this week in literature

LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

The Teabaggers will present “The TNC Tea Party” at this year’s Lower East Side Festival of the Arts (photo by Alex Smith)

Theater for the New City
155 First Ave. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Saturday, May 29, and Sunday, May 30
Admission: free
www.theaterforthenewcity.net

The fifteenth annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts continues on Saturday on Sunday with two days of free live performances both inside the Theater for the New City and outside, where a cultural fair will be held. On Saturday from 2:00 to 5:00, magicians, musicians, dancers, and more will entertain children in the Johnson Theater, anchored by Supercute playing at 4:30. Adult entertainment takes over after that, with the Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, Bleecker Street Opera, David Amram, Joe Franklin, and others. Meanwhile, Yana Schnitzler’s Human Kinetics Movement Arts will perform a site-specific installation in the lobby beginning at 7:00. Films will run from noon to midnight in the Cabaret Theater, including Rome Neal’s BANANA PUDDIN JAZZ, Buck Heller’s THROUGH THEIR EYES, and Roger Corman’s BUCKET OF BLOOD. And the outdoor street festival will feature live music, poetry readings, performance art, dance, and comedy by Jessica Delfino, the Drama Bums, Domingo’s Dominion, the Vox Pop Players, Jessica Friedlander, and others. On Sunday night, KT Sullivan, Tammy Grimes, the Silvercloud Singers & Drummers, Phoebe Legere, Penny Arcade, and Tokyo Penguin are among those scheduled in the Johnson Theater, with theatrical performances taking place in the Cabaret Theater. In addition, the Community Space Theater will host a poetry program at 4:00 with special guest Joan Durant and nearly fifty participants. And all weekend long, the lobby will be home to visual art curated by Carolyn Ratcliffe. It’s a great festival that has something for everyone, and, yes, it’s all free.

TALES OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD AND NEW YORK

Dennis Larkin and Peter Barsotti, “Radio City Music Hall poster Oct. 22-31, 1980” (courtesy Grateful Dead Archive)

THE BERNARD AND IRENE SCHWARTZ DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS SERIES
Thursday, May 27, New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th St., $20, 6:30
“Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New-York Historical Society” exhibition continues through July 4, 2 West 77th St., $12
212-873-3400
www.nyhistory.org

Although they are most closely aligned with their hometown of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, the Grateful Dead had a special relationship with New York City. Every year, usually in the fall in the 1980s and ’90s, the psychedelic, free-flowing rock band would come to Radio City, Madison Square Garden, and other local venues for extended stays as Dead Heads came out of the woodwork to join in the annual celebration of life and music. So it is not nearly as strange as it might first appear for “The Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New-York Historical Society” to be held at the venerable Upper West Side institution. The small but concentrated exhibit focuses on the group’s interaction with their dedicated fans through film, video, photographs, ticket stubs, concert posters, backstage guest lists and passes, and other cool paraphernalia. The display includes the group’s first record contract, a tour rider, designs for their 1974 Wall of Sound speaker system, the life-size marionettes used in their breakthrough “Touch of Grey” video, Dick Latvala’s notebooks evaluating specific shows (some of which would later be released as a Dick’s Pick), and dozens of envelopes people decorated when sending in ticket requests. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and other Dead members were way ahead of the curve when it came to dealing with their fans, creating a human social network well before Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, although they were always on the cutting edge of technology as well. Music continually flows through the exhibit, and you can take a break by grabbing a seat and watching clips from 1977’s THE GRATEFUL DEAD MOVIE.

On May 27 at 6:30, longtime progressive rock deejay Pete Fornatale and “Tales from the Golden Road” radio host Gary Lambert, along with surprise guests, will participate in “Tales of the Grateful Dead and New York,” an intimate look at the band’s unique ties to the city, which include appearances at such legendary venues as the Fillmore East in addition to Tompkins Square Park, Central Park, and other locations. The event will take place at the New York Society for Ethical Culture; tickets are $20.

NEW YORK BOOK WEEK

Louis Gossett Jr. will be in town for New York Book Week

Multiple locations
Monday, May 24 – Friday, May 28, free – $30
www.bookexpoamerica.com/en/New-York-Book-Week

While BookExpo America is an industry-only event taking place May 25-27 at the Javits Center, the organizers at BEA have wisely added New York Book Week, five days of readings, signings, Q&As, and discussions that are open to the public and mostly free. On Monday, Louis Gossett Jr. will chat up AN ACTOR AND A GENTLEMAN at the B&N at 1972 Broadway; on Tuesday, Zetta Elliot, Tonya Cherie Hegamin, Kekla Magoon, and Rita Williams-Garcia will be at the New York Public Library’s 125th St. branch; on Wednesday, William Peter Blatty will participate in a “Meet the Author” session at the Yorkville Library; on Thursday, Jonathan Franzen and David Means will be at the Brooklyn Public Library; and on Friday, baseball star Lee Smith and cowriter Fran Zimnuch will be at Borders Wall St. signing FIREMAN: THE EVOLUTION OF THE CLOSER IN BASEBALL. Among the ticketed events are “An Hour (or Two) with Daniel Handler” at WORD (May 25, $20), “Stories by Writers from THIS AMERICAN LIFE with Special Guest Ira Glass” at Symphony Space (May 26, $27), and “A Conversation with Scott Turow” at the TimesCenter (May 26, $30).

HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA IN NEW YORK CITY

The Dalai Lama shares his wisdom at Radio City press conference (photo by twi-ny / Ellen Scordato)

Radio City Music Hall
1260 Sixth Ave. at 51st St.
Thursday, May 20, through Saturday, May 22, $17-$360
Sunday, May 23, public talk, $25-$40, 1:00
Sunday, May 23, interfaith dialogue, St. John the Divine, 2:30 (sold out)
866-858-0008
www.radiocity.com
www.dalailamany.org
radio city slide show

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in the midst of a four-day stand at Radio City Music Hall, teaching and lecturing on various texts and philosophies and attaining enlightenment. From May 20 to 22, he will speak on Shantiveda’s A GUIDE TO THE BODHISATTVA’S WAY OF LIFE and Nagarjuna’s COMMENTARY ON BODHICIITA, followed by a public talk at 1:00 on May 23 on “Awakening the Heart of Selflessness” (with a Q&A afterward). The fourteenth Dalai Lama, also known as Tenzin Gyatso, will then head straight from Radio City to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to participate in the interfaith dialogue “Enter the Conversation: Kinship and Its Meaning in Our World Today,” with Eboo Patel and Sakena Yacoobi, moderated by the Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski, and with a special performance by Paul Winter on saxophone. The Dalai Lama is an engaging, thoughtful, and intelligent man, and his teachings are detailed and complex; it definitely helps if you are at least somewhat familiar with the texts he will be covering.

ASIA IN AMERICA

LAW & ORDER: SVU’s BD Wong will star in new musical as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Asia Society (unless otherwise noted)
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
May 21-29, $15-$30
212-517-asia
www.asiasociety.org

The Asia Society’s celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month continues on May 21 as the Balinese music and dance ensemble Gamelan Dharma Swara will present a preview of their fall tour, preceded by a lecture about the engaging art form ($20, 7:00). From May 24 to 26, BD Wong will star as a fortune hunter in the new musical HEADING EAST, with music by Leon Ko and lyrics by Robert Lee ($30, 8:00). On May 26, Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, author of the new book DELIVERING HAPPINESS: A PATH TO PROFITS, PASSION, AND PURPOSE, will discuss his life and career ($15, 6:30). The inventive dance team of Eiko and Koma will perform “Retrospective Project I: Regeneration” May 27-29 at Danspace Project, with each evening followed by a Q&A with guest speakers ($18, 8:00). And today is the last day to check out the AsiaStore Asian American Designer Series, with special appearances by Rita Chung and Rose Ajmera.

THEATRE FOR ONE

Artistic director Christine Jones welcomes adventurous theatergoers into brand-new Times Square venue (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Duffy Square, 46th St. & Broadway
Through May 23, 1:00 – 3:00, 4:00 – 6:00, 7:00 – 9:00
Admission: free (donations accepted)
www.theatreforone.com
online slide show

Broadway still getting you down with all the crowds and soaring ticket prices? Christine Jones is offering a unique escape from the madness and maelstrom: Through May 23, the Tony-nominated set designer of such hits as AMERICAN IDIOT, EVERYDAY RAPTURE, and SPRING AWAKENING has brought Theatre for One to Duffy Square, a converted rock-and-roll road box that offers free, private performances that hearken back to Times Square’s days as peep show central while also calling to mind a confessional. Designed by Ada Tolla, Giuseppe Lignano, and Baptiste Thevenon of LOT-EK, the box has just enough room for one performer and one visitor, with no barrier between them. Every day from 1:00 to 3:00, 4:00 to 6:00, and 7:00 to 9:00, individuals can watch a private show just for them; performers include poets, puppeteers, singers, actors, dancers, magicians, comedians, and others, putting on a show that lasts between five and ten minutes. You don’t get to choose what you see; while some days might feature one type of performer, it’s usually a random, rotating collection, so be ready for anything. The wait has been reasonable so far, so get on line before everyone else finds out about this extremely creative, intimate experience.

TWI-NY TALK: JOSH WILKER

Josh Wilker has been experiencing breakout success with CARDBOARD GODS (photo by Abby Theuring)

CARDBOARD GODS by Josh Wilker (Seven Footer Press, April 2010, $24.95)
Thursday, May 13, Nike Store, 255 Elizabeth St., with bubblegum-blowing contest, 7:30
Monday, May 17, Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington, 7:00
Tuesday, May 18, Two Boots, Grand Central Terminal, 7:00
www.cardboardgods.net

Back in the 1990s, we spent many a late night at such dive bars as the International, the Idiot, and Rudy’s discussing life, literature, and sports with Josh Wilker, his older brother, Ian, and their inner circle of trusted friends. Josh has always been the most introspective of the crew, and he has now turned that penchant for self-examination into the compelling, extremely entertaining memoir CARDBOARD GODS: AN ALL-AMERICAN TALE TOLD THROUGH BASEBALL CARDS, adapted and expanded from his popular blog, which has been delighting readers since 2006.

