The
National Writers Series is thrilled to welcome Jane Smiley to Traverse City!
She is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Thousand Acres and The
Last Hundred Years trilogy! She’ll take the stage to talk with guest host
Anne Marie-Oomen about her new book, Lucky, a soaring, soulful novel
about a folk musician who rises to fame across our changing times.
Lucky is the tale of Jodie Rattler, a girl growing up in St. Louis.
One day in 1955, when she was six years old, her uncle Drew takes her to the
racetrack, where she got lucky—and after that day, the roll of two-dollar bills
she won never left her side. Through a combination of hard work and
serendipity—she lands a singing career, which takes her to exciting corners of
the world. Jodie comes of age in recording studios, backstage, and on tour, and
she tries to hold her own in the wake of Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Judy Collins,
and Joni Mitchell. Yet it feels like something is missing. Could it be true
love? Or is that not actually what Jodie is looking for?
Full of atmosphere, shot through with longing and exuberance, romance and rock
‘n’ roll, Lucky is a story of chance and grit and the glitter of real
talent, a colorful portrait of one woman’s journey in search of herself.
Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels as well of
several works of nonfiction and books for young adults. A member of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has also received the PEN Center USA
Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.
Doors open at 6 p.m. with live music
and a cash bar. The event begins at 7 p.m. and includes a Q and A and author
signing. Each ticket comes with a hardcover copy of Lucky (or opt for a
two-ticket package with one book. One two-ticket/one book package can be placed per order. For more than one package, please call the City Opera House Box Office at 231-941-8082).