this week in literature

PEN WORLD VOICES FESTIVAL OF INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE

Multiple venues
Through May 2
Most events free – $30
www.pen.org

The sixth annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature got under way April 26-27, with a panel discussion on diversity on Monday night and the $1,000 gala on Tuesday night, but things really kick into gear for the rest of the week, featuring more than 50 events with 150 writers from 40 countries. The Opening Night Extravaganza at the 92nd St. Y on Wednesday night, “Readings from Around the Globe,” includes the eclectic lineup of Mohsin Hamid, László Krasznahorkai, Yiyun Li, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, Soﬁ Oksanen, Atiq Rahimi, Salman Rushdie, Alberto Ruy-Sánchez, Patti Smith, Andrzej Stasiuk, and Miguel Syjuco. On Thursday, Barry Gifford, Richard Price, Philippe Djian, and Jean-Philippe Toussaint will discuss “Adaptation: From Page to Screen” at the Skirball Center, directed by Francine Prose. Meanwhile, Quim Monzó, Darryl Pinckney, Roxanna Robinson, and Colm Tóibín will be sharing “New York Stories” at the Morgan Library with moderator Edwin Frank. On April 30, free events include “David Almond and Sofi Oksanen in Conversation with Rakesh Satyal” and “Utopia and Dystopia: Geographies of the Possible” with Inga Kuznetsova, Jonathan Lethem, Eshkol Nevo, and Andrzej Stasiuk, moderated by Albert Mobilio, at the CUNY Graduate Center and “Quim Monzó in Conversation with Robert Coover” at NYU’s Deutsches Haus, while it’ll cost twenty bucks to see “The Great Fire—Shirley Hazzard in Conversation with Richard Ford” at the 92nd St. Y.

Patti Smith will be participating in several events at the sixth annual PEN World Voices Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Saturday’s most exciting event might be “Patti Smith and Jonathan Lethem in Conversation” in the historic Great Hall at the Cooper Union, although the talk that follows it, “Toni Morrison and Marlene van Niekerk in Conversation with Anthony Appiah,” should be pretty fine as well. Le Poisson Rouge will be hosting the fourth annual PEN Cabaret, this year starring Irakli Kakabadze, Natalie Merchant, Ben Okri, Ariel Dorfman, and other special guests, emceed by Rakesh Satyal. And on Sunday, the festival concludes in style with such gatherings as “Roddy Doyle in Conversation with Colum McCann” at FIAF, “A Life in Film” with Melvin Van Peebles and Greg Tate at the Brooklyn Library, “Ariel Dorfman in Conversation with Gabriel Sanders” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and Sherman Alexie delivering the fifth annual Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture at the Cooper Union. There are many more events, with nearly everything $20 and under, or free, except for the cabaret, which is $30.

SAKURA MATSURI

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
900 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway
Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2, $10-$15
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org/sakura2010

There is nothing quite like hanami in Brooklyn, the annual cherry blossom viewing at the botanic garden. More than two hundred flowering Japanese cherry trees are expected to be in bloom this weekend for the Sakura Matsuri, a two-day festival of dance, music, art, workshops, food, workshops, and nature that always attracts large crowds excited to experience the pure beauty of it all. Among this year’s participants are Soh Daiko, Nihon Buyo Classical & Ryukyu Buyo Okinawan Dance, the Spring Street Haiku Group, happyfunsmile, Samurai Sword Soul, poet Enta Kusakabe, Dean Street FOO Dance, Kagero Japanese Gypsy rock, Pokémon voice artist Veronica Taylor, DJ Saiko Mikan, stand-up comic Uncle Yo, woodblock artist April Vollmer, children’s Taiko drummers Genki Daiko Team, Masayo Ishigure and the Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, and the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY. Special events and activities include a Mataro Ningyo dollmaking demonstration, a Sohenry-style tea ceremony, the Manga & Anime Artist Alley, a cosplay fashion show, origami paper folding, ikebana flower arranging, a children’s tattoo parlor, a high tea with the Parasol Society, Japanese hot-pot cooking, bonsai advice for home gardeners, and so much more. It’s really one of the best weekends of the year, a must-see for every New Yorker that will become an annual ritual once you experience its charm.

