Founding editor of Collins Library imprint to give talk

Paul Collins, author and founding editor of the Collins Library imprint of McSweeney’s Books, will discuss his life as a book lover, as well as his upcoming book, “Sex, Death & Revolution,” at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10. The talk, sponsored by the Friends of the UW–Madison Libraries, will take place in 126 Memorial Library, 728 State St.

Collins’ forthcoming book is a travelogue following the curious afterlife of founding father Thomas Paine, whose bones were stolen by an admirer in 1819 and have been turning up in some very strange places ever since.

A traveling bibliophile and aficionado of obscure eccentrics, Collins writes on a range of topics, from recounting his hapless attempt to move to rural Wales (“Sixpence House”) to a tour of history’s strangest forgotten geniuses and would-be geniuses (“Banvard’s Folly”). His latest book is a family memoir and historical meditation on neurology (“Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism”).

Collins is a regular contributor on science and literary history to both The Village Voice and New Scientist magazine.