The saying goes, "All art aspires to the condition of music." Even so, many musicians aspire to sharpen their literary skills. In the same way, music fanatics don't always want to go to concerts; they want to do other things too. And they can at these five upcoming Denver events, where artists, actors, musicians, writers and scholars are bringing music to the page.
Courtesy of the author
Friday, October 20
Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Novelist Rebecca Makkai is the author of the 2015 short-story collection Music for Wartime. These lyric, powerful stories, which place song at the center of human experience, move around in time and space; they're set in war-torn Europe, lost villages and a post-9/11 Manhattan in which Bach appears in a living room. The Kansas City Star calls Makkai a "rock star of the genre." The Chicago-based writer has taught and read several times at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and on Friday, October 20, she'll offer a workshop on point of view for $65 to $75.
Death Horse 2 Facebook page
Friday, October 20
Bar Max
The new roving Death Horse reading series promises to be more rocking and raucous than your typical poetry night. The second edition, hosted by poet/artist Sommer Browning, will showcase Denver-based poet Alicia Mountain and North Carolina writers Chris Tonelli and Lauren Hunter, whose voice can be found inside the Poetry Jukebox in New York's East Village and on the experimental track "AM Radio," by Marselle.
It Devours! Book Signing by Creators of Welcome to Night Vale
Monday, October 30
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
Sci-fi podcast Welcome to Night Vale developed a cult listenership for its off-kilter storytelling and dark humor, but also for its sound design and incorporation of music. Most of the music and showcased songs on Night Vale were composed by Disparition and are available for free download. Now the podcast hosts and authors Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor are releasing a new novel set in the Night Vale universe, titled It Devours! Go to the signing, and you'll receive a copy of the book.
Douglas County Libraries
Jason Segel
Saturday, November 4
Denver Marriott South at Park Meadows, Lone Tree
Actor Jason Segel, known for his roles on How I Met Your Mother and Freaks and Geeks, gained a reputation as a musician for penning the "Dracula Song" and Russell Brand rock songs in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He continued to work in a musical vein on The Muppets and has popped up as a guest artist at concerts by the Swell Season and Maroon 5. Now Segel has co-authored a YA sci-fi-thriller novel called Otherworld, which he will read from, discuss and sign.
Dar Williams
Sunday, November 5
eTown Hall, Boulder
Monday, November 6
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
Pop-folk singer Dar Williams has written a new book with the lengthy title What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities—One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time. This isn't the first time Williams has translated her lyrical gifts to the page; she's penned two books geared toward young readers, and her songs have long been praised for their detail and storytelling qualities.
Looking for more to do? Visit Westword's calendar.
