Category Archives: Readings

Book Boroughing’s PEN World Voices Picks

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PEN World (International PEN) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in 1921 “to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers everywhere; to emphasize the role of literature in the development of mutual understanding and world culture; to fight for freedom of expression; and to act as a powerful voice on behalf of writers harassed, imprisoned and sometimes killed for their views.”

This year PEN American Center celebrates its 90th anniversary with the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. Every year, PEN brings writers from around the world together for conversations about art, culture, politics, and all the intersecting points between.

The festival begins Monday, April 30th, you can view the full schedule here. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Please note that while many of the events are free, some are ticketed. Please check the individual pages for details. Here are our picks. 

Gabrielle suggests:

Reviewing Translations with Arne Bellstorf, Ruth Franklin, Julya Rabinowich, and Lorin Stein; moderated by Eric Banks and Susan Bernofsky
When: Thursday, May 3
Where: The School of Writing at The New School, Wollman Hall, 65 W. 11th St., New York City
What time: 6–7:30 p.m.

When a translated work is under review, what exactly is being critiqued? Is it the work itself or the quality of its translation? How does reviewing a translation differ from reviewing a work in its original language? Should the critic be bilingual? An expert in the literature and history of a foreign culture? Join an expert panel of international authors, critics, and translators as they explore the nexus of translation and criticism.

Dialogue Series: Jennifer Egan on How to Create Your Own Rules with Michael Kimmelman
When: Friday, May 4
Where: The School of Writing at The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th St.
What Time: 6–7:30 p.m.

What shapes a novel beyond its beginning, middle, and end? Does structure trigger narrative? Author of 2011’s genre-defying, A Visit From The Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan will explore the role of structure in writing and reading, sharing her perspective on the “rules” and her process in bending them.

Standard Talks: Alex Gilvarry, Nadia Kalman, Justin Torres, and others; Instigated by Randy Cohen; hosted by Sunny Bates
When: Friday, May 4
Where: The Standard, East Village, 25 Cooper Square
What Time: 6:30–9:30 p.m.

If I didn’t already have plans to go to the Jennifer Egan talk, I would go to this.

In Exquisite Corpse, a special writing game, a writing prompt is given and each player-participant becomes a collaborator in the writing assignment. At the 2012 Festival, acclaimed writers, including Nadia Kahlman and Justin Torres, will join forces with notable New Yorkers to launch the game. Audience participation may ensue.

Best European Fiction with Patrick Boltshauser, Róbert Gál, and Noëlle Revaz; moderated by Aleksandar Hemon
When: Saturday, May 5
Where: The School of Writing at The New School, Room 510, 66 West 12th St.
What time: 1–2:30 p.m.

Three authors—Noëlle Revaz (Switzerland), Patrick Boltshauser (Liechtenstein), and Róbert Gál (Slovakia)—read from their work, discussing their ideas about writing, and sharing their perspectives on what’s happening in literature in their parts of the world.

David thinks you should check out:

A Clockwork Orange Operetta (U.S. Premiere)
When: Monday, April 30
Where: The Standard, New York, 848 Washington St., New York City
What time: 10 p.m.

This operetta based on recently discovered lyrics by Anthony Burgess (and based on the seminal novel of the same name) may be the highlight of the festival for me.

TimesTalks: Martin Amis, Margaret Atwood, and E.L. Doctorow
When: Wednesday, May 2
Where: The Times Center, 242 W. 41st St., New York City
What time: 6:30–8:30 p.m.

A.O. Scott interviews the three legendary fiction writers.

Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis and Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums)
When: Thursday, May 3
Where: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., New York City
What time: 4:30–6:05 p.m. (Persepolis) and 8–10:15 p.m. (Poule aux Prunes)

Screening of Marjane Satrapi’s latest film, Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums).

Satrapi will discuss her strategies for storytelling in film with graphic artist Françoise Mouly and MoMA’s Sally Berger at the 8 o’clock sitting.

Dialogue Series: Margaret Atwood on the Writers’ Mind and the Digital Otherworld
When: Thursday, May 3
Where: The School of Writing at The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th St., New York City
What time: 6–7:30 p.m.

