Thurs. Dec. 13, 7:30 pm: Calvin Trillin with Paula Poundstone SOLD OUT



 

 

 

 

 

 

SOLD OUT. At the Writers Guild Theater, 135 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills.

Calvin Trillin has rescheduled with Writers Bloc! Writers Bloc is delighted to present Calvin Trillin with Paula Poundstone, a high octane comedy pairing if ever there was one. We love Calvin Trillin for his very serious musings on food; for his rhyming poetry about presidential (and decidedly non-presidential) candidates and the news of the moment; for his fiction; for his beautiful and moving nonfiction books that bring broad and profound understanding to the reader about topics intimate and personal; and for his hilarious essays in The New Yorker, Time and The Nation. And we love Paula Poundstone for her hilarious observations that make her a comedy icon.

Calvin Trillin knows what we care about: food, family and politics. From racial desegregation to summers in Provence, from Texas barbeque to remembering a college friend who died, we know that each Trillin article that shows up in The New Yorker or in Time will be something to savor. Trillin’s food writing reveals more about a North American time and place than it does about the food in question. (He has dedicated a lot of ink to the Montreal mess called poutine, so therefore we include Canada in his culinary conquests.) From Canada to the deep South, Trillin trolls restaurants and truck stops, searching for and trying all cholesterol-sodden treats that define a particular locale. Whether poutine in Quebec, chicken in New Orleans, or street food in Mexico, Trillin’s writing on food can hardly be classified, and certainly no one can do it better. Yes, there’s humor, social observation, and cultural history– and it has often been a love story to his family. His novel, Tepper Isn’t Going Out, is an absolutely hilarious declaration about one Manhattan man’s determination not to lose his precious parking space, no matter what. In his recent book, Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff, Trillin dishes out some pieces that we might have missed over the years—his political poetry (“On A Clear Day, I See Vladivostok”); a riff on John Edwards’ hairdo; The Shoe Bomber, and so much more. His new book of political limericks, Dogfight 2012,  is an ode to the process, the players, the voters and the lunacy surrounding the candidates.

Paula Poundstone is one of the funniest voices on the air.  You’ve heard her through your laughter on National Public Radio’s  Saturday morning gift, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me.”  She has never met a glass ceiling she didn’t break: Paula was the first woman to perform at a White House Correspondents Dinner, the first woman to win a Cable ACE award for Best Standup Comedian, has won Emmys and numerous other distinguished awards.  Comedy Central considers her one of America’s top 100 greatest standup artists of all time.

SOLD OUT. At the Writers Guild Theater, 135 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills.