this week in literature

JUST WORKING ON MY NOVEL

WORD Brooklyn
126 Franklin St.
Friday, August 6, free, 7:30
718-383-0096
www.wordbrooklyn.com

How’s that novel coming along? Ready to get some public feedback and also see what your fellow wannabe authors are up to? The next installment of Russ Marshalek’s “Just Working on My Novel” series takes place Friday night at WORD Brooklyn, hosted by Brooklyn-based actor and YA playwright Frank Anthony Polito, author of BAND FAGS! and DRAMA QUEERS! Polito will be reading from one published work and one work in progress, and anyone else is invited to read a five-to-ten-minute section of their own unpublished piece. An advance RSVP is strongly suggested to participate; you can always have a few glasses of cheap wine to loosen yourself up once you get there. As Marshalek says, “Lauren Conrad did it . . . twice. So YA can’t you?”

HARLEM WEEK

Multiple locations in Harlem around 135th St.
Through August 29
Admission to most events: free
www.harlemweek.com

Harlem Week is under way, and it’s much more than just seven days of special events and cultural activities; it actually continues through the end of August, featuring health and job fairs, a college expo, swimming, tennis, basketball, charity runs, and farmers markets in addition to film screenings and live music and dance, most of which is free. Tonight, Jazzmobile presents Houston Person in U.S. Grant National Memorial Park, while tomorrow the Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series continues with a performance at the Jackie Robinson Park Bandshell. On August 3, National Night Out will feature outdoor concerts, followed the next night by Tia Fuller in the Jazzmobile. (Future Jazzmobile musicians include Wycliffe Gordon on August 10, Akiko Tsuruga on August 18, and Jimmy Heath on August 21.) On August 7-8, ArtCrawl Harlem ($40-$55) will take art lovers on a trolley tour of such galleries as Casa Frela, the Dwyer Cultural Center, the LeRoy Neiman Art Center, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, followed by a reception with food, wine, and music. August 14 (“Summer in the City”) and 15 (Harlem Day), the NYC Children’s Festival is chock-full of special events and activities, with “Dancing in the Street” paying tribute to Bob Marley, the annual “Uptown Saturday Nite” celebration, free outdoor film screenings in St. Nicholas Park, “A Salute to the Children of Haiti,” a business expo, crafts markets, fashion shows, and more.

CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Rachel Dratch and others are back for more poignant celebrity readings at the Triad Theatre

Triad Theatre
158 West 72nd St. at Broadway
Monday, July 26, 7:30 & 9:30
Tickets: $35-$60 (two-drink minimum, cash only)
www.celebrityautobiography.com

America loves its celebrities, even more so after they share their very personal stories in poignant, moving, emotional memoirs in which they talk about their painful childhood and how hard a life they have despite the fame and fortune, the glitz and glamour. Well, a few years ago, Eugene Pack had the brilliant idea to honor the confessional tomes of superstar celebrities by reading their powerful stories onstage, with a diverse cast of performers in CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY: IN THEIR OWN WORDS. No writer’s embellishment is needed as the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Brooke Shields, Matthew Broderick, Sally Struthers, George Wendt, Julie Chen, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Coolidge, Dick Cavett, Lesley Ann Warren, Alan Cumming, Joy Behar, and many more pay homage to such celebs as the Jonas Brothers, Vanna White, Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Elizabeth Taylor, Tommy Lee, Suzanne Somers, David Cassidy, Joan Lunden, and any other poor celebrity who has chosen to open up to their adoring public. The Drama Desk Award-winning show returns to the Triad Theatre on July 26 with Rachel Dratch, Kristen Johnston, Carol Kane, Michael McGlone, Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Mo Rocca, Sherri Shepherd, and Alan Zweibel at the 7:30 show, which is already sold out, but tickets for the 9:30 show are still available (with Annie Golden replacing Kane). You can also buy advance tickets for the next three shows, September 20, October 18, and November 22, although the roster of readers has yet to be announced. But does it really matter who is reading whom? It’s hard to go wrong when a bunch of actors and comedians get together to read the intimate stories of their peers.

AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS

AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS by Mike Bender & Doug Chernack (Three Rivers Press, $15, May 2010)
Barnes & Noble
97 Warren St. at Greenwich St.
Thursday, July 15, free, 7:00
212-587-5389
www.randomhouse.com
www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

What could be more fun than looking at someone else’s family photos? Well, what used to be a chore and a bore is now something completely different thanks to Mike Bender and Doug Chernack, who established awkwardfamilyphotos.com in May 2009, becoming an instant internet sensation. The website is now a book, divided into such thematic chapters as “The Family Portrait,” “Mom and Dad,” “The Kids,” “Siblings,” “Grandma and Grandpa,” “Pets,” “Birthdays,” “Holidays,” and, yes, “Vacation” and features such classic shots as “the Pile-On,” “the Lean,” “the Kiss Off,” and “Matchy-Matchy.” But the authors have not collected these photos — and tons of thousands more on their website — merely to make fun of people. As Bender and Chernack explain in the introduction, the book “is much more than just photos and stories. It’s about celebrating the family experience and shining a light on all of those deliciously awkward moments that come with the price of membership.” Bender and Chernack, who both work in Los Angeles in the film business, will be at the TriBeCa B&N on Warren St. on July 15 at 7:00 to discuss their tome and sign copies.

THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD BOOK CLUB

“Bardo: Tibetan Art of the Afterlife” looks at death at the Rubin Museum

Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Wednesdays through August 25, $20 per session, 7:00
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org/bookofthedead

Last Wednesday the Rubin Museum of Art began its seven-part series on the THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, led by Dr. Ramon Prats, by examining “Addiction and Attachments” with Dr. Gabor Maté. This week, the discussion of the eighth-century funerary text also known as PROFOUND DHARMA OF SELF-LIBERATION THROUGH THE INTENTION OF THE PEACEFUL AND WRATHFUL ONES turns to “The Near-Death Experience” with Prof. Lee W. Bailey and continues with future talks on “The Analysis of Dreams” with psychoanalyst Morgan Stebbins (July 21), “The Death of Death” with Rabbi Neil Gillman (July 28), “The Egyptian Book of the Dead” with Brooklyn Museum curator Edward Bleiberg (August 11), “Channeling the Dead” with medium Jesse Bravo (August 18), and “How to Die” with Roshi Enkyo O’Hara (August 25). Actually, just about everything at the Rubin right now is about death. “Memento Mori,” the Cabaret Cinema series of Friday night films (free with $7 bar minimum), begins this week with Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 noir PIERROT LE FOU and also features Robin Hardy’s awesome 1973 horror classic, THE WICKER MAN (July 23), Ingmar Bergman’s very funny THE SEVENTH SEAL (July 30), Pier Paolo Pasolini’s IL DECAMERON (August 6) and IL FIORE DELLE MILLE E UNA NOTTE (August 20), Frank Capra’s LOST HORIZON (August 27), and Philip Kaufman’s excellent 1978 remake, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (September 3).

Several of the current exhibitions at the museum also take a fascinating look at the end of physical being. “Bardo: Tibetan Art of the Afterlife,” which runs through September 6, delves into the BARDO THODROL, aka THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, with original illuminated manuscripts, ritual cards, and other items than take visitors into different worlds of existence. Through August 9, “Remember That You Will Die: Death Across Cultures” explores the art of death as seen in European Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism, including a topography of the afterlife, an intriguing video installation by Bill Viola, and paintings, sculpture, and ritual objects. (Also on view is the excellent “In the Shadow of Everest,” Tom Wool’s photographs taken in May 2001; the terrific “From the Land of the Gods: Art of the Kathmandu Valley”; and “Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond,” featuring works by contemporary Tibetan artists.)

PILOBOLUS

Pilobolus collaborates with Art Spiegelman on HAPLESS HOOLIGAN IN “STILL MOVING,” at the Joyce this summer (photo by Joseph Mehling)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
July 12 – August 7, $10-$75
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.pilobolus.com

The uniquely creative Connecticut-based Pilobolus Dance Theatre has something very special planned for its annual summer season at the Joyce, a multimedia collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegleman. In HAPLESS HOOLIGAN IN “STILL MOVING,” the dancers will interact with Spiegelman’s colorful artwork, animated on backdrops by Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson, with sound design by FELA!’s Rob Kaplowitz. HOOLIGAN will be part of Program 1, which also includes Jonathan Wolken’s REDLINE, Michael Tracy’s dazzling SYMBIOSIS, and Inbal Pinto, Avshalom Pollak, and Robby Barnett’s RUSHES. Program 2 consists of Wolken’s GNOMEN and HITCHED, THE TRANSFORMATION, RUSHES, and Moses Pendleton’s beautiful and sexy DAY 2, with Program 3 featuring Tracy’s LATERNA MAGICA, Wolken’s stunning PSEUDOPODIA, Matt Kent and Renee Jaworski’s CONTRADANCE (featuring music by kids rocker Dan Zanes), Barnett and Wolken’s GNOMEN, and Wolken’s MEGAWATT. On July 15 at 2:00 at the Joyce, Pilobolus will be holding a public memorial service for cofounder (with Pendleton) and artistic director Wolken, who died on June 13 at the age of sixty, leaving behind a wife and four daughters.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON HOUSE CALL FROM FREE-RANGE LENORE

“America’s Worst Mom” would like to come over for personalized Free-Range sessions with you and your child

FREE-RANGE TUTORIAL
Your Place
Friday, July 9, anytime after 12 noon
Admission: free with advance arrangements
www.freerangekids.com

Back in late April, we conducted a twi-ny talk with Lenore Skenazy, “America’s Worst Mom.” The author of the controversial book FREE-RANGE KIDS: HOW TO RAISE SAFE, SELF-RELIANT CHILDREN (WITHOUT GOING NUTS WITH WORRY) and mastermind of the Free-Range Kids website was promoting “Take Our Children to the Park . . .  and Leave Them There Day,” in which she encouraged parents to go to local parks with their kids on May 22 and let them play without constant overbearing helicopter supervision. As she told us back then, “[In the book] I remind parents that we are not the only influence on our children’s lives. And, ultimately, we cannot control them or the world.”

For her latest project, instead of encouraging parents to let their kids loose in the park, she is going to come over to their place to give a Free-Range tutorial this Friday afternoon, July 9. Yes, she will make a house call, meeting with parent and child to discuss specific Free-Range-type situations they are experiencing. As she writes on her blog, “So if you’d like me to come over for an hour or so to chat with you about what you’d like your kid to maybe start doing on his/her own, whether that’s cutting a sandwich, making a playdate, sitting in the playpen while you take a shower, playing on his own or (well, I need help with this one, too) doing their own homework, invite me over and we’ll see if we can’t make that happen.” Although it’s free, Lenore might ask for coffee and cookies. If you’re interested in having her visit you on Friday, you can e-mail her directly at lskenazy@gmail.com; please be sure to include your phone number. She of course won’t be able to see everyone, but if you’re one of the lucky ones that gets chosen, be prepared for a fun and fascinating time with a very caring, very funny, very dedicated person.