Brian’s picks

1) Columbus poet Nancy Warren pens eloquent descriptions fluid and insightful enough to cause a reader’s breath to catch for a moment. In “Cutting Peonies,” her closing work from her latest release, “Warren Avenue,” she writes of cutting flowers to remember her floral-loving mom: “One flower to understand the sheet they pulled over her like the coolest of white peonies, a petal dividing worlds.” Her book launch and poetry reading, including a chance for all area poets to share work, will begin at 7 p.m. Monday at Hotel Indigo, 400 Brown St. in Columbus. The event is free.

2) Watching Frank Bunton’s whimsy turn balloons into sheer spontaneity, not to mention dogs and other critters, was quite a delight at last summer’s Live on the Plaza event. So I highly recommend his free presentation, “Balloon Art Basics,” set for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Bartholomew County Public Library, 536 Fifth St. in Columbus. Information: 812-379-1266 or mybcpl.org.