HARPER LEE’S TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Harper Lee’s classic courtroom novel turns fifty this year

50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Symphony Space
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Wednesday, April 28, $24, 8:00
212-864-5400
www.symphonyspace.org

One of the most important novels of the twentieth century, Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD continues to have impact and remain relevant on succeeding generations for its insights into racism, responsibility, the legal system, childhood, and the human psyche. Lee, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, turns eighty-four on April 28, and Symphony Space will wish her a happy birthday by celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of her Pulitzer Prize-winning book with celebrity readings, a panel discussion, and a Q&A with Stephen Colbert, Libba Bray, Oskar Eustis, Kurt Andersen, Jayne Anne Phillips, and Mary McDonagh Murphy. Don’t expect Lee to be there; since the success of MOCKINGBIRD and her work with Truman Capote on IN COLD BLOOD, she has made few public appearances and published only three magazine essays, way back in the 1960s.

SARAH SILVERMAN

thebedwetter

THE BEDWETTER: STORIES OF COURAGE, REDEMPTION, AND PEE (HarperCollins, April 20, 2010, $19.99)
Tuesday, April 20, Union Square Barnes & Noble, 333 East 17th St., 7:00
Wednesday, April 21, Urban Outfitters SoHo, 628 Broadway, 7:00
Admission: free
www.harpercollins.com
www.sarahblog.comedycentral.com

“What you’re about to read will take the place of every religion’s bible in terms of awesomeness,” Sarah Silverman writes in the midword to her very personal tale, the relentlessly funny THE BEDWETTER: STORIES OF COURAGE, REDEMPTION, AND PEE. She not only revolutionizes the state of literature with the first-ever midword but also writes her own foreword and gets God himself to write the afterword. In the breezy, free-flowing style she has displayed appearing on talk shows, performing stand-up, hosting awards shows, and starring in films (JESUS IS MAGIC) and her own hysterical cable series (THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM), Silverman delves into her life, from growing up in New Hampshire with a father who encouraged her to curse to her early days in New York City when she discovered the thrills and chills of sex. But it is her serious problem with bedwetting that is at the heart of her story, and she holds nothing back in describing the pain and shame she experienced, even including pages from her diary in which she entered the word “wet” or “dry” depending on how the night went; “I figured keeping the log with my diary might reveal patterns that would help me get to the bottom of this thing,” she writes. “It didn’t.” Silverman shares intimate stories of her family, the tragic loss of a baby brother, the surrender of her virginity, and e-mails between her and her editor discussing the difference between “pee” and “pee-pee.” It’s a terrific read, fast and fresh, like the childlike Silverman herself, with just the right amount of self-deprecating humor, personal reflection, sordid details, and Jewy-ness. Silverman will be holding two New York City events, at the Union Square Barnes & Noble on April 20 and Urban Outfitters in SoHo on April 21. Get there early, as both signings should be mobbed.

IMMIGRANT HERITAGE WEEK

immigration

Multiple locations
Most events free
Through April 21
www.nyc.gov/immigrants

The seventh annual Immigrant Heritage Week continues through April 21 with numerous, mostly free events across the city. Art exhibitions include “Our Heritage Through Fashion: A Showcase of NYC’s Russian-Speaking Designers” at the Russian American Foundation, “Photographs of the Mexican Immigrant Community of Staten Island” at Snug Harbor, “Art Without Borders” at El Taller Latino Americano, “Immigrant Women United in Art” at Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, “Impractical Hats: Indie Crafts Reinvent Everyday Gear” at the Bronx Council on the Arts, “LibertyNeighborhoodStory” at the A.I.R. Gallery, “Immigrant Trail Painting” at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and a photo exhibit of “Non-Native New Yorkers” at the Statue of Liberty. On April 20 at 6:00 at the International Center in New York, a group of Tibetan immigrants will discuss their work in “Ancient Art in a Modern City,” while on April 21 at 6:00, the Greek Museum will host “In Search of the American Dream: The Greeks of New York.” Also on Wednesday, “Voices of Liberty” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage invites visitors to share their own personal stories. In addition, there will be family programs at several branches of the New York Public Library.

At NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, the Havana Film Festival will feature New York and U.S. premieres (April 19-20), DCTV will present the Oscar-nominated documentary THE BETRAYAL (April 19), and the Turkish Cultural Center will celebrate “New York Sufi Night with Rumi” through film, performance, and poetry readings (April 20). There will also be film screenings and/or theatrical productions at the YMCA, the Maysles Cinema, the Alwan Foundation, and the CUNY Graduate Center and live dance and/or music at Michael Mao Dance, the American Composers Orchestra’s Langston Hughes Branch, and the Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre as well as a host of walking tours.

NY’s GREENEST

Rod Tryon and Anthony Cappetto will create one of their “Koi Pond” 3-D paintings as part of downtown Earth Day celebration Rod Tryon and Anthony Cappetto will create one of their “Koi Pond” 3-D paintings as part of downtown Earth Day celebration

BATTERY PARK CITY CELEBRATES THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY
Multiple locations
Through April 25
Most events free
www.batteryparkcity.org

Battery Park City is honoring the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day with a battery of special events at numerous downtown locations through April 25, with many of the events free. There will be climate change workshops at the Mercy Corps Action Center, bird watching and drawing at the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman reading at Poets House, family programming at the Skyscraper Museum, and arts and crafts and more at the Battery Park City branch of the New York Public Library. The World Financial Center will be home to a pair of Earth Day-related exhibitions, Suzanne and Mathilde Husky’s “Forest” (through May 12) and Rod Tryon and Anthony Cappetto’s “Koi Pond” (April 20-25), in addition to daily 3-D drawing programs and open houses and workshops. The National Museum of the American Indian will feature daily film screenings and a “Native Views on Sustainable Foods” lecture on April 22, while on April 25 the Museum of Jewish Heritage will host “The Earth Day Worm Disco” children’s concert with ShirLaLa and a series of earth-friendly workshops.

INSIDE MEDIA

Edie Falco will discuss Nurse Jackie’s bedside manner and more at the Paley Center

Paley Center for Media
25 West 52nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Suggested contribution: $10 adults, $5 children under fourteen
212-621-6600
www.paleycenter.org

While Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s and Elvis Mitchell’s “The Black List Project” continues at the Paley Center through May 1, featuring scenes from their third documentary and photographs of a wide range of successful African Americans, the institution formerly known as the Museum of Television and Radio will be hosting a series of very special events, with tickets going very fast. In collaboration with Food for Thought Productions, the Paley Center is in the midst of a three-month series of live staged afternoon readings ($65, followed by a Q&A and a reception); coming up is Arthur Miller’s sister, Joan Copeland, reenacting scenes from her brother’s plays (April 21) and Len Cariou taking on Thornton Wilder and Dorothy Parker (April 26), with future shows dedicated to Tennessee Williams’s IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL (May 5) and A. R. Gurney’s LOVE LETTERS (June 17). The cast of THE GOOD WIFE gathers together on April 21 ($25, 6:30), while THE BIG BANG’s Jim Parsons will have the stage all to himself on May 4 ($15, 6:30). On April 26, prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory interviews choreographer Eliot Feld about his career ($25, 7:00), on April 27, actor and photographer Joel Grey will talk about television (don’t forget he was on BUFFY) and more ($35, 6:30), and on April 28, Harry Potter audiobook reader and Broadway star Jim Dale will present “Jim Dale: Still Carrying On,” previewing his new one-man show ($30, 6:30). We’re most excited about “Paging Jackie” ($25, 7:00), in which star Edie Falco and the executive producers behind Showtime’s excellent NURSE JACKIE will screen a sneak-peek episode and take the audience behind the scenes of this unusual, entertaining drama. And looking further ahead, Jimmy Fallon will get into the late-night wars on May 27 ($25, 7:30).