this week in literature

RED BULL THEATER: THE COURAGE TO RIGHT A WOMAN’S WRONGS (VALOR, AGAVIO, Y MUJER)

Red Bull Theater teams up with UCLA to present new translation of Spanish Golden Age comedy

Who: Red Bull Theater company
What: Livestreamed benefit reading of new translation of Ana Caro Mallén’s The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs
Where: Red Bull Theater website and Facebook Live
When: Monday, November 16, free with RSVP (donations accepted), 7:30 (available on demand through November 20 at 7:00)
Why: For its latest livestreamed reading, Red Bull is teaming up with Diversifying the Classics | UCLA to present a brand-new translation of Spanish Golden Age poet and playwright Ana Caro’s The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs (“Valor, agravio y mujer.”) Part of La Escena 2020, the second edition of Los Angeles’s Festival of Hispanic Classical Theater, the seventeenth-century comedy focuses on a woman’s boundary-crossing encounters with issues of society and gender, justice and honor, specifically related to her former lover, Don Juan. In their introduction to the new translation, Marta Albalá Pelegrín and Rafael Jaime write, “Through this stirring tale of a woman’s courage to right the wrongs she has suffered, the play holds up to scrutiny contemporary notions of masculine honor and offers in their place a vision that opens up space for women and their agency.”

The reading will be performed by Anita Castillo-Halvorssen, Helen Cespedes, Natascia Diaz, Carson Elrod, Anthony Michael Martinez, Sam Morales, Alfredo Narciso, Ryan Quinn, Luis Quintero, and Matthew Saldivar and is directed by Melia Bensussen; there will be a live, interactive Bull Session with some of the artists involved and UCLA professor of Spanish and English Barbara Fuchs and California State Polytechnic English and modern languages associate professor Pelegrín on November 19 at 7:30, also free with RSVP. The reading will be available on demand through November 20 at 7:00.

ROSANNE CASH AND A. M. HOMES: EYE OF THE COLLECTOR

Rosanne Cash and A. M. Homes appear in new Met film Eye of the Collector (photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images North America)

Who: Rosanne Cash, A. M. Homes
What: Prerecorded film with songs and poems
Where: Met Museum Facebook and YouTube
When: Tuesday, November 17, free, 7:00
Why: In conjunction with the exhibition “Photography’s Last Century: The Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee Collection,” which continues through November 30, the Met is hosting the free virtual presentation Eye of the Collector. In the half-hour film, directed and edited by Phyllis Housen, singer-songwriter extraordinaire Cash, whose albums include Seven Year Ache, The List, and She Remembers Everything, and Homes, who has written such books as Days of Awe, This Book Will Save Your Life, and The Mistress’s Daughter, share songs and poems, accompanied by images from the exhibit, which features works by Paul Strand, Man Ray, László Moholy-Nagy, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Walker Evans, Joseph Cornell, Diane Arbus, Andy Warhol, Sigmar Polke, Cindy Sherman, Richard Avedon, and many others, promised as a 150th anniversary gift to the Met from Tenenbaum and Lee. The film will be streamed over the Met’s Facebook and YouTube pages on November 17 at 7:00.

“The pandemic and the protests were the perfect storm of isolation, longing, inspiration, longing, fear, and hope,” Cash writes about her new single, the sociopolitical “Crawl into the Promised Land,” adding, “Living in New York City was a pressure cooker, particularly in April and May, when the deaths were spiking and the city sealed itself off, and utterly changed. But strangely, there was also a sense of unity and community, and the potential for transcendence. I kept thinking of the model in physics, where things have to fall apart in order to re-assemble themselves in a more refined, evolved state. . . . I need more space and time to understand what happened, what we are still going through. Why we elected such an unfit person to guide us, why we kill Black people with impunity, why our leaders dismantle and mock every institution we have painstakingly created to hold us safe, why some deaths matter and others don’t. I won’t be here ‘fifty years away from here,’ but someone I gave birth to, or someone they gave birth to, will live in those times and understand, and maybe pass the knowledge on to me, even in another world or another life. The magnitude of the moment requires time and an ocean of reflection.” That is precisely what Cash and Homes will be offering on Tuesday night.

