If you are a political junkie who can laugh at yourself, if you love biting satire, if you think TV and radio pundits of any persuasion are given too much credence, then Dan Mirvish and Eitan Gorlin's “I Am Martin Eisenstadt” is the book for you.
Omaha native Mirvish was in town Thursday night to attend a book signing at the Bookworm. Martin Eisenstadt is a fictional character whom the two filmmakers/writers created before the 2008 presidential election for a short film and to sell as a possible television series.
The bad economy forced them to change direction to Facebook and YouTube. Suddenly their fictional character, because of the immediacy of the Internet and the combination of real events surrounding him, was showing up in news stories and being quoted on television news programs. Each funny circumstance egged on Mirvish and Gorlin (who was the face of Marty).
The duo kept trying new and more outrageous things. Marty was a media darling: a McCain adviser who leaked secret information about the candidate, Sarah Palin and others; a pundit who hobnobbed with the movers and shakers; someone who could pal around with Joe the Plumber, get the dirt on celebrities and had affairs.
It wasn't long before Farrar, Straus & Giroux approached them about writing a book. The result was “I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man's (Wildly Inappropriate) Adventures With the Last Republicans.”
Even though you know Marty isn't a real person, you tend to forget it while reading some parts of the book, which includes information on how the authors could latch onto real events and insert Marty into them.
The funny thing, Mirvish said, is that they “never tried to fool anyone.” It just happened — over and over.
If political satire is your cup of tea, take a sip of this book. It's hilarious.
Mirvish, who made “Omaha (the Movie)” and is one of the creators of the Slamdance Film Festival, also is trying to find financial backing for his next film, an adaptation of the play “Between Us,” part of which he would like to film in Omaha.
Enjoy an ‘Evening With Two Irish Poets'
Poetry fans won't want to miss “An Evening With Two Irish Poets: Seamus Cashman and Joan McBreen,” hosted by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, on Tuesday.
The free 7:30 p.m. program at the Thompson Alumni Center is open to the public.
Cashman is the founder of Wolfhound Press and was its publisher until 1974. He has published three poetry collections.
McBreen has published four poetry collections and an anthology of 20th-century Irish women poets, “The White Page/An Bhileog Bhán.” Her CD, “The Long Light on the Land — Selected Poems,” combines poetry and Irish music.
Earlier in the day, the two poets will hold a fireside chat at the Milo Bail Student Center for UNO students, faculty and staff.
‘Book in Flux' at sixth annual Omaha Lit Fest
“Curiouser & Curiouser; The Book in Flux” is the theme of the sixth annual (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest on Friday and Saturday at the Kaneko, 1111 Jones St.
The two days will be filled with author panels and readings that are free and open to the public.
Guests include Melanie Benjamin, author of the historical novel “Alice I Have Been”; Kate Bernheimer, fairy tale historian and creator; Kevin Brockmeier, author of “The Brief History of the Dead”; Gary Frost, of www.futureofthebook.com; Peter Kuper, cartoonist and graphic novel author; Mary Helen Stefaniak, author of “The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia”; and Katherine Walter, chairwoman of Digital Initiatives and Special Collections in the University of Nebraska Libraries.
Champagne and chocolates will be served at a reception from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.
For more information, visit www.omahalitfest.com.
On the calendar
Book signing: Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, authors of “The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time,” 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Bookworm at Countryside Village, 87th and Pacific Streets.
Paul A. Olson Seminar: Photographer Michael Forsberg, recipient of the Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize from the Center for Great Plains Studies, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St. in Lincoln.
Book discussion: Amiable Adult Readers Discussing Books Almost Always Read by Kids, “The Green Glass Sea,” 6 p.m. Thursday, the Bookworm.
Storytelling: Michael McCarty, multicultural storyteller of African, African-American and international folk tales, 7 p.m. Friday, Council Bluffs Public Library.
Book sale: Friends of the Omaha Public Library, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 11 and noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 12, Swanson Library at 90th Street and West Dodge Road.
Book club: Sherlock Holmes Book Club, “The Speckled Band,” 10 a.m. Saturday, the Bookworm.
Book talk: Sister to Sister Book Club, romance author Kim Louise, 1 p.m. Saturday, Washington Library, 2868 Ames Ave.
Author performance: “No Reservations: An Evening With Anthony Bourdain,” 8 p.m. Saturday, Holland Performing Arts Center, 13th and Douglas Streets. Tickets: $40 to $100 at ticketomaha.org or 345-0606.
Book discussion: Books and Bagels, “Tallgrass” by Sandra Dallas, 11 a.m. Sept. 12, the Bookworm. (Sign up in advance at the store or call 392-2877.)
Unless otherwise noted, events are free and open to the public.
— Compiled by Carol Bicak
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