# Event Details - **Event Name**: Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen - **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 08 Sep, 2026 at 07:00 pm – Tue, 08 Sep, 2026 at 08:00 pm (-04:00) - **Event Description**: We are grateful to host Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn, at the Whale to celebrate her new essay collection, I Have This Thing for Flowers!About this EventWe are grateful to host regional writer, Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn, at the Whale to celebrate her new essay collection, I Have a Thing for Flowers! Structured like an herbarium, each essay pairs a flower with a person from Sawchyn's life to compose a delightful blend of botanical research and intimate meditations on love. Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn will be joined in conversation by local poet, multimedia artist, and educator, Diana Khoi Nguyen.A story of love, marriage, and flowers from beloved writer and gardening enthusiast, Alysia Li Ying SawchynSix months before her wedding, Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn’s fiancé broke off their engagement. Stunned, reeling, and newly uninsured, Alysia married her friend Sarah in an arrangement that secured them both free health insurance. They moved in together in the midst of the pandemic, and with time and while tending a garden, their marriage of convenience grew into a marriage of love.In science, art, and mythology, we cannot help but to see flowers as metaphors for the fleeting nature of youth, vitality, and love. It’s easy to casually admire something beautiful, but it takes a discerning eye to appreciate the effort that went into nourishing and tending to that beauty. In both gardening and relationships, one cannot expect to fill your garden with flowers if you are unwilling—or unable—to put in the work they need to thrive. In I Have This Thing For Flowers, Sawchyn does just that, likening the many flowers she has grown in her gardens to a range of relationships and moments of her life, reflecting on topics from motherhood to perfumery to scientific illustration.Cataloguing many of the great romances and loves of her life like an herbarium of flowers preserved from the garden, Sawchyn examines the kinds of love that can't be explained.DIANA KHOI NGUYEN is the author of Root Fractures and Ghost Of, a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the 2019 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and her video work has been exhibited at Miller ICA. A Kundiman and MacDowell fellow, Nguyen teaches creative writing in the MFA programs at Randolph College and the University of Pittsburgh.ALYSIA LI YING SAWCHYN teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Bucknell University. Her essay collection A Fish Growing Lungs was a finalist for The Believer Book Awards, and her second book, I Have This Thing for Flowers, is forthcoming from Flatiron Books. Formerly the editor in chief of The Rumpus, she has received fellowships from The Kenyon Review Writers Workshop and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/01392f20-a62d-11f1-8990-5d04d231a2dd-rimg-w1200-h628-dcd83868-gmir.jpg - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/pittsburgh/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-i-have-this-thing-for-flowers-w-diana-khoi-nguyen/100001993471787780 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, health-wellness, workshops, science-fair, business, conferences, meditation - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 1 hour - Location: White Whale Bookstore - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Pittsburgh - **state**: PA - **country**: United States - **location**: White Whale Bookstore - **lat**: 40.461023 - **long**: -79.9482606 - **full address**: White Whale Bookstore, 4754 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/2d9545a67b491c39c362284fc08330403faf18841a936594024f5777c887dc3c-rimg-w1200-h628-dcd93966-gmir.jpg?v=1783470488 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen being held? - **A:** Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen takes place on Tue, 08 Sep, 2026 at 07:00 pm to Tue, 08 Sep, 2026 at 08:00 pm at White Whale Bookstore, 4754 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen? - **A:** Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen is organized by White Whale Bookstore. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Pittsburgh, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn "I Have This Thing for Flowers" w/ Diana Khoi Nguyen", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/2d9545a67b491c39c362284fc08330403faf18841a936594024f5777c887dc3c-rimg-w1200-h628-dcd93966-gmir.jpg?v=1783470488", "startDate": "2026-09-08T19:00:00-04:00", "endDate": "2026-09-08T20:00:00-04:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/pittsburgh/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-i-have-this-thing-for-flowers-w-diana-khoi-nguyen/100001993471787780", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "White Whale Bookstore", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "4754 Liberty Avenue", "postalCode": "15224", "addressLocality": "Pittsburgh", "addressRegion": "PA", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "40.461023", "longitude": "-79.9482606" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "We are grateful to host Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn, at the Whale to celebrate her new essay collection, I Have This Thing for Flowers!", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-07-08", "availabilityEnds": "2026-09-08T20:00:00-04:00", "validFrom": "2026-07-08", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/pittsburgh/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-i-have-this-thing-for-flowers-w-diana-khoi-nguyen/100001993471787780" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-07-08", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-07-08", "url": "https://allevents.in/pittsburgh/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-i-have-this-thing-for-flowers-w-diana-khoi-nguyen/100001993471787780", "price": 0, "name": "Optional donation" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-07-08", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-07-08", "url": "https://allevents.in/pittsburgh/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-i-have-this-thing-for-flowers-w-diana-khoi-nguyen/100001993471787780", "price": 0, "name": "General Admission (free)" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-07-08", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-07-08", "url": "https://allevents.in/pittsburgh/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-i-have-this-thing-for-flowers-w-diana-khoi-nguyen/100001993471787780", "price": 0, "name": "LIVESTREAM ONLY" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "White Whale Bookstore", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/white-whale-bookstore/23305231", "description": "Please check out our main website for all of our events(local partnerships, in-person store events, virtual events, virtual workshops, and more)!White Whale Bookstoreis a family-owned general interest indie located in Pittsburgh, PA. It was founded in 2016 by Adlai and Jill Yeomans, who built their lives around the belief that books can change the world. With a focus on events, White Whale is a hub of conversation, community, and culture. An open door. A home for book lovers." } ] } ] ```