this week in literature

PEN WORLD VOICES FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN LITERATURE 2011

David Foster Wallace’s unfinished novel, THE PALE KING, will be explored in depth at the seventh annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature

Multiple locations
April 25 – May 1, $5 – $30
866-811-4111
www.pen.org

Celebrating the written word and freedom of expression while fighting censorship and human rights abuses, the seventh annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature will feature more than one hundred writers and artists from more than three dozen countries participating in seven days and nights of panel discussions, conversations, readings, and live performances. In addition, the Celluloid Literature Film Series will screen documentaries every night at the Instituto Cervantes New York, including such shorts and full-length works as Paul Bowles: Creating a Legend (Karim Debbagh, Coon Prager, 2006), Out of Place: Memories of Edward Said (Sato Makoto, 2006), Seamus Heaney: Out of the Marvellous (Charlie McCarthy, 2009), and The Erotic Man (Jørgen Leth, 2010). “We live in a time of great changes and challenges, and the need to remind ourselves of our basic values is as important as ever,” explain director László Jakab Orsós, chair Salman Rushdie, and PEN American Center president K. Anthony Appiah. “We have to reinforce our power to be able to analyze and understand the turbulent phenomena of our culture.” The festival runs April 25 – May 1, with the hubs the Standard, New York and the High Line, and consists of multiple events each day; below are our recommended highlights.

Monday, April 25, the Standard, $20, 11:00 pm: Yael Hedaya, Honor Moore, Irvine Welsh, Edmund White, and others will take part in the PEN Speakeasy “Sex; Erotic Readings,” hosted by Katie Halper, re-creating the feel of a speakeasy and sharing erotic stories.

Tuesday, April 26, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral Gymnasium, 268 Mulberry St., $15, 7:30: Rick Moody, Michael Silverblatt, Sandro Veronesi, Michael Pietsch, and others will delve into the fascinating story behind the publication of David Foster Wallace’s unfinished final novel in “Everything and More: The Pale King by David Foster Wallace.”

Wednesday, April 27, Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave., $15, 7:00: HBO’s outstanding series In Treatment, starring Gabriel Byrne as a therapist in need of some treatment of his own, is based on the Israeli television series Be-tipul, written by novelist Yael Hedaya; Hedaya will be in Astoria to talk about therapy and television and screen an episode of the show.

Thursday, April 28, Westbeth Home of the Arts, Community Room, 155 Bank St., $12, 6:30: For “A Literary Safari: A Unique Experience,” sixteen writers will be situated throughout the Westbeth Center, reading from their works, including Nathacha Appanah, Rahul Bhattacharya, Abdelkader Benali, Amélie Nothomb, Ksenia Shcherbino, Teresa Solana, John Burnside, Mircea Cărtărescu, Manuel de Lope, Deborah Eisenberg, Marcelo Figueras, Jonas Hassan Khemiri, Hervé Le Tellier, Daniel Orozco, Gunnhild Øyehaug, and Lynne Tillman.

Friday, April 29, 92nd St. Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., $25, 7:30: Multidisciplinary artist and musician Laurie Anderson has curated “Poetry: The Second Skin,” an evening that explores the connections between poetry and music with John Burnside, Ernesto Cardenal, David-Dephy Gogibedashvili, Hasina Gul, Yusef Komunyakaa, Juan Carlos Mestre, Piotr Sommer, Joachim Sartorius, and Pia Tafdrup.

Saturday, April 30, the Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Sq., $15, 12 noon: For “Get Super Lit: Comic Books Come Alive on Stage,” Jeff Newelt has put together a multimedia presentation of works that feature a wide range of superheroes created by Kate Beaton, Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Colden, Mike Dawson, Ludovic Debeurme, Dean Haspiel, Michael Kupperman, Benjamin Marra, R. Sikoryak, and Harvey Pekar, all of whom, save for the late Pekar, will participate in the program.

Sunday, May 1, New York Public Library, Celeste Bartos Forum, Fifth Ave. at 42nd St., $25, 3:00: Literary critic and deconstructionist Harold Bloom will talk with the NYPL’s Paul Holdengräber about writing and read some of his favorite poems, including his own, in “From the Anxiety to the Anatomy of Influence: A Conversation with Harold Bloom.”

LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE

Laura Careless is outstanding playing several of Charles Bukowski’s women in new play (photo by Corey Tatarczuk)

A DANCE/THEATRE MEDITATION ON BUKOWSKI’S WOMEN
303 Bond Street Theatre
303 Bond St. between Union & Sackett Sts.
Fridays – Sundays through May 8, $25-$30, 8:00
800-838-3006
www.companyxiv.com

“I need a good woman. I need a good woman more than I need my typewriter,” Charles Bukowski (Jeff Takacs) proclaims in Company XIV’s mesmerizing new production, Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore. “I need a good woman so badly that I can taste her in the air.” As Takacs makes his way around Zane Pihlstrom’s clever, enigmatic set, speaking into a series of old-fashioned microphones, the delightful Laura Careless embodies two of Bukowski’s muses, Vivian and Scarlet, wearing a succession of sexy, exotic lingerie, wigs, and high heels, moving sharply and dramatically in a center rectangular space cordoned off by a border of white neon lighting on the floor. She glances knowingly at the audience on occasion, changing bras with her back to the crowd, stomping atop a rotted piano, rolling around in asphalt, and jumping onto a piece of narrow furniture to write on the wall in lipstick. Conceived, choreographed, and directed by Austin McCormick expanded from a senior project at Juilliard, Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore is an enticing and intoxicating sixty-minute journey into the lurid mind of Bukowski, author of such novels as Factotum, Women, Barfly, and Pulp. The tale takes place in Company XIV’s fascinating space, a former tow-truck warehouse in Brooklyn, with large doors leaning in corners and chandeliers cluttering the floor. Some of the action occurs in a separate living area with a bed, a bathtub, a toilet, and a desk where Takacs continues reciting Bukowski’s text, his image projected onto doors and walls and large shadows hovering over the space. Takacs does an excellent job portraying the iconoclastic writer with a thing for women, drink, and the horses, but it’s Careless who demands the audience’s attention, engaging in brief solo dances, writhing around on the ground, and occasionally grabbing a mic and speaking. A graduate of Juilliard and London’s Royal Ballet School, Careless moves and dances with an arresting confidence that gives emotional depth to women who could have just as easily been portrayed as shallow, cheap whores. Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore., which plays Fridays through Sundays through May 8, is a thrilling night of experimental dance theater.

TWI-NY TENTH ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Fontana’s
105 Eldridge St. between Grand & Broome Sts.
Wednesday, May 18, free, 7:00 – 9:30
212-334-6740
www.twi-ny.com
www.fontanasnyc.com

In April 2001, after being kicked out of an internet start-up that had promised the moon but instead delivered a pink slip, I took the two-week severance check and became a tourist in my own town, going to museums and galleries, independent films and lectures, and other cool events that make New York City what it is. I then wrote about my cultural journey, sending a short e-mail to a few dozen friends and relatives. Well, a couple of them seemed to enjoy it, including one person in particular, who convinced me to keep on doing it. Ten years later, here we are, celebrating the aluminum anniversary of This Week in New York: The Insider’s Guide to the City. On May 18, some of my favorite writers and musicians will be participating in a blowout party at Fontana’s on the Lower East Side, and every one of you is invited — and best of all, it’s free. Just sign up here to let us know you’re coming!

7:00: Andrew Giangola, The Weekend Starts on Wednesday
7:15: Megan Reilly with James Mastro
7:45: Nova Ren Suma, Imaginary Girls
8:00: Paula Carino and the Sliding Scale
8:30: Dean Haspiel, Billy Dogma, Street Code
8:45: Kyle Smith, 85A
9:00: Evan Shinners

AN EVENING WITH ELLIOT TIBER

Museum of Tolerance
226 East 42nd St. between Second & Third Aves.
Thursday, April 14, $20, 6:30
RSVP recommended
212-697-1180
www.museumoftolerancenewyork.com
www.squareonepublishers.com

