ALOUD @ Los Angeles Public Library

Decades of conflicts and persecution have driven millions from their homes in all parts of the northeast African country of Sudan. Many thousands more have been enslaved as human spoils of war. Writers and surprise guests read alongside Sudanese refugees who recount their lives before their displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their hopes of someday returning home.

Miller, book critic and co-founder of salon.com, fell in love with the Narnia books as a child. In this intellectual adventure story, she returns to Lewis' classic fantasies to see what mysteries Narnia still holds for adult eyes.

Meet Michael Kinsley...TIME magazine columnist, and noted journalist who discussed his just-released book, Creative Capitalism at the ALOUD Business Forum in December. Nothing short of a revolution in thinking, Creative Capitalism is a collection of interviews and essays with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and other key financial figures discussing the need to reinvent capitalism to benefit the world's poorest citizens. The book is intended to fuel debate, raise questions and inspire action. Kinsley was for many years the editor of The New Republic, host of CNN's Crossfire and founded Slate, the nation's first online magazine. He also served as the editorial page editor for The Los Angeles Times.

Selected readings from Marisela Norte's debut collection of poetry, Peeping Tom Tom Girl, performed by long time friends and collaborators Norte y Gaitan.

Three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft.

Three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft.

After building two Fortune 500 companies from the ground up, Eli Broad is devoting his full time and attention to philanthropy that uses entrepreneurship to advance the public good in education, science and the arts. In his book, Philanthrocapitalism, Matthew Bishop and co-author Michael Green examine how social investors, such as Broad, are using business acumen to reshape the way charitable giving is taking place.

In 1993, the Nobel committee lauded Toni Morrison \"who, in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality.\" Come celebrate this magnificent author and her new novel, A Mercy.

America's funnyman celebrates the electricity, the juju, the breeding, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations, reminding us that "every time you use disinterested to mean uninterested, an angel dies."

How, in this age of scientific rationalism, can we begin to understand religious visions and mystical experiences--now being reported by a growing number of people on the nightly news, across the internet, and by word-of-mouth? Dr. Lisa Bitel and Dr. Michael A. Arbib discuss visions from the Middle Ages to today, especially the tensions between cultural, spiritual, and neurological explanations for extraordinary sights, and consider new ways to understand these mysterious phenomena.Made possible by a generous contribution from K&L Gates