A Conversation With Kurt Schauppner | Saturday, October 10, at 5 PM

His His new book, The Trick of Singularity, explores the idea that a seemingly small change can produce a much larger and unexpected effect. For the opening conversation, we have chosen an author who has been a pillar of the Twentynine Palms community for more than 25 years. Kurt A. Schauppner is perhaps best known locally as the longtime editor of The Desert Trail, but journalism represents only one part of an unusually diverse creative career. Schauppner is a novelist, short-story writer, poet, playwright, filmmaker, musician and newspaper editor. His books include Shards of Broken Glass, The First Book of Exile, Ghosts of Ide County and the short-story collection Songs Without Words. His plays include April, Feral Dogs, Unbroken Chain, The Memory Jar and Mary’s Confession. He also wrote and directed the independent film Once Upon a Dirt Road. His new book, The Trick of Singularity, explores the idea that a seemingly small change can produce a much larger and unexpected effect. A fallen tree can give rise to four new trunks. A single individual can become a poet, playwright, novelist, filmmaker, reporter and newspaper editor — all within one lifetime. In many ways, Schauppner's own creative journey embodies that idea. Schauppner will read selections from The Trick of Singularity before joining Patrick Zuchowicki, founder of the Twentynine Palms Book Festival, for a conversation about the new book, his many forms of storytelling and more than a quarter-century of observing and chronicling life in Twentynine Palms. The event will also serve as the launch of a new season of monthly Tin Town Literary Conversations, continuing the Twentynine Palms Book Festival’s mission beyond its annual November gathering and providing a year-round platform for writers, books and stories connected to the desert. Following the conversation, The Trick of Singularity will be available for purchase and signing at Desert General.