Happening Tuesday

BOOKS

The New Dead Contributors Max Brooks and Aimee Bender sign copies of the harrowing new anthology of zombie short stories, edited by Christopher Golden. Haunting and genuinely unsettling, the dark tales of the risen dead prove that the recent zombie phenomenon is here to stay. Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank. Free. 6:30 p.m. (818) 556-6660. www.darkdel.com.

Dissident Poets: I Am Neda American poets respond to the civil upheaval in Iran and the events of last summer that transfixed the world. The Hammer Museum, in association with PEN USA and Iranian American poet Sholeh Wolpé, present an evening of readings by Maxine Hong Kingston, Eloise Klein Healy, James Ragan and Tony Barnstone, in addition to poems by Robert Bly, Thomas Lux, Kim Addonizio read by actors and with musical accompaniment by Iranian vocalist Mamak Khadem. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Free. 7 p.m. (310) 443-7000. hammer.ucla.edu.

MUSIC

Fat Tuesday at Amoeba Mardi Gras is inspired largely by music, so it’s appropriate that Amoeba Music is hosting a Fat Tuesday party inside the record store. Get jiggy while DJs spin both Brazilian and Cajun grooves and the staff parties Big Easy style with out-of-sight decorations, floats and masks. Amoeba Music, 6400 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 245-6400. www.amoeba.com.

Rickie Lee Jones This is a big year for Rickie Lee Jones: It’s the 30th anniversary of the release of her self-titled debut album, which won her critical acclaim and the title of the Next Big Thing singer-songwriter. It’s also the year that her daughter, Charlotte Rose, turns 21, a milestone she celebrates in her new album’s opening track, “Wild Girl.” It’s a love letter to her offspring that plays out like a reflection on her own youth. Vista Theatre, 4473 Sunset Blvd., Los Feliz. 8 p.m. $30. (323) 660-6639.