Anita Diamant Moderator at Duckworth’s and the Writer’s Book Club Event!

The Eastern Point Lit House Writer’s Book Club, held at Duckworth’s on Sunday evening, was an absolutely fantastic and super fun event. Anitia Diamant, author of The Red Tent and Good Harbor, was the guest writer and she led a discussion about Billy Collins, her favorite poet. Anita has attended several Billy Collins readings and describes herself as his fangirl. Collins is the former Poet Laureate of the United States and one of the most widely read and popular of poets in American history.

The evening began with a beautiful array of delicious dishes, including shrimp with guacamole, Ken’s always fabulous polenta, and a medley of lightly cooked and dressed seasonal vegetables.

Dawn Sarrouf  Reading from Ballistics

Guests took turns reading aloud poems from the collection titled Ballistics. Poignant, humorous, accessible, and with a brilliant compactness of writing, Collins reportedly sites cartoons as one of his greatest influences. Although I did not have time to read ahead of time, after listening to the selcetion of poems read aloud, I definitely look forward to reading Ballistics. This brings me to the point that Ken Duckworth made, which is that at the Writer’s Book Club, no one need feel as though they must read the book prior to the event and that it can be just as interesting to hear about the book selection for the first time from the perspective of other guests, which (as it has for me on several occasions) may in turn lead to reading the book.

Colleen

Michelle and Atticus

Chef Ken Duckworth and Chris Anderson

Anita Diamant and Her Husband Jim Reading a Favorite Poem

Master Horticulturist Dan’s Dinner Plate-sized Dahlia!

September’s Writer’s Book Club selection is The Secret Life of Bees, and will be led by moderator S Stephanie. Purchase your tickets sooner rather than later as these fun and lively Writer’s Book Club events sell out quickly!