Willy Vlautin, originally from Reno but now living outside Portland, will be in town for a couple of events next week. On April 25, Vlautin will be here for a screening of the independent film based of his debut novel “The Motel Life.”
The film stars Emille Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson and won three major awards at the Rome Film Festival including Audience Choice, Best Editing and Screenplay.
Following the screening, the author and poet, Gailmarie Pahmeier, will participate in a Q & A with the audience. Tickets for the screening and Q & A are $7 for CAC members and $10 for non-members and will be available in the Center’s Art Bar beginning at 6 p.m. on April 25. The film will start at 7 p.m.
The next evening, April 26, Valutin will read from his new novel, “The Free,” in the galleries at the Art Center.
Vlautin is the lead singer and songwriter for the Alt-Country band, Richmond Fontaine, and has published four novels, “The Motel Life,” “Northline,” “Lean on Pete,” and “The Free,” which was released in February. Hailed as a vital new voice in American fiction, Vlatuin’s writing has been favorably compared to works by John Steinbeck, Raymond Carver and Ernest Hemingway.
The new book is the story of the lives of three intersecting working class characters as they wrestle with the challenges of everyday life in an all too familiar, and distressing contemporary America. As Ann Patchett has noted “…the straight-forward beauty of Vlautin’s writing, and the tender care he shows his characters, turns a story of struggle into indispensable writing.”
The reading is free and open to the public. For more information, you can call CAC at 775-423-1440.
World, as well as Classical, music fans are in for a real treat when Cristina Pato and he ensemble Migrations roll into town for a show at the Art Center on May 3.
Pato, the Galician bagpiper of Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble has collaborated with World, Classical and Jazz musicians including the Chicago Symphony, the Chieftains and Arturo O’Farril. Her powerful style has been praised as a virtuosic burst of energy and she’s performed on stages around the world, fusing Latin music, Jazz, Pop and Contemporary Classical with unprecedented skill and artistry to bring a unique musical vision to life. For more info, you can visit: www.cristinapato.com.
Tickets are $17 for CAC members, $20 for non-members and are now on sale at Jeff’s Copy Express, ITT @ NAS Fallon or by calling Churchill Arts at 775-423-1440. Pato and the group will also conduct a free and open-to-the-public conversation at 3 p.m. on the day of the performance. We’ll take a look closer look at the group’s music next week.
Kirk Robertson writes about the arts.