EMBRACE THE PAST
Kick off the festival by joining the opening birthday party. "Too Legit to Quit: Celebrating 20 Years of Get Lit!" will bring together a slew of authors delivering '90s-themed pieces, a nice combination of local and visiting voices including Jess Walter, Hanif Abdurraqib, Chelsea Martin, Leah Sottile, Nance Van Winckel and Juan Carlos Reyes. Era-appropriate attire is encouraged, so break out the grungey flannels and baby-doll dresses, I suppose, and pick up the new Get Lit! Anniversary anthology while you sip a '90s-themed cocktail (I'm guessing a cosmo) — as long as you're 21. The event is open to all ages, of course. (DAN NAILEN)
Too Legit to Quit • Mon, April 23 at 7 pm • Free • All ages • Downtown Spokane Library • 906 W. Main
TASTY WORDS
It's not often Get Lit! includes among its visitors a chef and cookbook author like Bryant Terry. If the James Beard Award-winning Bryant just wanted to talk about his books, like Vegan Soul Kitchen and Grub, that would be great. But Terry is far more than a chef; he's a food activist who's focused much of his writing and media appearances on sustainability and food justice. He's currently the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco where he focuses on the intersection of food, farming, health, activism, art and culture. (DAN NAILEN) An Evening with Bryant Terry
Tue, April 24 at 7 pm • Free • Spokane Community College Lair Auditorium • 810 N. Greene St.
BUST A RHYME
Calling all local word wizards, it's time to shine at Broken Mic, the dinosaur of Spokane's Poetry Slam scene. The magic of this series is the inclusivity and camaraderie it breeds among artists and audiences. This year's Get Lit! Broken Mic features poet, essayist and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib. With artful delivery and poignant words, Abdurraqib writes about themes ranging from pop culture and music to contemporary issues. His work has been published in myriad outlets, and his request for after the show? Let him know where he can get the best milkshake in town. (ALLA DROKINA)
Broken Mic • Wed, April 25, sign up is at 6 p.m., event at 6:30 p.m. • Free • Neato Burrito • 827 W. First
SEVENTH HEAVEN
Enjoy a slice of sweetness with a glass of goodness as words inspired by both wash over you. Pie & Whiskey, spearheaded by Sam Ligon and Kate Lebo, features 13 authors reading works inspired by its titular topics. Now in its seventh year, readers in 2018 include Jess Walter, Chelsea Martin, Travis Naught, Tiffany Midge, Dan Chaon and more. A limited number of chapbooks with works by this year's readers will be for sale, along with copies of the Pie & Whiskey anthology. Admission includes a slice of pie made by Lebo and Batch Bakeshopw staff, and a glass of Dry Fly whiskey. (CHEY SCOTT)
Pie & Whiskey • Thu, April 26 from 9-11:30 pm • $5 • 21+ • Washington Cracker Co. Building • 304 W. Pacific Ave.
ONE STOP, TWO MEMORABLE SHOWCASES
There's something exciting about being read to in the unique cadence and sound of another's voice. Novelist Brit Bennett and poet Maggie Smith will read for Poetry & Prose and discuss their respective work before lingering after for a book signing. For some ephemeral time travel, stay for the Poetry Salon, or just show up for that free part of the night for the gathering inspired by the 18th-century intellectual rendezvous in Paris. Bring your beret and pipe to experience readings performed by six different writers, with former Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall guiding the talk. (ALLA DROKINA)
Poetry & Prose • Friday, April 27, 7 p.m. • $12 • Poetry Salon • Friday, April 27, 9 p.m. • Free • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W Sprague
NATURAL PERSPECTIVES
A powerful collective of women who've built their literary careers on the foundations of their indigenous heritage, and their deep-rooted ties to the Pacific Northwest, will read and discuss their latest works. Dawn Pichon Barron reads from her chapbook Escape Girl Blues, while comedian Jamie Boyd, a Choctaw Nation member, shares stories unique to her experiences as a Native woman. Also reading is CMarie Fuhrman from the University of Idaho, where she co-edits the school's poetry journal, Fugue. Rounding out the program is Ruby Hansen Murray, a Montana Prize in Nonfiction winner for 2017, and Moscow Poet Laureate Tiffany Midge, an enrolled citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Attendees can expect a thoughtful session that's also timely, considering recent attention to indigenous literary voices, both positive and negative. (CHEY SCOTT)
Indigenous Writers Mapping the Inland Northwest • Sat, April 28 from 3-4:15 pm • Free • Ella's Theater at the Montvale Event Center • 1017 W. First
OUTSIDE THE BOX
One of the last events of this year's Get Lit! will break from the confines of bookstores and university classrooms, channeling the pleasures of reading a good book outside on a perfect spring day. You can join writers Nathaniel Tarn and Josh MacIvor-Andersen in Manito Park on the final afternoon of the festival, and they'll read from their works exploring the mysteries and grandeur of nature and the importance of ecology. Seating will be limited to just 50 people, but you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)
A Reading in the Park with Nathaniel Tarn and Josh MacIvor-Andersen • Sun, April 29 at noon • Free • North Pavilion in Manito Park • 1702 S Grand ♦
