this week in literature

THEATER OF WAR: THE KING LEAR PROJECT

theater of war

Who: Bryan Doerries, Frankie Faison, Amy Ryan, Kathryn Erbe, Marjolaine Goldsmith, David Zayas, Jumaane Williams
What: Live Zoom theatrical production and discussion from Theater of War
Where: Zoom link sent with advance registration
When: Thursday, June 11, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: One of the best Zoom presentations of the pandemic has been Theater of War’s The Oedipus Project, in which Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Oscar Isaac, Jeffrey Wright, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Glenn Davis, Marjolaine Goldsmith, and Jumaane Williams gave a live, powerful dramatic reading of scenes from Sophocles’s fifth-century BCE classic, Oedipus the King, from wherever they were sheltering in place. (Most of the actors chose relatively spare, blank backgrounds while Turturro opted for an anachronistic study.) The event was introduced by Theater of War cofounder and adapter/director Bryan Doerries, who also led a postshow discussion relating the play to the Covid-19 crisis.

The organization now turns its attention to the themes of caregiving and death with The King Lear Project, streaming live on Zoom on June 11 at 7:00. In the play, Lear asks, “Doth any here know me? This is not Lear: Doth Lear walk thus? Speak thus? Where are his eyes? Either his notion weakens, or his discernings are lethargied — Ha! Waking? ’tis not so. Who is it that can tell me who I am?” To which the Fool responds, “Lear’s shadow.” The reading will feature another all-star lineup performing from home, consisting of Amy Ryan, David Zayas, Kathryn Erbe, Faison, Goldsmith, and Public Advocate Williams; it will be followed by a talk facilitated by Doerries with four community panelists on the subjects of aging, dementia, elder care, and family dynamics, examining the play — which Shakespeare wrote, perhaps while self-isolating, during the 1606 plague, when theaters had shut down — in context with the current pandemic.

HOWL! ALLEN GINSBERG FILM FESTIVAL — FERLINGHETTI: A REBIRTH OF WONDER

Lawrence Ferlinghetti proves to be a man of many hats in refreshing documentary

FERLINGHETTI: A REBIRTH OF WONDER (Christopher Felver, 2009) / HUM BOM! (Christopher Felver, 1999)
Howl!
Friday, June 5, free, 7:00
Festival continues through June 6
www.howlarts.org
ferlinghettifilm.com

“Poetry should be dissident, and subversive, and an agent for change,” poet, publisher, painter, activist, and military veteran Lawrence Ferlinghetti says in Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder, a refreshing and revealing documentary about the author of A Coney Island of the Mind and owner of the famous City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. The film is streaming online for free on June 5 at 7:00 as part of Howl!’s Allen Ginsberg Film Festival, which continues through June 6. Director Christopher Felver, who has previously made documentaries on John Cage, Tony Cragg, Donald Judd, and Cecil Taylor, has compiled ten years of interviews with Ferlinghetti, including trips to Italy, where the poet’s father was born; France, where the aunt who raised him was from; and his childhood home in New York.

Among those sharing their opinions of the charming and friendly Ferlinghetti, who turned 101 in March, are fellow poets Michael McClure, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and Billy Collins as well as such other artistic figures as David Amram, Dave Eggers, Dennis Hopper, and Jean-Jacques Lebel, all of whom have only the most positive things to say about the film’s subject. Despite his radicalism and calls for social and political change around the world, Ferlinghetti is nearly always wearing a smile, clearly enjoying the long life he’s leading. He discusses his friendships with Kenneth Rexroth, Shakespeare & Co. founder George Whitman, and the Beats, primarily Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, focusing at one point on the censorship trial involving his publication of Ginsberg’s Howl, which turned into a critical battle over First Amendment rights. Counterculture guru Ferlinghetti is shown performing in a studio with Amram, accepting an award from the city of San Francisco, discussing his family, working on his abstract paintings, and wearing silly hats. He is completely at ease with who he is and where he came from, as well as where he’s going, still fighting the power as valiantly as ever, not just relaxing on his many laurels. Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder is also likely to make viewers think twice about their own lives, realizing there’s a great big world out there, and it is possible for each and every person to make a difference, especially during these challenging times.

