Join Renowned Author Luis Alberto Urrea at The Seattle Public Library’s ‘Seattle Reads’ Events, Oct. 19-20
release date: October 4, 2022
Join renowned Mexican-American author Luis Alberto Urrea, who has been described by NPR as a “master storyteller with a rock and roll heart,” at Seattle Reads events on Wednesday, Oct. 19 and Thursday, Oct. 20.
Urrea’s bestselling 2018 novel “The House of Broken Angels,” is the 2022 selection for Seattle Reads, the citywide book group started by The Seattle Public Library in 1998. These are the first in-person Seattle Reads events in three years, as the program went virtual in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
Library events are free and open to the public. You can click on the links below to register or find all registration links at www.spl.org/SeattleReads.
SEATTLE READS EVENTS
- Seattle Reads: Luis Alberto Urrea Nos Habla Acerca De La Casa De Los Ángeles Rotos. Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Urrea will speak at El Centro De la Raza’s Centilia Cultural Center (1660 South Roberto Maestas Festival St.). This program will be offered in Spanish. Este programa será ofrecido en español.
- Seattle Reads: Luis Urrea at the Lake City Branch. Thursday, Oct. 20, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lake City Branch (12501 28th Ave. N.E.). Join Urrea for a discussion about his novel, “The House of Broken Angels”. Abel Rocha, a Seattle-based Mexican folk musician and member of the band Correo Aereo, will also perform.
- Seattle Reads: Luis Urrea at the Central Library: Thursday, Oct. 20, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Seattle Public Library’s Central Library Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium, (1000 Fourth Ave.). Join Urrea at the Central Library or online for a discussion about “The House of Broken Angels.” Abel Rocha, a Seattle-based Mexican folk musician and member of the band Correo Aereo, will also perform.
ABOUT “THE HOUSE OF BROKEN ANGELS”
In “The House of Broken Angels,” the De La Cruzes, a family on the Mexican-American border, celebrate two of their most beloved relatives during a joyous and bittersweet weekend. The Washington Post called the book a “pan-generational family saga with an enormous, bounding heart, a poetic delivery and plenty of swagger” and the Boston Globe called it "an immensely charming and moving tale.” The Seattle Times chose the novel for its May 2020 book club.
Copies of the book are available in the Library’s catalog in both English and Spanish. Limited copies will also be available for informal borrowing (meaning you don’t need to check out the copies) at most Library locations in English and Spanish.
“After reading over a dozen other books by Latinx authors, ‘The House of Broken Angels’ rose to the top because it reminded me of my own familia with its heartfelt humor and intergenerational family drama in a West Coast setting,” said Catalina M. Cantú, co-founding member and Board President of La Sala, a Seattle-area organization that creates and catalyzes opportunities for Latino/a/x artists and arts organizations. “The October community readings will be an opportunity for our comunidad to hear and meet a remarkable writer and role model in Luis Alberto Urrea.”
La Sala served on the Seattle Reads selection committee and acted as a planning partner.
Find all details on the book and the program, as well as a discussion guide, at spl.org/SeattleReads.
ABOUT LUIS ALBERTO URREA
A Pulitzer Prize finalist for his landmark work of nonfiction “The Devil’s Highway,” Luis Alberto Urrea is also the bestselling author of the novels “The Hummingbird’s Daughter,” “Into the Beautiful North,” and “Queen of America,” as well as the story collection “The Water Museum,” a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Urrea has won the Lannan Literary Award, an Edgar Award, a Pushcart Prize, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature among many other honors. He lives outside Chicago and teaches at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
ABOUT SEATTLE READS
Seattle Reads is a citywide book group that encourages people to read and discuss the same book. It’s designed to deepen engagement in literature through reading and discussion. Everyone is invited to participate in Seattle Reads by reading the featured book, joining in a book discussion and/or attending programs with the featured writer.
Seattle Reads is presented in partnership with La Sala, El Centro de la Raza and Seattle Escribe, and is made possible by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and The Wallace Foundation. Additional support provided by media sponsor The Seattle Times and Back Bay Books.
For more information, visit www.spl.org/seattlereads, call the Library at 206-386-4636 or Ask Us.