Elliot Tiber, whose bestselling 2007 memoir, Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life, was turned into a movie by Ang Lee, will be at the Museum of Tolerance on April 14 to read from and discuss his follow-up, the prequel Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True Story of the Mob, Judy Garland & Interior Decorating (Square One, January 2011, $24.95). In the new book, Tiber, who was portrayed by comedian Demetri Martin in Lee’s underrated film, tells his tale in such chapters as “We’re Not in Bensonhurst Anymore!,” “Momma and Homos and Shrinks, Oh My!,” and “Somewhere over the Hudson,” playing off his devotion to his idol, Judy Garland. “Concerning all that took place between me and the divine Miss Garland,” Tiber writes in the book’s disclaimer, “every piece of it is absolutely true. And in the face of any yellow-brick-road journalists who may come around, let me hereby warn you that I own a pair of red ruby slippers and I’m not afraid to wear them!” Palm Trees traces Tiber’s personal and professional journey from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village to the Upper West Side as he became a successful interior designer and gay activist. He’ll participate in an audience Q&A at the museum and sign copies of both of his books in addition to receiving a special Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Gay American Heroes Foundation, for his continuing work fighting hate crimes against the GLBT community.

MoCCA FEST 2011

69th Regiment Armory
68 Lexington Ave. between 25th & 26th Sts.
April 9-10, $10-$12/day, $15-$20/both days, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-254-3511
www.moccany.org

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year at MoCCA Fest 2011, taking place April 9-10 at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Ave. The lineup, as usual, is extensive and impressive, featuring such exhibitors as Drawn + Quarterly, Fanfare-Ponent Mon, Meathaus, NBM, First Second, Rabid Rabbit, Top Shelf, Pantheon, Act-I-Vate, Abrams, Fantagraphics, and various Scandinavian consulates general along with signings by Ben Katchor, Michael Kupperman, Dean Haspiel, Kim Deitch, Mo Willems, R. Sikoryak, Galit & Gilad Seliktar, Neil Kleid, Stephen Vrattos, Farel Dalrymple, and Tom Forget, among many others. Two dozen panels are scheduled, from “The State of Editorial Cartooning,” with Ruben Bolling, Tim Kreider, and Ted Rall, moderated by Brian Heater, and “A New Generation of New Yorker Cartoons,” with Drew Dernavich, Paul Noth, Zachary Kanin, and Emily Flake, moderated by Bob Mankoff, to “Reciprocal Influence: Comics and Graphic Design,” with Chip Kidd, Craig Yoe, Yuko Shimizu, Josh Bernstein, and David Mac, moderated by Jeff Newelt, and “The Enterprising Will Eisner,” with Jules Feiffer, Denis Kitchen, and Paul Levitz, moderated by Charles Brownstein. In addition, Jerry Robinson will be talking “Batman, the Joker, and Beyond,” Gahan Wilson will be getting into “Playboy and Beyond,” and Peter Kuper will be presenting the 2011 Klein Award to the great MAD veteran Al Jaffee. Brings lots of cash, especially singles and fives so you can buy lots of small books and cool pamphlets that you’ll find only at MoCCA Fest. And if you’re looking for a little something extra, sign up for the Tenth Anniversary Wine Tasting and Fundraiser for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, being held at their 594 Broadway home Saturday night from 8:00 to 10:00; admission is only twenty bucks.

ANARCHIST/ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIRS

NYC ANARCHIST BOOK FAIR
Judson Memorial Church (and other venues)
55 Washington Square South
April 8-10, free
www.anarchistbookfair.net

NEW YORK ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
April 8-10, $20/day, $30/two-day pass, $45/three-day pass (includes catalog)
www.armoryonpark.org
www.sanfordsmith.com