A Rebirth of Wonder will be shown along with Felver’s 1999 short, Hum Bom!, featuring Ginsberg and Amram, as well as video of the 2018 Howl Gallery party. The celebration concludes June 6 at 7:00 with Colin Still’s 1997 doc No More to Say and Nothing to Weep For: An Elegy for Allen Ginsberg, Felver’s video for Sonic Youth’s “Making the Nature Scene,” and video of the 2019 Howl Gallery party.

#KIDLIT COMMUNITY RALLY FOR BLACK LIVES

Rally

Who: Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, Gene Luen Yang, Jerry Craft, Raul the Third, Renée Watson, Christopher Myers, K. A. Holt, more
What: Children’s book community call to action
Where: Facebook Live and Zoom
When: Thursday, June 4, free, 7:00
Why: In another part of my life, I work for a major children’s book publisher. During the pandemic, many parents, teachers, and children have turned to books more than ever, not just reading them at home but watching authors, celebrities, and others read stories online. The industry has also been a strong leader in the diversity movement, and on June 4 at 7:00, members of the kids’ book community will gather for a virtual call to action and rally for black lives. Hosted online by the Brown Bookshelf, which “is designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers,” the #KidLit Rally for Black Lives is organized by Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jason Reynolds, who will be joined by Gene Luen Yang, Jerry Craft, Raul the Third, Renée Watson, Christopher Myers, K. A. Holt, and others. At 7:00, there will be a live discussion with young people, followed at 7:45 by a talk with parents, educators, and librarians. As the Brown Bookshelf explains, “People around the nation are hurting. This is a time to come together and stand up. Our kids need us, and we are here for them.”

LIFE ANEW: WRITERS IMAGINE THE WORLD AFTER THE PANDEMIC

life anew

Who: Gabriela Adameșteanu, Ioana Nicolaie, T. O. Bobe, Simona Popescu, Robert Șerban, Andreea Răsuceanu, Carmen Firan, Ioana Ieronim, Ioana Es. Pop, Andrew K. Davidson, Carrie Hooper, Andreea Scridon
What: Weekly online literary performances
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute Facebook page
When: Tuesdays from June 2 to August 4, free with RSVP, 2:00
Why: The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York (ICR New York) is a small gem in Murray Hill, for decades offering unique arts events while serving the needs of Romanians and Romanian Americans here in New York City. The organization has been busy during the Covid-19 crisis, hosting daily online sociopolitical talks, concerts, film screenings, theater presentations, and more. Its latest initiative, held in conjunction with the National Museum of the Romanian Literature, is “Life Anew: Writers Imagine the World after the Pandemic,” taking place every Tuesday at 2:00 through August 4. Each week, authors, some with translators, will share their thoughts through poetry and prose about what the world might be like once we get back to normal, if normal is ever possible again. The lineup features authors Gabriela Adameșteanu, Ioana Nicolaie, T. O. Bobe, Simona Popescu, Robert Șerban, Andreea Răsuceanu, Carmen Firan, Ioana Ieronim, and Ioana Es. Pop and translators Andrew K. Davidson, Carrie Hooper, and Andreea Scridon. Admission is free with advance RSVP here.

RESCHEDULED: THE PAUL FEIG Z”L TIKKUN LEIL SHAVUOT: A CONVERSATION WITH UNORTHODOX CREATOR ANNA WINGER

Unorthodox cocreator and writer Anna Winger will discuss the show during JCC overnight Shavuot celebration

Who: Anna Winger, many more
What: Live Q&A with series creator of Unorthodox
Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
When: Thursday, May 28, free (donations accepted) with advance RSVP, midnight (Shavuot celebration runs May 28 at 9:00 pm to May 29 at 5:00 am)
Why: One of the runaway television hits of the pandemic has been Netflix’s Unorthodox, about a young married Orthodox woman in Brooklyn who runs away to Berlin to escape the suffocating life she is trapped in. The four-part series has led to the breakout success of Israeli actress Shira Haas, who has a smaller but critically significant role in the earlier Israeli series Shtisel, which also involves Orthodox marriage. Unorthodox was inspired by Deborah Feldman’s memoir Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots; while the Brooklyn segments of the show are based on the book, the Berlin sections are fictional. On May 28 at midnight, one of the writers and creators of the show, Anna Winger, who also wrote and created Deutschland 83 and Deutschland 86, will participate in a live Q&A during the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan’s Paul Feig z”l Tikkun Leil Shavuot.

