Literary Calendar: Three Book Events in Denver for October 12-18

If books inspire us to flex our intellectual muscles, looking back on who we are and how we got that way, this is the week to dive into self-exploration. The calendar includes appearances by authors of every stripe, from cartoonists and poets to contemporary novelists. Here are just three of the literary events you should book this week.

Zen Pencils, Gavin Aung Than from anotherbeautifulstory on Vimeo.

Gavin Aung Than, Zen Pencils Volume Two: Dream the Impossible Dream
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
7 p.m. Wednesday, October 14
Inspiring people lead inspiring lives, even in comic books, and that’s the premise of the Zen Pencils series from Australian author/cartoonist Gavin Aung Than, who turns quotes into real-life short stories. Subjects range all over the place — from the Dalai Lama to Kevin Smith, from Amelia Earhart to Amy Poehler — giving readers of all ages something to daydream about without getting lost in a sea of words.
An Evening with Richard Ford
University of Denver, Sturm Hall
7 p.m. Friday, October 16
$30, includes a copy of the paperback edition of Let Me Be Frank with You
Author Richard Ford has been writing about Frank Bascombe since 1986, when he introduced the fictional protagonist in The Sportswriter. Like Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom, Frank has aged through a series of novels ever since, including Independence Day, which nabbed both a Pulitzer and PEN/Faulkner Award twenty years ago. In the latest installment, Let Me Be Frank with You, Bascombe grows old; Ford will discuss the character’s rite of passage on October 16 as a guest of the University of Denver Enrichment Program and the Tattered Cover.

Dominique Christina, This Is Woman’s Work: Calling Forth Your Inner Council of Wise, Brave, Crazy, Rebellious, Loving, Luminous Selves
BookBar
6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, October 18
Denver performance poet, activist and educator Dominique Christina, a National Poetry Slam Champion and two-time winner at the Women of the World Poetry Slam, turns to inspirational writing in This Is Woman’s Work, a new book that encourages women to find new avenues of creativity by exploring a series of inner personas. “In order to re-create yourself, you first have to know yourself,” writes Dominique. “Not the ‘you’ that was handed to you by your parents, community, schools, lovers, and spouses. I am talking about the complete you that can only be accessed by an inward journey.” Meet the author when she launches the book on Sunday.

What's on the next page in Denver's literary world? Visit Westword's Literary Event listings for this week.