In short chapters that begin with an image of a baseball card from his personal collection, Wilker relates his unusual, fascinating story growing up in Vermont in the 1970s with his brother, his mother, his father, and his mother’s lover, Tom, as well as his current life in Chicago with his wife, Abby. Wilker doesn’t just include such obvious Cardboard Gods as Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Nolan Ryan, and Rickey Henderson; in fact, it is most often the lesser-known mediocrities, from Rowland Office and Rudy Meoli to Carmen Fanzone and bubblegum-blowing champion Kurt Bevacqua, that bring out the best of his natural talent, finding some aspect of the player’s history or physical appearance to tie in with his life. Wilker gets most excited when talking about his beloved Boston Red Sox, but you don’t have to be a BoSox fan, or even know a thing about baseball, to be amazed by Wilker’s impressive skills as a chronicler of the ups and, mostly, downs of daily existence.

We caught up with Wilker via e-mail as he set out on his whirlwind book tour, which brings him to New York City and Long Island this week and next and then to Fenway Park for an event with the Spaceman himself, Cardboard God Bill Lee.

twi-ny: On your blog, you have described yourself as “socially anxious” and suffering from “self-mortification.” What’s it been like for you getting out in the world, meeting and greeting strangers and fans who either already know or are about to find out so much about your personal life?

Josh Wilker: I’ve only had one reading so far, and it was pretty low-key. Not exactly the Beatles at Shea Stadium. I did get a chance to talk to a few people who had been reading the blog, and that was fun because we just ended up talking about baseball cards. The anxiety comes during the lead-up to these things. Right now I’m getting ready to go off on a road trip to do several readings, and I’m getting nervous again, just like I was in the lead-up to the first reading. It definitely helps that I have the cards themselves to hide behind. I get nervous about being in any kind of a spotlight, but the spotlight is really on my old cards, not me, and even more importantly there’s really not much of a spotlight anyway. I realized this as I was walking to my first reading with a feeling in my stomach like I was going to be stripped naked in front of a packed stadium. I kept walking by all these people who weren’t going to my reading, who had no idea about my reading. All but a fraction of the population so tiny as to be nonexistent don’t know or care one iota about my book. I find this comforting, and also depressing.

twi-ny: You’ve been doing interviews and writing pieces for dozens of websites, including espn.com, GQ, and the Huffington Post, while also working on your next book, which again will meld childhood with baseball by taking on THE BAD NEWS BEARS. What’s your writing schedule like, since you also have a full-time job?

JW: That next project you mention is actually THE BAD NEWS BEARS IN BREAKING TRAINING, not THE BAD NEWS BEARS. (The difference? More Kelly Leak.) I was supposed to have a manuscript wrapped up by now but I had to get an extension because of the other writing you mention. It’s been hectic, especially with the paying job and the unpaying job of keeping up the chatter on my blog. I get up early every morning and get to it as soon as I can pry myself away from Howard Stern, and I go until I have to run for the train to work. I still find time, heroically, to practice my religion, which is glaze-eyed laziness borne atop sitcom reruns and huge piles of pasta washed down with beer.

twi-ny: You hold nothing back when writing about your family situation in Vermont back in the ’70s as well as today. How has your family reacted to the book’s powerful honesty?

JW: Everyone has given me the thumbs-up in one way or another. They have always been very supportive of me and of attempting to be creative and expressive in general. I think various parts of the book may not be exactly pleasant for one or another family member to relive. I think that they see that they are the heroes of the book. I hope so.

twi-ny: On May 17, you’ll be appearing at the forty-sixth vernal assemblage of the Blohards, a luncheon meeting of the Benevolent and Loyal Order of Honorable Ancient Red Sox Die Hard Sufferers of New York. What goes on behind those secretive closed doors? Is there such a thing in Chicago, where you now live, or do you root for the Sox in lonely obscurity?

JW: Ha! I really don’t know much about the Blohards, but I’m looking forward to finding out. Secret handshakes and planning to make Steve Guttenberg a star (again), hopefully, capped with a keg party and Ping-Pong. As for Chicago, I mostly do my rooting alone, which suits me, but in the 2004 playoffs I did learn of a bar that transplanted Red Sox fans had started gravitating to in droves. It had always been my dream to be in a screaming crowd if the Red Sox ever finally did it, and so I went to that bar and was able to flail around in a packed room with tears in my eyes for the moment of victory. I went back to the bar for a playoff game in 2007 (not the clincher) and it had devolved into a near-empty dump with a couple of decidedly anti–Red Sox grumblers leaning over their drinks.