Thursday, July 12, 5-7pm
Hotel Posada de la Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15
$100 pesos ($50 pesos for Literary Sala members)

Novelist and Dramatic Reading at the Literary Sala

By Carole Schor

The July Literary Sala is proud to present highly praised novelist, Sharon Solwitz, along with an encore presentation by actor Mick Diener performing a literary work, on Thursday, July 12 at 5 PM at the Aldea Hotel.

Sharon Solwitz: Once, In Lourdes
A starred review in Booklist, says this of Sharon Solwitz’s novel, Once, In Lourdes, published one year ago by Spiegel & Grau: “Solwitz’s surging, many-threaded, complexly insightful tale dramatizes not only personal crises, but also the violence of the infamous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Timely and timeless.” Publisher’s Weekly calls it “An honest . . . novel about choices, fate, and the consequences of youthful idealism.” Other reviewers have called it “a moving read” and “an astonishing novel.”

Suicide has been in the news lately, with the untimely deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade. Sharon Solwitz’s novel, about four modern-day teenagers who enter into a suicide pact, could not be more timely. "I was never particularly suicidal," she says. "I have to think like a modern teenager, not a teenager from the 50s and 60s. It's a whole different thing to write about something you don't know.”

Mick Diener
Mick Diener will entertain and inspire us with a dramatic reading of a literary work. At press time, he told us he will read either a short story by Paul Bowles (author of The Sheltering Sky; member of Gertrude Stein’s inner circle in Paris; friend of Aaron Copeland; lived most of his life in Morocco) or a story by the famed monologue actor, Spalding Gray (best know for Swimming to Cambodia but author and actor of many such monologues), or possibly some of each.

Mick is a well-known member of the San Miguel acting community, appearing often on the San Miguel stage in Playreaders and the Players Workshop. He is an ad man who came to advertising naturally as the son of a Don Draper-type advertising executive. He has been, and still is, in the business of creating infomercials starring the likes of Victoria Principal and Cindy Crawford.

Mick says that for his readings, he selects works of literature that allow him to channel the spirit and the music of the author. “My goal is to allow the author's ‘music’ to play through me.”

Join us for an evening with one of San Miguel’s finest actors and meet a rising star novelist at the Literary Sala on July 12 at 5 PM at the Hotel La Aldea. Admission is 50 pesos for members and 100 pesos for non-members, including a wine and snack reception.

Membership
Membership in the Literary Sala supports not only the literary life of San Miguel including scholarships for teens and reading projects for children in the campo, it also offers attractive benefits like special member-only dinners and receptions and priority seating at the Annual Writers’ Conference. A Membership Table will be available at the July 12 Literary Sala event. It is also possible to obtain information and join online at www.sanmiguelliterarysala.org.