The character-driven short fiction and poetry of Susan Knier are on full display in her fifth collection, “The Week Before Evanston.” In these pages, you will meet a U.S. president hilariously in touch with his inner child, a woman who fabricates her history in a desperate bid to win friends, a grandfather harboring a life-altering secret and many memorable others. These stories speak to the core of human motivation: Why do we behave as we do, especially if the results are unpredictable, disappointing or perhaps dangerous? The engaged, open-minded reader will find much to ponder in the author’s dream accounts. These pieces crisscross genres and sometimes defy categorization. Dystopian scenarios, humor and social commentary stand next to encounters with rogue creatures and even a classic nightmare or two.