Literary Calendar

7 P.M. Howard Fineman, Newsweek magazine's senior Washington correspondent, discusses and signs The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.

2 FRIDAY

7:30 P.M. Aaron Cohen discusses and signs Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Units (written with Douglas Century), recounting a three-year stint in the Israeli special forces, at Borders Books-Baileys Crossroads, Route 7 at Columbia Pike, Baileys Crossroads, Va., 703-998-0404.

7:30 P.M. The College of Southern Maryland (currently celebrating its 50th anniversary) hosts a publication reading and discussion with writers and photographers featured in the spring issue of the college's literary journal, Connections, at the Prince Frederick Campus, Room 119, 115 J.W. Williams Rd., Prince Frederick, Md. Visit http://www.csmd.edu for details.

7:30 P.M. The Northern Virginia Writers hosts TV producer and journalist Philip Lerman, author of the memoir Dadditude: How a Real Man Became a Real Dad, for a discussion, "What Print Writers Can Learn from TV Writers," as part of the group's "First Friday" series held at the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg, Va. Admission is $4 for Writer's Center members and Leesburg residents, $6 for the general public. Call 301-654-8664 or visit http://www.writer.org.

3 SATURDAY

2 P.M. Gregory Curtis, former editor of Texas Monthly, presents the Boshell Family Foundation Distinguished Lecture in Archeology, drawn from his most recent book, The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists, at the Walters Art Museum, Graham Auditorium, 600 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Md. Admission is free, but call 410-243-4750 or visit http://www.walters.org to register.

4 SUNDAY

7 P.M. Feminist writer, poet and playwright Susan Griffin discusses and signs Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy: On Being an American Citizen at Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW, 202-387-7638.

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, will hold its finals April 28-29 at Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. Fifty-two students, grouped in three geographical regions (culled from all 50 states and the District), will compete in the semifinal competition on Monday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. From that poetry round, 12 finalists (four from each region) will advance to the National Finals on Tuesday, April 29, at 7 p.m. National Public Radio's Scott Simon will be the host, joined by a distinguished panel of judges, including author Garrison Keillor, writer and children's advocate Caroline Kennedy, poet and teacher Marilyn Nelson, poet and memoirist Luis Rodriguez and poet and Cave Canem alum Natasha Trethewey. Both events are free and open to the public, with no reservations required; call 202-682-5772 for details.

Monday, April 28

7 P.M. Busboys and Poets in Shirlington (4251 S. Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va.) is hosting a reading by the winners of the 2008 Moving Words poetry contest -- Mel Belin, Philip Clark, Katie Kemple, Natalie Lebeau, Kathi Morrison-Taylor and Madelyn Rosenberg. A reception follows. The winners' short poems can be seen on Metro buses in Northern Virginia from April through September 2008. For details, visit http://www.arlingtonarts.org.

8 P.M. Bob Hicok, an assistant professor of English at Virginia Tech, and Charles Wright, a professor of English at the University of Virginia, will be jointly awarded the 2008 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, followed by a reading from their work, at the Library of Congress, James Madison Bldg., Montpelier Room. Hicok is being recognized for his collection This Clumsy Living, while Wright is being honored for lifetime achievement. Call 202-707-5394 for details.

Tuesday, April 29

6:30 P.M. Poet, teacher and critic Reuben Jackson, an associate curator at the National Museum of American History, hosts "Fire!: A Poetic Overview of 1968," a reading and discussion of poems that gave voice to the civil and social strife of the time (from Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Larry Neal to writers of the Black Arts Movement), at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., 801 K St. NW. To RSVP, call 202-383-1828 or e-mail RSVP@historydc.org (subject line "Fire").

Wednesday, April 30

7 P.M. Richard McCann, author of Mother of Sorrows (short stories) and the award-winning poetry collection Ghost Letters, joins Catholic University professor and poet Rosemary Winslow, author of Green Bodies, for a reading at the Kensington Row Bookshop, 3786 Howard Ave., Kensington, Md. An open reading follows; call 301-949-9416 for details.