Art
Mixed media from Fairbanks
Fairbanks artist Katlian Stark has new abstract work in mixed media -- chalk, wax and wallpaper -- in her show "Aggregate" at the Leah J. Peterson Gallery on the campus of Alaska Pacific University. She sometimes starts with a sketch, but the process usually results in a final product "detaching from her original vision." Joyce Watts Coolidge has more mixed media work in the adjacent Grant Hall gallery space. Their work will remain on display through May 29.
Literature
Three guys wearing the same name
Juneau author Stuart Archer Cohen will sign copies of his new novel "This is How it Really Sounds" in Anchorage. The book from St. Martin's Press tells of three guys named Peter Harrington, one a former skier, one a disgraced financier and one an aging rock star, whose lives intertwine in a yarn (no pun intended) described as "part comic romp, part revenge tale, and part adventure thriller ... that takes the reader on an entertaining ride from Alaska to L.A. to Shanghai and back again." Meet Cohen from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, May 8 at Mosquito Books at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and 4-6 p.m. at the UAA Campus Bookstore. The bookstore is also sponsoring author Glenn Kurtz speaking about his memoir, "Three Minutes in Poland: Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film," one of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2014, at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 10. That talk will take place in the UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307.
Food
Aleutian recipes
Suanne Unger, author of "Qaqamiigux: Traditional Foods of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands," and Moses Dirks, one of the book's contributors, will take the floor at the next Smithsonian Spotlight lecture at noon Thursday, May 7, at the Anchorage Museum. They'll discuss the making of the book, a repository of cultural, historical and nutrition information with recipes, photos and handy nutritional charts. You might be able to pry some favorite recipes from them. The talk is open to the public and included with museum admission.