The publishing industry is currently going through revolutionary change as digital ebooks threaten the future of the physical book. Although there are still plenty of people who believe that the thrill of holding a book in their hands, putting it on their shelf in its proper place once finished, will never go away, there is a new generation of readers who might never care about that feeling of accomplishment. You are likely to find a lot more of the former rather than the latter at this weekend’s fifty-first annual NY Antiquarian Book Fair, being held April 8-10 at the Park Ave. Armory. More than two hundred exhibitors will be selling first editions, maps, illustrated books, manuscripts, and other literary treasures that would never be quite the same seen on a Kindle, Nook, or iPad. There’s no telling who will show up at the fifth annual New York City Anarchist Book Fair, which begins today with the Anarchist Film Festival ($10 suggested donation), taking place this afternoon and tonight at the Sixth St. Community Center and promising to “celebrate a global uprising and resistance to state repression.” On Saturday and Sunday, exhibitors will set up at Judson Memorial Church, where attendees can check out such workshops and panel discussions as “Food Not Bombs in New York City and Long Island: Diverse Tactics for a Singular Mission,” “Farmworker Justice, Green Capitalism, and Trader Joe’s: A Presentation on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers,” “Disarm and Hammer: Anarchist Pacifists in Nuclear Direct Disarmament Actions,” and “Sexuality, Surveillance, and Government Infiltrators: Fragmenting the Radical Left Through the Terrorization of Animal Advocacy.” In addition, the Anarchist Art Festival at the Living Theater will feature “Seven Meditations on Political Sado Masochism” today and tomorrow and the Anarchist Art Laboratory “Deconstructing Power, Creating New Routes” on Sunday.

THE NEW SCHOOL ARTS FESTIVAL: NOIR

Guy Maddin’s HAUNTINGS will be shown as part of the New School’s noir festival

Theresa Lang Student and Community Center (and other venues)
Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th St.
Admission: free
www.newschool.edu/artsfestival/noir

Dark, shadowy tales filled with double crosses, murder, heated sexuality, creepy corners and alleyways, mysterious characters, flippant dialogue, shootouts, and dangerous women — there’s nothing like a good noir story. The inaugural New School Arts Festival continues this week, using the institution’s resources for a thorough cultural examination of the theme of the noir genre in film, theater, literature, music, and art. All events are free but require advance reservations via the above website. Today at 6:00, author and professor James Naremore will deliver the keynote address, followed by a screening of the Coen brothers’ 1984 neonoir classic, Blood Simple, introduced by cultural writer Kim Morgan and Hirshon Festival Director-in-Residence Guy Maddin. Blood Simple star Frances McDormand will participate in a special conversation with Cecilia Rubino following a screening of the Coens’ Fargo on Friday at 2:00, with the reservation line opening today at noon. On Tuesday at 4:00, the 1913-14 silent crime serial Fantômas will be shown, followed by a panel discussion with Geoffrey O’Brien, Howard Rodman, Luc Sante, and David White; at 6:00, Molly Haskell will deliver a paper on the femme fatale that lies at the center of the noir genre, followed by a discussion with Morgan, Susie Linfield, and Laura Frost, moderated by Bill Goldstein; and at 8:00, Robet Polito, Mary Gaitskill, and Robert Pinsky will read poetry accompanied by live improvised jazz from Ben Allison, Frank Kimbrough, and Rudy Royston in the program “Noir — Poetry, Fiction and Jazz.” On Wednesday at 4:00, Eugene Lang College students and alumni will present John Webster’s 1612 play The White Devil; blues expert Michael Gray will discuss the life and career of Blind Willie McTell at 6:30; and Maddin will screen Hauntings, his short reimaginings of lost films by major directors, then take part in a talk with Polito. On Thursday night from 6:30 to 11:30, “Noir Now” will include creative writing students reading their winning noir-inspired work, video excerpts from composer Paul Moravec and librettist Terry Teachout’s noir opera The Letter, poetry reading by Frank Bidart, and Greil Marcus and Todd Haynes discussing Haynes’s fine miniseries adaptation of James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce, currently being shown on HBO. On Friday at 11:00 am, New School students have curated an excellent noir double feature at the IFC Center, consisting of Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950) and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001), and the festivities conclude that night at 8:00 with the Dorothy H. Hirshon Film Festival: Original Script Reading Event, featuring multimedia excerpts from students finishing up their Screenwriting Certificates, followed by a public reception.