The celebration usually occurs overnight at the JCC on Amsterdam and Seventy-Sixth St. but has gone virtual in 2020. Among the dozens of other events, all free, are “Koolulam in Conversation” with Rabbi Joy Levitt at 9:00 pm, “Studying Harry Potter as a Sacred Text” with Casper ter Kuile at 10:00, “Reimaging Life, Loss, and Love during Covid-19: Text, Ritual, and Story to Lift Our Spirit” with Jeannie Blaustein, Rabbi Dr. Jenny Solomon, and Rabbi Sydney Mintz at 11:00, “Idan Raichel: Stories and Songs” at 1:00 am, “Franz Rosenzweig on the Notion of Revelation” with Rabbi Michael Paley at 2:00, “The History of Israeli Fashion: From the Kibbutz to Tel Aviv” with Liraz Cohen Mordechai at 3:00, and “Noa: A Closing Concert for Shavuot” at 4:00.

3Views VIRTUAL LAUNCH: THE HOT WING KING

The cast of The Hot Wing King will reunite for launch of latest Signature Theatre online initiative (photo by Monique Carboni)

Who: Julia Jordan, Sarah Ruhl, Melissa Crespo, Katori Hall, Steve H. Broadnax III, cast of The Hot Wing King
What: Virtual launch of artist-driven theater publication
Where: Signature Theatre Zoom and Facebook
When: Wednesday, May 27, free with advance RSVP, 6:00
Why: The Signature Theatre continues its online programs with the launch of 3Views, a publication that will focus on shows that had to be shut down, postponed, or canceled because of the pandemic. On May 27 at 6:00, 3Views will do a deep dive on The Hot Wing King, which had to close more than a week before its scheduled date in March. I called Katori Hall’s play “a tantalizingly spicy, robust and savory contemporary comedy that sticks to your ribs like only the best, well, hot wings. . . . The show is not specifically about gay men, or black men, or gay black men; it’s about four friends coming together to reach a goal, attempting to fight off various obstacles that are out of their control.” The discussion will feature 3Views founding members and playwrights Julia Jordan and Sarah Ruhl, Signature resident playwright Hall, Hot Wing King director Steve H. Broadnax III, and the cast of the show (Toussaint Jeanlouis, Korey Jackson, Sheldon Best, Nicco Annan, Eric B. Robinson Jr., and. Cecil Blutcher), moderated by 3Views editor Melissa Crespo. Also coming up at the Signature are a SigSpace Arts Lunch with Margo Seibert on May 29 at noon and a SigSpace Summit on June 3 at 5:00 with Lauren Yee and Chhaya Chhoum.

BOOKEXPO ADULT BOOK & AUTHOR DINNER / CHILDREN’S BOOK & AUTHOR DINNER

author dinner

Who: Judy Blume, Natalie Portman, Misty Copeland, Raj Haldar, Marie Lu, Kwame Mbalia, Rebecca Roanhorse, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Carmen Maria Machado, Zerlina Maxwell, Joy Harjo
What: Annual events honoring adult and children’s book authors
Where: BookExpo Facebook
When: Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28, free, 5:30
Why: Two of the hottest tickets every year at BookExpo are the Adult Book & Author Breakfast and the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast. Because of the pandemic shutdown, the convention has moved online, and the breakfasts have become virtual dinners, taking place for free on May 27 and May 28 at 5:30. The adult celebration features Rebecca Roanhorse, author of Black Sun; Rep. Ilhan Omar (This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman); Carmen Maria Machado (The Low, Low Woods); Zerlina Maxwell (The End of White Politics — How to Heal Our Liberal Divide); and U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo (An American Sunrise). The participants for the children’s party are Oscar winner Natalie Portman (Natalie Portman’s Fables); ABT principal dancer Misty Copeland (Bunheads, illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey); Raj Haldar, aka Lushlife, (No Reading Allowed); Marie Lu, (Skyhunter); Kwame Mbalia, (Tristan Strong Destroys the World); and Judy Blume, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. “This event showcases the diversity of genres, book types, authors, and publishers within the world of children’s and young adult literature,” BookExpo event director Jennifer Martin said in a statement. “We’re extraordinarily thrilled to have such a varied group of authors who will bring such unique and different perspectives to our show. We know all our attendees will walk away with valuable insights about how these books, and ones like them, can help their own bookstores, libraries, and retail shops.” BookExpo runs online May 26-29 with other free panel discussions, author talks, and showcases, followed May 30-31 by BookCon.