Publication Party for Poetry Journal Planned

A publication party for “Playground Propaganda,” the Cal State Fullerton poetry journal, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the West Gallery of the Department of Arts on campus, 800 N. State College Blvd.

The $10 admission includes a copy of the anthology, which deals with the themes of education and learning.

In addition to poems by students and teachers, the 100-page book includes contributions from internationally famous writers and poets such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Nikki Giovanni, Diane Wakoski and Ken Kesey.

“A variety of perspectives in poetry are offered--from negative statements to positive, the point being to offer the reader an honest view of the educational system as seen through the eye of the artist,” says the book’s publisher Tatyana Melnikoff, a Cal State Fullerton English major who graduated in January.

Profits from the book, she said, will be given to an educational fund. The book is available at the campus bookstore.

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Book Signings. Theodore Taylor (“The Cay,” “Sniper”) will sign and speak from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. today at Children’s Book Cottage, 30100 Town Center Drive, Laguna Niguel. Also at Children’s Book Cottage: John Archanbault (“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”) will sign from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday and Kathryn Hewitt (“The Three Sillies”) will sign from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. . . . T. Jefferson Parker (“Pacific Beat”) will sign from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Rizzoli Bookstore, South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. . . . Thomas Perry (“Sleeping Dogs”) will sign from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange. . . . Leslie Spirson (“Welcome to Club Mom”) will sign from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at B. Dalton Bookstore, South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. . . . Miguel Munoz (“The Greatest Performance”), Lydia Velez (“Daring Brief Suns”), Isa De Quesada (“A Collection of Poems”) will read from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Courtyard Books, 14961 Holt Ave., Tustin. . . . Children’s book illustrator Lois Ehlert (“Circus”) will sign at 6 p.m. Thursday at Lorson’s Books and Prints, 116 W. Wilshire Ave., Fullerton.

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Laguna Poets. Judith Altschule-Lieber will read at 8 p.m. today at the Laguna Poets meeting in the Laguna Beach Public Library, 363 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach.

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National Writers. Writer and script consultant David Trottier (“Writing and Selling Your Screenplay”) will speak at the Southern California chapter of the National Writers Club meeting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Irvine Marriott, 18000 Von Karman Ave., Irvine. General admission: $15. For reservation call (714) 968-5726.

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Special Readings. Sarah Arsone (“Zen and the Art of Changing Diapers”) and Leslie Spirson (“Welcome to Club Mom”) will read and sign their books from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Fahrenheit 451 Books, 509 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

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Serial Killer. UC Irvine professor Robert Peters will perform his one-man play, “Snapshots for a Serial Killer,” at 8 p.m. Saturday in Chapman University’s Guggenheim Gallery, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. The work, in which Peters portrays a character based on convicted serial killer Randy Kraft, is one of several “prose poems” that Peters has adapted into plays. Admission: $3.

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Cookbook. A Spanish cooking seminar with cookbook author Pilar Munoz de Garrigues, wife of the consul general of Spain, will be presented at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Decorative Arts Study Center, 31431 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Cost: $40, includes lunch in the Spanish garden. Information: (714) 496-2132.

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Anaheim History. John Wescott (“Anaheim: City of Dreams”) will discuss his book at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Canyon Hills Library, 400 Scout Trail, Anaheim Hills. Free.

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Alta Poetry. Poet Robert Peters will read and musician John Askew will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Alta Coffee House & Roasting Company, 506 31st St., Newport Beach.

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Awards Ceremony. Children’s book author Sonia Levitin will speak at the 14th annual Michael L. Roston creative writing contest awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Brookhurst Community Center, 2271 W. Crescent Ave., Anaheim. For more information, call (714) 254-1888.

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Poetry Reading. Poets Feliciano Melgar and Gene Gollun will read at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Blue Marble Coffeehouse, 1907 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. Free.

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Women Pilots. Marianne Verges (“On Silver Wings: The Women Air Force Service Pilots of World War II”) and aviation writer Lt. Col. Yvonne Pateman, president of Women’s Air Force Service Pilots, will speak at 8 p.m. Thursday in Crystal Cove Auditorium in the Student Center at UC Irvine. General admission: $6.