Literary Calendar: Three Book Events in Metro Denver October 26-November 1

Heroes both local and international, operating in a variety of arenas, are in the spotlight at book events in the Denver area this week, from Naropa stalwart Barbara Dilley and superstar Michael Jackson to a Canadian environmental crusader who took on Encana by suing over the contamination of her well by fracking. Whatever inspires you, it’s going to be an interesting week. 

Barbara Dilley, This Very Moment: Teaching Thinking Dancing
Boulder Book Store
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 27
$5 voucher
Movement guru Barbara Dilley reflects on her forty-year Buddhist-driven dance practice at Boulder’s Naropa University in her memoir, This Very Moment, which also serves as a primer for others following in her ground-breaking footsteps. She’ll go back to the very beginning for her talk and book-signing, titled "This Room," in the Boulder Book Store’s third-floor ballroom, which once served as the Karma Dzong Buddhist shrine room and, later, as Naropa’s early assembly hall, studio and performing arts center. A $5 voucher, which can be applied toward the purchase of the $40 book, is required for entry to the event.
Steve Knopper, MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
7 p.m. Wednesday, October 28
Free
Denver author and Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper has the last word on Michael Jackson’s musical legacy in his incisive new bio, MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson, which tells the pop star’s whole story, good and bad, while focusing first on the music that Jackson left behind. Knopper drew from interviews with more than 400 sources for his well-researched portrait, a fan must-read.
Andrew Nikiforuk, Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry
Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, 1536 Wynkoop Street
7 p.m. Wednesday, October 28
Free
Whistleblowing Canadian environmental journalist and Rachel Carson Award-winner Andrew Nikiforuk tells the story of biologist and oil patch consultant Jessica Ernst, who uncovered the secret fracking agenda of oil-and-gas giant Encana in Alberta after her well water — and the regional aquifer — became contaminated by gas wells. Nikiforuk will bring his expertise on fracking to Colorado this week, appearing in Denver on October 28 and in Fort Collins on October 29 (7 p.m. at the Old Town Library).

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