NEW YORK THEN AND NOW: ROZ CHAST AND CALVIN TRILLIN IN CONVERSATION WITH BUDD MISHKIN

Roz Chast and Calvin Trillin sit down for a 92Y online talk with Budd Mishkin on November 12

Who: Roz Chast, Calvin Trillin, Budd Mishkin
What: 92Y Talks & Readings
Where: 92Y online
When: Thursday, November 12, $15, 7:00
Why: Preeminent New Yorkers Roz Chast, Calvin Trillin, and Budd Mishkin come together for the inaugural presentation of the 92nd St. Y’s new series “New York Then and Now with Budd Mishkin.” On November 12 at 7:00, New Yorker cartoonist and Society of Illustrators Hall of Famer Chast and longtime New Yorker contributor and author Trillin will discuss the state of the city with moderator, broadcast journalist, and master interviewer Mishkin.

POETRY FOR THE PANDEMIC

Actors Tracie Thoms and Bill Murray are among those participating in “Poetry for the Pandemic” on November 12

Who: Dr. Joshua Bennett, Mahogany L. Browne, Juan Felipe Herrera, Molly McCully Brown, Patricia Smith, Tracie Thoms, Bill Murray, Maddie Dietz, Manasi Garg, Isabella Ramirez, Ethan Wang, Anthony John Wiles Jr.
What: Poetry, dialogue, Q&A
Where: Theater of War Zoom
When: Thursday, November 12, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: Theater of War continues its impressive online presence during the Covid-19 crisis with the free, virtual program “Poetry for the Pandemic,” joining forces with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers on November 12 at 7:00. The ninety-minute program brings together established and emerging poets along with actors Tracie Thoms, who played Antigone in Theater of War’s Antigone in Ferguson, and Bill Murray. The evening will begin with poetry readings, followed by a discussion with the student poets and then an audience Q&A. Dr. Joshua Bennett will serve as facilitator, with professional poets Juan Felipe Herrera, Mahogany L. Browne, Molly McCully Brown, and Patricia Smith and student poets Maddie Dietz, Manasi Garg, Isabella Ramirez, Ethan Wang, and Anthony John Wiles Jr.

A TRIBUTE TO TONI MORRISON: SONG OF SOLOMON MARATHON READING

Who: Edwige Danticat, Jacqueline Woodson, Tommy Orange, Jesmyn Ward, Margaret Atwood, Hilton Als, Jennifer Egan, Jason Reynolds, Brit Bennett, Jesmyn Ward, Lorrie Moore, Ocean Vuong, Robin Coste Lewis, Tayari Jones, Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, Louise Erdrich, Kevin Young, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Lisa Lucas
What: Virtual benefit reading
Where: Literacy Partners
When: Friday, November 27, 8:00 – 11:00 pm; Saturday, November 28, 2:00 – 6:00 pm; Sunday, November 29, 2:00 – 6:30 pm, free for a limited time with code FB2020
Why: It would be fascinating to hear what Toni Morrison would be thinking today, as Joe Biden has been announced as the president-elect, with Kamala Harris as his vice president. Shortly after Donald Trump was elected in November 2016, Morrison penned an article for the New Yorker, “Making America White Again,” in which she wrote, “Personal debasement is not easy for white people (especially for white men), but to retain the conviction of their superiority to others — especially to black people — they are willing to risk contempt, and to be reviled by the mature, the sophisticated, and the strong. If it weren’t so ignorant and pitiful, one could mourn this collapse of dignity in service to an evil cause. . . . So scary are the consequences of a collapse of white privilege that many Americans have flocked to a political platform that supports and translates violence against the defenseless as strength. These people are not so much angry as terrified, with the kind of terror that makes knees tremble.”

