Literary events for week of April 20

Sunday, April 20

Third Sunday Poetry Open Mic, 12:30 p.m., Coffee Catz at Gravenstein Station, 6761 Sebastopol Ave. (Hwy. 12), Sebastopol. Donation: $1 to $10. Info, lusciouspoetry.typepad.com/sherlianne

Tuesday, April 22

Hannah Kent, "Burial Rites," 6 p.m., Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only T?i, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. Hopmonk Tavern, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol, copperfieldsbooks.com.

Murray Silverstein, "Master of Leaves," and Beverly Burch, "How a Mirage Works," 7 p.m., Beverly Burch's elegant new collection of poetry is an astonishingly stark and honest exploration of rupture and renewal, fearlessly and joyously observed. And the range of subjects in Murray Silverstein's "Master of Leaves" astonishes and delights. City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco. (415) 362-8193.

Barbara Ehrenreich, "Living With a Wild God," 7 p.m., Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Educated as a scientist, she is an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In LIVING WITH A WILD GOD, she recounts her quest-beginning in childhood-to find "the Truth" about the universe and everything else: What's really going on? Why are we here? In middle age, she rediscovered the journal she had kept during her tumultuous adolescence, which records an event so strange, so cataclysmic, that she had never, in all the intervening years, written or spoken about it to anyone. It was the kind of event that people call a "mystical experience"-and, to a steadfast atheist and rationalist, nothing less than shattering. Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.

Rebecca Lawton, "Sacrament: Homage to a River," 7:30 p.m., Geoff Fricker's atmospheric photographs reveal the geology, salmon runs, fluvial morphology, and human impact of the Sacramento River. In dreamlike black and white, the river takes on mythic proportions, in both its wild eco-systems and its human-made influences. Interwoven with Fricker's images are Rebecca Lawton's eloquent descriptions of the beauty of the river and the issues that currently surround it. Each page an expression of the authors' fascination with and care for ''the Sac.'' Readers' Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. 939-1779

Wednesday, April 23

Get Lit, a monthly reading series hosted by Dani Burlison and Kara Vernor, 7 p.m., Bianca Licata, Susana Solomon, and Sarah Griff. Petaluma's Corkscrew Wine Bar, 100 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. More details, facebook.com/GetLitReadings.

Lori Eanes, "Backyard Roots," 7 p.m., Copperfield's Books, 138 North Main St., Sebastopol, 823-2618, copperfieldsbooks.com.

Thursday, April 24

Dining with Writers: Frances Mayes, "Under Magnolia," 6 p.m., The author of three beloved books about her life in Italy, including "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Every Day in Tuscany," Frances Mayes revisits the turning points that defined her early years in Fitzgerald, Georgia. With her signature style and grace, Mayes explores the power of landscape, the idea of home, and the lasting force of a chaotic and loving family. The Spinster Sisters Restaurant, 401 South A St., Santa Rosa. $95 person includes the book, meal, wine, tax, tip & dessert, Call Book Passage at 415-927-0960 to reserve.

Ruth Weiss, Writers Read, 7 p.m., Art Center Ukiah, 201 South State, Ukiah. More info, coloredhorse.wordpress.com/category/calendar/mendocino-poetry

Poet Raphael Block, "Spangling Darkness," 7:30 p.m., Poetry. Music. "Raphael's voice is a tool for sanity and survival in a world where hazards keep appearing on our path... The poems in both Songs from a Small Universe and SPANGLING DARKNESS illuminate his love for life and engagement with the natural world and with the community. SPANGLING DARKNESS ignites the imagination for a new vision that allows the earth to mend. This is the gift of Raphael Block as a poet whose spirit resonates in our common humanity and binds us together."—J. Glenn Evans, from the Foreword. Readers' Books, 130 Napa Ave., Sonoma. Readers' Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. 939-1779

Saturday, April 26

The 2014 Redwood Writers Conference, "From Pen to Published," 8 a.m., Bertolini Student Center, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa. For more information, www.redwoodwriters.org.

To submit book events for consideration in this column, contact Sara Peyton at sara.peyton@gmail.com at least three weeks in advance of the event.