Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of Nov. 5-Nov. 11)

Thursday, 8 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Series Lecture by and discussion with Korean-American writer, musician, and director Michelle Zauner, author of the bestselling memoir, "Crying in H Mart" (Alfred A. Knopf, 2021) and frontwoman for her acclaimed indie pop band Japanese Breakfast.

With Japanese Breakfast, Zauner has recorded the studio albums Psychopomp (2016),Soft Sounds from Another Planet (2017), and Jubilee (2021), and toured nationally and internationally. She has also played with the bands Little Big League and Bumper.

When Zauner was 25, her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She moved home to become her mother’s caretaker, embarking on a journey that would force a reckoning with her identity and eventually a reclamation of the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. Zauner's mother Chongmi died in October of 2014 leaving her bereft.

Zauner initially wrote about this journey in her New Yorker essay "Crying in H Mart" published in 2018. The widespread attention the essay received prompted offers from numerous literary agents and publishers, all of whom encouraged to expand the themes of it into memoir.  " Crying in H Mart: A Memoir" was published by Alfred A. Knopf in April of 2021 to widespread acclaim and became an immediate New York Times bestseller, remaining so for over a year. In her talk and conversation with Just Buffalo Artistic Director Barbara Cole,  Zauner will share her story of family, food, grief, and self-discovery.

Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo. $42.

Visit https://www.justbuffalo.org/ for tickets to the event, which also include an online livestreaming option.