Morrison, who passed away in August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight, is being celebrated November 27-29 with a three-day all-star marathon reading of her third novel, 1977’s Song of Solomon, which earned her the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. The life story of Macon “Milkman” Dead III will be read by Edwige Danticat, Jacqueline Woodson, Tommy Orange, Jesmyn Ward, Margaret Atwood, Hilton Als, Jennifer Egan, Jason Reynolds, Brit Bennett, Jesmyn Ward, Lorrie Moore, Ocean Vuong, Robin Coste Lewis, Tayari Jones, Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Louise Erdrich, with introductions by Kevin Young, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Lisa Lucas. The event is part of “Words Shape Our World: A Literacy & Social Justice Series,” benefiting Literacy Partners, a nonprofit education organization that “focuses on parents to help them build the literacy and language skills they need to succeed in today’s society while promoting their children’s learning at home. . . . Since the emancipation of people who were enslaved, adult literacy has been central to Black liberation. We will continue to do the work until racism is eliminated from our economy and education system and every family has the opportunity to thrive.” Tickets to the benefit range from $100 to $1,000, but for a limited time they are free with the code FB2020 (although a $5 donation is suggested if you can, and $20 gets you a book bundle). “Perhaps that’s what all human relationships boil down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?,” a character says in Song of Solomon. It’s frightening that especially in the age of Covid-19, the answer is not always what you’d expect.

THE DALAI LAMA GLOBAL VISION SUMMIT

Who: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, Sharon Salzberg, Deepak Chopra, Lama Tsultrim Allione, Serene Jones, Jan Willis, Dr. Mark Epstein, Amishi Jha, Rabbi Michael Lerner, B. Alan Wallace, the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, Sofia Stril-Revor, Daniel Goleman, Dr. Alberto Villoldo, Karenna Gore, Robert A. F. Thurman, Dan Harris
What: Six-day online discussion and meditation
Where: Lion’s Roar and Tibet House US
When: October 22-27, free with advance RSVP, 9:00 am
Why: His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been busy during the pandemic, offering special teachings over social media, interacting with students from around the world over Zoom as he helps us all deal with the strife of life in 2020. He is now gathering many of his friends and supporters for the Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit, a free six-day event consisting of talks by nearly two dozen teachers, scientists, interfaith leaders, activists, psychiatrists, and other experts covering the following themes: “The Art of Happiness: Bringing the Best of Human Values into Our Lives”; “Transcendent Wisdom: Buddhist Teachings of the Dalai Lama”; “Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: Creating Harmony Among the World’s Religions”; “The Universe in a Single Atom: The Science of Spirituality”; “My Land, My People: Tibet’s Message of Peace, Compassion, and Sustainability”; and “Ethics for a New Millennium: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for a Better World.”

Among the participants are Richard Gere, Sharon Salzberg, Deepak Chopra, Amishi Jha, Rabbi Michael Lerner, B. Alan Wallace, the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, Daniel Goleman, Karenna Gore, and Dan Harris. “What an honor to join with Lion’s Roar and this team of positive people who share their dedication, insight, arts, and skills in the spirit energized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s bright vision for all of us and our world’s future, helping us see how love, science, art, and common sense triumph over gloom and doom,” Tibet House cofounder and president Robert A. F. Thurman said in a statement. Registration is free and comes with a digital download of Teachings on Compassion from the Dalai Lama and a guided audio meditation by the Dalai Lama, who turned eighty-five in July. For more teachings from His Holiness himself, follow him on Facebook.

LOVE STORY, THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

Yoshiko Chuma’s Love Story, The School of Hard Knocks is a twenty-four-hour durational online experience

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
Saturday, October 17, 11:00 am – Sunday, October 18, 11:00 am, $5 – $400 (pay what you can)
lamama.org/love-story

Osaka-born multidisciplinary artist Yoshiko Chuma celebrates the fortieth anniversary of her collective, “The School of Hard Knocks” (SOHK), with the live, twenty-four-hour virtual work Love Story, streaming through La MaMa beginning at eleven o’clock in the morning on October 17. SOHK debuted at the 1980 Venice Biennale and became an official company four years later; the troupe has traveled the world with such shows as AGITPROPS: The Recycling Project, 7 x 7 x 7, and Pi=3.14 . . . Ramallah-Fukushima-Bogota Endless Peripheral Border, many of which were developed and premiered at La MaMa as well as PS122 and Dixon Place here in New York. A durational performance installation that incorporates dance, music, film, visual art, and narrative storytelling, Love Story deals with such timely topics as immigration, national security, and war; Chuma, who has been based in the United States since 1977, will also be looking at her personal and professional past, present, and future, focusing on the idea of borders, which have taken on a whole new level of importance under the Trump administration while also impacting how art is now created online as well as how Chuma has shunned the limitations of genre in her career.

