June 25, 2024
Tickets are available to Friends of the National Writers Series 4/18 at 10am and to the public 4/24 at 10am.
Special note regarding a two-ticket/one book purchase: ONLY ONE BUNDLE (2 tickets/1 book) can be purchased per order. For more than one bundle, please place additional order(s) or call the City Opera House at 231-941-8082 ext. 201. Thank you!
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).
Performances
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 - 7:00pmSustaining Sponsor: The Green Brick Foundation
Season Sponsor: NorthGuard Technology Group
Arts Benefactor: Northwest Michigan Arts & Culture Network
Grantors: Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts
Media Sponsors: Traverse City Record-Eagle, Interlochen Public Radio, Up North Media, Midwest Broadcasting, Northern Express
Supporting Sponsors: Image 360, Horizon Books, Amical, Cambria Suites
Official Airport: Cherry Capital Airport