Authorial Intent is Bostonist's wrapup of readings in the area. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Thursday, December 6 Greil Marcus, The Shape of Things to Come: Prophecy and the American Voice, Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm Greil Marcus goes in search of the American spirit and finds it in Philip Roth, David Lynch, David Thomas of Pere Ubu, and other unpredictable sources. The Village Voice writes that Marcus' latest "basks in the possibilities of......

Authorial Intent is Bostonist's wrap-up of local readings. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Wednesday, November 28 Helen Vendler, Our Secret Discipline: Yeats and the Lyric Form, Sacker Museum (via Harvard Book Store), 6:00 pm. More info. Vendler, the closest reader of all close readers, so says the New York Times, shines her spotlight on William Butler Yeats. Thursday, November 29 David Hosp, Innocence, 7:30 pm, Charlestown Branch Library Hosp will be reading from......

Thursday, November 8 Elaine Scarry, Jerald Walker, and Robert Atwan, The Best American Essays, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith Three contributors to this year's The Best American Essays will discuss what went into the book this year--and maybe we'll hear a little about what got left out. Monday, November 12 Jennifer Ackerman, Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream, 7:00 pm, Porter Square Books Science writer Ackerman takes a fantastic voyage through the body to see how it......