this week in literature

JON MEACHAM IN CONVERSATION WITH WES MOORE: JOHN LEWIS AND THE POWER OF HOPE

Jon Meacham and Wes Moore will discuss the life and legacy of John Lewis on August 28

Who: Jon Meacham, Wes Moore
What: Live discussion about John Lewis
Where: 92nd St. Y online
When: Friday, August 28, $20, 6:00
Why: In his new book His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope (Penguin Random House, August 25, $30), Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham writes, “There seemed no hope. An omitted ‘Mister’ might get you dumped in a swamp on an otherwise unremarkable summer day; walking home from church could lead to horrific sexual violence. ‘We know that if we protest we will be called “bad ni–ers,”’ the novelist Richard Wright wrote in his 1941 book Twelve Million Black Voices. ‘The Lords of the Land will preach the doctrine of “white supremacy” to the poor whites who are eager to form mobs. In the midst of general hysteria they will seize one of us — it does not matter who, the innocent or guilty — and, as a token, a naked and bleeding body will be dragged through the dusty streets.’ That was the way of the world into which John Lewis was born.” Lewis contributed an afterword to the book.

On August 28 at 6:00, as part of the 92nd St. Y program “92Y Confronts Hate: The Great Thinkers,” Meacham, who has written such other books as American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, Franklin and Winston, and The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, will be joined by bestselling author, army combat veteran, and Robin Hood CEO Wes Moore to discuss the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis, the beloved civil rights leader who passed away in Atlanta last month at the age of eighty. The talk is being held in conjunction with the fifty-seventh anniversary of the March on Washington, which is being honored virtually this year by the NAACP here. Tickets are $20 and help benefit the 92nd St. Y as it deals with the Covid-19 pandemic; you can hear an audio clip of the book here. “The Great Thinkers” continues August 31 with “Marion Nestle: Master Class on the Politics of Food and Health,” September 15 with “Master Class with Paul Krugman and Mauro Guillen: Our World in 2030,” and September 17 with “Paula Scher: Master Class on Design, Branding and Identity with Ellen Lupton,” while “92Y Confronts Hate” continues September 8 with “Symone Sanders with Jonathan Capehart — No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power.”

RAY BRADBURY CENTENNIAL READ-A-THON

Who: Neil Gaiman, Susan Orlean, William Shatner, Carla Hayden, Charles Bolden Jr., Marlon James, Ann Druyan, Marjorie Liu, more
What: Livestreamed marathon reading
Where: Ray Bradbury marathon
When: Saturday, August 22, free, 4:30 (available through September 5)
Why: “It was a pleasure to burn.” So begins Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451, one of the most banned books ever in America. The protagonist is Guy Montag, whose job it is to burn down houses where he finds outlawed books. In honor of the hundredth anniversary of Bradbury’s birth — the novelist and screenwriter (The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes) was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois, and passed away on July 5, 2012, in Los Angeles — a wide ranging group of people will read the book online, including writers, actors, scholars, and librarians. The stream begins August 22 at 4:30 and continues through September 5, with such participants as Neil Gaiman, Susan Orlean, William Shatner, Carla Hayden, Charles Bolden Jr., Marlon James, Ann Druyan, and Marjorie Liu reading the three parts of the book, “The Hearth and the Salamander,” “The Sieve and the Sand,” and “Burning Bright.”

THE ODYSSEY MARATHON READING

Who: Octavio Abúndez, Ali Ahn, heather atone, Raffi Barsoumian, Bryan Cogman, Bethany Joy Collins, Peter Coyote, David Holt, Leslie Feist, Ken Hada, Joseph Keckler, Muna Malik, Rebecca Nagle, Bebe Neuwirth, Nikki Nice, Nicole Poole, Lee Ranaldo, Patrick Riley, Robert Ruiz, Kate Soper, Gloria Torres, Tom Todoroff, Nick Waterhouse, Emily Wilson
What: Marathon reading of Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of The Odyssey by Homer
Where: Oklahoma Contemporary, Facebook, YouTube
When: August 20-22, 27-29, free, 8:00 – 9:30
Why: From May 15 to June 28, Emily Wilson posted Odyssey-a-Day readings, short clips she performed from her 2017 translation of the epic eighth century BCE poem by Homer. This week and next week, she will be part of a marathon reading of her translation, along with twenty-three people from diverse walks of life, including actors, artists, curators, politicians, professors, writers, and musicians, each sharing one of the two dozen books that comprise the classical work of literature. Hosted by the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in partnership with the Kirkpatrick Foundation, the six evenings, August 20-22 and 27-29, will stream live on Facebook, YouTube and the center’s website from 8:00 to 9:30. Among the readers are actor and director Peter Coyote, Emmy winner Bebe Neuwirth, Sonic Youth cofounder Lee Ranaldo, conceptual artist Octavio Abúndez, singer-songwriter Feist, Oklahoma City mayor David Holt, visual artist Bethany Joy Collins, and Wilson herself. Of course, everyone will be participating from wherever they’re sheltering in place, giving new meaning to the line “But even so, I want to go back home, / and every day I hope that day will come.”