Love Story — which consists of live and prerecorded segments, with part of the show taking place in La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre — was conceived, choreographed, and directed by Chuma, working with artist liaison Ai Csuka, creative producer and musician Ginger Dolden, actor Ryan Leach, Middle East specialist Ruyji Yamaguchi, and dramaturgs and designers Jake Margolin and Nick Vaughan. Among the cast of more than fifty international performers are Deniz Atli from Turkey, Agnè Auželytė from Amsterdam, Los Babuinos from Venezuela, Sahar Damoni from Palestine, Tanin Torabi from Iran, and Martita Abril, Mizuho Kappa, Heather Litteer, Devin Brahja Waldman, and zaybra from New York, with live, original music by Robert Black on double bass, Jason Kao Hwang on violin, Christopher McIntyre on trombone, and Dane Terry on piano.

“This week I was supposed to be in New York for performances celebrating Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks’ forty-year anniversary,” Auželytė recently wrote on Facebook. “While my physical body will stay put in Amsterdam for a long while to come, I will still be there, online and energetically, sharing the screen with a group of artists, some whom I had the opportunity to get to know for a long time already and some whom I only ever met on Zoom! (How weird is that? Is it still weird?) I am also touched to see some of them physically at the theater at La MaMa, which has been closed to the public for seven months now! We’ve had a lot of late-night conversations during this process and it continues to make me think about how to reimagine theater in the era of self-isolation and Zoom life. What does local-global mean anymore? Where are our bodies? What are our bodies?”

The multidisciplinary Love Story streams live from Saturday to Sunday morning (photo courtesy La MaMa)

The list of collaborators on Love Story is long and impressive. In addition to those listed above, there will be choreography by Yanira Castro, Ursula Eagly, Allyson Green, Jodi Melnick, Sarah Michelson, Anthony Phillips, Peter Pleyer, Kathryn Ray, Steve Recker, and Vicky Shick; poetry by Kyle Dacuyan, Bob Holman, and Anne Waldman; music by Mark Bennett, Tan Dun, Nona Hendryx, Christian Marclay, Lenny Pickett, and Marc Ribot; film and video by Chani Bockwinkel, Jacob Burckhardt, Rudy Burckhardt, Andrew Kim, Jonas Mekas, and Charlie Steiner; photography by Robert Flynt and Dona Ann McAdams; set designs by Tim Clifford, Alex Katz, Elizabeth Kresch, and Elizabeth Murray; and appearances by Barbara Bryan, Rachel Cooper, Mark Russell, Yoko Shioya, Bonnie Sue Stein, Laurie Uprichard, David White, Donald Fleming, Dan Froot, Kaja Gam, Brian Moran, Nicky Paraiso, Harry Whittaker Sheppard, Gayle Tufts, Sasha Waltz, David Zambrano, Nelson Zayao, Emily Bartsch, Peter Lanctot, Kouiki Mojadidi, Emily Marie Pope, Isaac Rosenthal, and Aldina Michelle Topcagic. Of course, it takes a lot of work to fill up 1,440 continuous minutes of performance, and Chuma has assembled quite a team.

You can get a sneak peek and behind-the-scenes look at the collaborative project on October 15 at 8:00 when La MaMa will present a livestream preview that includes archival footage, sketches, and rehearsal clips. In preparation for Love Story, La MaMa has also been hosting such live Saturday morning Zoom events as “Secret Journey: Stop Calling Them Dangerous” and “SML: Zooma — Dead End” in addition to evening shows that give a taste of what we’re all in for from Bessie Award winner Chuma and her unpredictable troupe, a virtual hybrid that should offer, at the very least, a twenty-four-hour respite from this school of hard knocks we are living through in 2020.