We both think you should know about this:

Continuing PEN’s American Classics series, Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan curates her top ten list of literary works. Swing by McNally Jackson for the complete list.

Largehearted Boy and Girls Write Now Take Over WORD

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Last night at WORD, David Gutowski celebrated his the 10th anniversary of his site, Largehearted Boy, with a fundraiser for Girls Write Now, a local organization that pairs at-risk girls from New York City’s underfunded public high schools with professional women writers. Through a network of volunteers, these girls receive individual and group writing instruction. While half of New York City’s youth fail to graduate from high school, 100% of Girls Write Now participants go onto college, often with awards and scholarships.

Lots of people came out to show their support and entered the raffle to win armloads of books donated by various publishers as well as a gift certificate to McNally Jackson.

David of Largehearted Boy and local author Emily St. John Mandel hang out upstairs before waiting for the appropriate time to attack the wine

Kiesha, The Brooklyn Baker, once again contributed amazing cupcakes.

Jason Diamond and Tobias Carroll from Vol1Brooklyn and Mike Fusco of M+E, a.k.a Emma Straub’s equally awesome half, chat before the reading — probably about books.

Angie Venezia, Alex Houstoun, and Courtney Allison came out to represent the Vintage / Anchor Publicity crew

Here’s Mike, Emma, and FSG’s Online Marketing Manager Ryan Chapman
enjoying cupcakes

WORD event coordinator, Jenn Northington, introduces Girls Write Now

Local author Jen Gilmore, in celebration of Largehearted Boy’s 10th, explained her hatred for birthdays and then delighted the crowd with a reading from her novel Something Red.

Local musician and author Alina Simone and her good buddy Maria Sonevytsky from The Debutante Hour, showed some Slav-pride by singing the Russian version of Happy Birthday, which might just be better than the English version. Maria then sang and played ‘Miracle Birth‘, which, I think, made everyone in the room an instant fan.

Here’s Tobias, frequent event-goer Molly Templeton, and their friend hanging out in between readers.

Yea, lots of people

The lovely, and also local, Emma Straub read from her short story collection, Other People We Married.

Stephen Elliott, Editor-in-Chief of The Rumpus, looks on as David reads off the winners.

Electric Lit contributor Ryan Chang goes home with an arm-load of books.

Ryan Chapman waves to the camera.

Jen Gilmore and Jason Diamond are getting ready to end the night — or maybe head
out to a local bar.

Girls Write Now Program Director Meghan McNamara and mentor Therese Cox
enjoying their party.

Disclaimer: David Gutowski co-runs this site. He is not writing this, Gabrielle is — and she would do it even if they weren’t buddies. It was an excellent event for an excellent cause.

Maira Kalman and Daniel Handler Talk Breakups at WORD

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Why We Broke Up is “the story of Min Green and how she and Ed Slaterton met at a party, saw a movie, followed an old woman, shared a hotel room, and broke each other’s hearts.” It’s also the second book Daniel Handler, possibly best known as the young adult author Lemony Snicket, and Maira Kalman, whose illustrations can be seen in the pages of The New Yorker, have worked on together.

Last night at WORD in Greenpoint, the two put on a show that could easy be considered a stand-up routine. They’ve known each other for 10 years but one can imagine their chemistry, with its unforced setups and natural back-and-forths, manifested itself almost immediately.

The evening started with a game they each like to play: Maira gives Daniel a picture and he comes up with a short story. The weird images, projected via slideshow, were a perfect match for Daniel’s equally odd humor.

After warming up the crowd, the two moved on to a few choice illustrations from How We Broke Up, ostensibly a young adult novel but hefty enough to entertain an adult reader. As Maira explained the images, Daniel read, giving the audience a taste of the ill-fated love of Min and Ed.

Min and Ed may be no more but the story doesn’t end on the last page. Daniel and Maira want your breakup stories. You can share them on the Tumblr they created: The Why We Broke Up Project. If you missed them last night, you can hear them on The Brian Lehrer Show. And, of course, you can buy Why We Broke Up at WORD — they might even have a few signed copies in stock.