UNFINISHED WORK: FINISH THE FIGHT

Who: Harriett D. Foy, Zora Howard, Q’orianka Kilcher, Leah Lewis, Chelsea Rendon
What: Virtual play about women’s suffrage
Where: New York Times online
When: Tuesday, August 18, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: The Nineteenth Amendment might have given women the right to vote, but there is still a lot of work to do, including ending voter suppression particularly of people of color. On August 18 at 7:00, the New York Times will premiere the new play Finish the Fight, adapted by Ming Peiffer (Usual Girls, i wrote on ur wall and now i regret it) from the 2020 picture book Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers and the Times staff. The show stars Harriett D. Foy as Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Howard as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Q’orianka Kilcher as Zitkála-Šá, Leah Lewis as Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Chelsea Rendon as Jovita Idár and is directed by Whitney White (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, What to Send When It Goes Down). Upon registering, you can submit questions for the creators that might be answered in a Q&A following the show.

ONE POEM: A PROTEST READING IN SUPPORT OF BLACK LIVES

Who: Prisca Afantchao, Sojourner Ahebee, Kazim Ali, Kimberly Blaeser, Jericho Brown, Meera Dasgupta, Kwame Dawes, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Safia Elhillo, Martín Espada, Sesshu Foster, Kimberly Jae, Raina J. León, Mwatabu Okantah, Alberto Ríos, Terisa Siagatonu, Matthew Thompson, Emma Trelles, Nikki Wallschlaeger, Monica Youn, avery r. Young
What: Live poetry reading in support of Black lives
Where: CrowdCast, YouTube
When: Tuesday, August 18, free with RSVP, 8:00
Why: On Tuesday, August 18, at 8:00, more than two dozen poets will gather online for “One Poem: A Protest Reading in Support of Black Lives.” The event is hosted by the Poetry Coalition, which consists of poetry organizations across the country; each founding member organization selected one poet and poem. Part of the Academy of American Poets, the Poetry Coalition is “dedicated to working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.” To find out more about Black-led and Black-serving organizations fighting injustice, the coalition has further information here.

VIRTUAL SERLINGFEST 2020

serlingfest

Who: Anne Serling, Marc Scott Zicree, Richard Christian Matheson, Christopher Beaumont, Mark Dawidziak, more
What: Virtual festival honoring Rod Serling
Where: Facebook Live
When: Saturday, August 15, free (donations encouraged), 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Why: Just in case you didn’t already feel like you were living in the Twilight Zone, you can take part in the annual SerlingFest, which this year moves online. The virtual all-day 2020 edition features special guests and video presentations celebrating the creator of The Twilight Zone, the greatest television anthology series ever made, a prescient, ahead-of-its-time, socially conscious program hosted by the inimitable Rod Serling, who wrote many of the episodes as well. Born on Christmas Day in 1924 in Syracuse, Serling served in the military (earning the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star) before writing for radio and television, including Patterns in 1955, Requiem for a Heavyweight in 1956, The Twilight Zone from 1959 to 1964, Seven Days in May in 1964, Planet of the Apes (with Michael Wilson) in 1968, Night Gallery from 1970 to 1973, and other projects before passing away in Rochester on June 28, 1975, at the way-too-young age of fifty.

It’s free to watch on Facebook Live, but donations are encouraged to benefit the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1986 “to educate the public about Rod Serling’s genius and his passion, hoping that they will understand and appreciate his mastery of the creative arts, his unique understanding of human relationships, his esteem as a writer, his generosity as a speaker in and around Binghamton, and his uncompromising commitment to quality.” Among the participants are Anne Serling, author of As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling; Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion; Richard Christian Matheson and Christopher Beaumont, children of two of the best TZ writers, Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont, respectively; and Mark Dawidziak, author of Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone. It’s a different kind of marathon, but it could be one for the ages. (Be sure to watch the end of the above video for some very fun TZ references.)

A MUSICAL MEDITATION AND CELEBRATION OF RADICAL HEALING

Who: Nona Hendryx, Nubian Q.U.E.E.N.X., Monique Wilson, Hope Masike, Sara Curruchich English, Lebo Mashile, iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ, Rosa Chávez, Liza Jessie Peterson, Be Steadwell, Angela Davis, Divinity Roxx, Sophia Ramos, Cyndi Lauper, Phylicia Rashad, Billie Jean King, Joy Harjo
What: Global virtual music and activism event
Where: StreamYard and Zoom
When: Friday, August 14, $8 – $250, 4:00
Why: On August 14 at 4:00, musician, writer, actress, activist, and legendary powerhouse Nona Hendryx will host an epic virtual concert in support of women’s collective power for social justice. Held in conjunction with feminist organization JASS, “Radical Healing” will feature an international lineup of singer-songwriters, activists, and spoken-word artists celebrating multiracial and multicultural transformation. “By radical healing, we’re acknowledging the power of music to lift our spirits and connect us across all our differences,” Hendryx said in a statement. “We recognize that we can’t build and sustain strong movements for the long haul with broken people who bear the brunt of crises and violence. We need moments of shared joy and connections as much as information and strategy. Some of the most amazing music ever created has been birthed from struggle.” Hendryx will be joined by Monique Wilson, Hope Masike, Sara Curruchich English, Lebo Mashile, iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ, Rosa Chávez, Liza Jessie Peterson, Be Steadwell, Angela Davis, Divinity Roxx, Sophia Ramos, Nubian Q.U.E.E.N.X., Cyndi Lauper, Phylicia Rashad, Billie Jean King, Joy Harjo, and others, participating from five continents. General tickets are $25 ($8 for students) and $250 to gain access to a Zoom Q&A with the artists.