Poison Pen Reading Series: David Eagleman

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David Eagleman took time away from running a neuroscience research laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine to write an international bestseller. “That’s probably why it took me seven years,” Eagleman says. “It’s a long process when it’s not your day job.” Eagleman’s Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, published in 2009, is a collection of short stories featuring fictitious life-after-death scenarios. “The book is not about science and it’s not science fiction, but science, in many of the stories, is just part of the background,” Eagleman explains. He says writing is not a far stretch from scientific research — you take a risk and see what happens. “They’re both all about creativity and the creative leap,” he says. The work has earned Eagleman plenty of best-of-the-year mentions from international newspapers and magazines. He’s also been featured on National Public Radio programs such as RadioLab and performed with Brian Eno on a musical collaboration inspired by Sum. He’ll read from the book today as part of the Poison Pen Reading Series, along with writers Maggie Nelson and David MacLean. 8:30 p.m. Poison Girl, 1641 Westheimer. For information, call 713-527-9929 or visit www.poisonpenreadingseries.com. Free.
Thu., Sept. 30, 8:30 p.m., 2010