Creative Writing Contest to host the year’s first edition of Lion & Pirate open mic magnificence. Check out the footage below and offer up a hearty round of applause for these pirate-approved performances.

Musician Eric Clow from Dude Choir braved the stage sans keyboard and proved he’s truly multitalented by reading a haunting story called Sleep Treatment.

Nicole Cortichiato read an enthralling short story that featured a complex complex, shoe divorce, and a rather intriguing opening line: “The refrigerator is digesting my food. I hope it gets heartburn…”

We loved her December debut and were delighted when Carrington MacDuffie returned to the Malvern stage with her ukulele to treat us all to some beautiful music.

And Lion regular K.K. Marshall introduced us to a brand-new bear from her book, K.K And Her 13 Bears That Lived In A Two Story House! Thanks to everyone for getting our 2015 open mic series off to such a fantastic start, and we hope to see y’all next month.