Veteran travel writer and part-time Santa Barbarian Pico Iyer makes his rounds in May for UCSB’s Arts & Lectures series with two events:
#1 Salman Rushdie in conversation with Pico Iyer
May 4th 4 p.m. at Campbell Hall
$25 / $15 for UCSB students
Not so much a travel writing event, but Iyer fans will enjoy the discussion between the two authors. Surely they’ll be discussing Salman (The Satanic Verses) Rushdie’s recent release, Shalimar the Clown as well as his forthcoming novel The Enchantress of Florence, and perhaps some of Pico’s works as well. If you’re looking for intelligent, well-thought-out conversation, make sure to be there.
But if you’re looking for something more Iyer-centric, you’d be better off checking out…
#2 Pico Iyer “Seeing Things Differently – The Dalai Lama and Our Divided World”
May 19th 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall
$10 / $8 for UCSB students
Pico will discuss his new book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama as well as talk about the Dalai Lama himself. And, if time permits, there will be crowd surfing.
Well, probably not. But it’ll be a chance to hear Pico talk about his own work (no offense, Salman) and in his own words. If you’ve never heard the man, he’s an incredibly intelligent and humble man, although you know this if you’ve read any of his works. And he usually has some good stories to tell. So really, where else might you get the chance to hear some juicy stories about Mr. Lama? If it ain’t here, it ain’t anywhere else. (No, I’m not making any commission on ticket sales.)
(I’m planning to attend both, but if I can only attend one, it’ll be the second event, if only to get an autograph and maybe a photo.)
Please note that according to the info given, pre-signed books by both Rushdie and Iyer will be available for purchase during the Rushdie/Iyer event (which makes me think that there won’t be a post-event signing/photo op). But books will be available for purchase and signing for the Pico solo talk. So if you want to shake hands with Pico, I’ll see you on the 19th!
For more info, check out the UCSB Arts & Lectures homepage.
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