In New York this week, James Frey and Maira Kalman at the CLMP Spelling Bee, members of The National collaborate with visual artist Matthew Ritchie in The Long Count at BAM, Sherman Alexie and Chuck Klosterman read, Guernica Magazine turns 5, Performa 09 begins, Literary Death Match returns to New York, and Lawrence Weschler presents Halloween Wonder Cabinet.
MONDAY 10/26 – Let it Bee – James Frey, Maira Kalman, Victor Lavalle and Francine Prose, among many other savvy writer-spellers duke it out at the spelling bee hosted by the Diane von Furstenberg studio to benefit the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses. Silent Auction 7:00pm. Bee 8:00pm.
An Evening with Bidoun at the Kitchen. Bidoun Magazine commemorates its fall issue with a night at the Kitchen. Gallerist Tony Shafrazi will narrate his operatic epic Moogambo, writer and flamenco dancer Hampton Fancher will encounter writer Gini Alhadeff, people will whistle competitively and music will be performed by Fatima Al-Qadiri. Free.
Old Hat perform at Goodbye Blue Monday.
Chuck Klosterman reads at Barnes & Noble in the Flatiron district. 33 E. 17th (Bet. Park & B’way). 7:00pm. Free.
TUESDAY 10/27 – Sherman Alexie and Kelly McRae read at Barnes & Noblein the Flatiron district. 33 E. 17th (Bet. Park & B’way). 7:00pm. Free.
New York Stories – New Yorkers were sent a call for submissions to create short videos (2-3 mins) that depict their engagement with New York City. The product is 16 short videos that will screen at Light Industry. Curated by Matt Keegan. 7:30pm.
Dufus & Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. Club Europa. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 9:00pm.
Victor Lavalle and Robert Lopez read at Pacific Standard. Park Slope Brooklyn. 7:00pm. Free.
WEDNESDAY 10/28 – The Long Count: Bryce and Aaron Dressner of The National with visual artist Matthew Ritchie join guest vocalists Kim Deal (Pixies, The Breeders), Kelley Deal (The Breeders), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Matt Berninger (The National) to create a myth about the beginning of time. BAM. 8:00pm.
Guernica at 5! Benefit. Reading by Jonathan Ames, DJ Didi Gutman of Brazilian Girls and DJ Rekha. Katie Halper from Laughing Liberally emcees. Powerhouse Arena. 37 Main St. 7:00PM – 10:00PM.
Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard at Glasslands.
A Woman Under the Influence – John Cassavetes’s classic plays at the Museum of Modern Art. 8:00pm.
Vampire Tales at Symphony Space. Michael Imperioli of “the Sopranos” and Aasif Mandvi of “the Daily Show” read blood-curdling tales. 2537 B’way. 7:00pm. $27.
THURSDAY 10/29 –Literary Death Match. This Halloween themed LDM features “a fearsome foursome of readers rarely before seen,” Gabe Liedman, co-funnyman Peter Grosz (The Colbert Report, Sonic commercials) and Grove/Atlantic editing mastermind Amy Hundley presiding. Bowery Poetry Club. 8:00PM – 10:00PM. $10.
John Irving reads at Barnes & Noble in the Flatiron district. 33 E. 17th (Bet. Park & B’way). 7:00pm. Free.
Vol. 1 Brooklyn Launch Party. Bar Matchless. 8:00PM – 2:00AM.
Antifolk Sucks Night: An Evening of Unreleased B-Sides – featuring music by Peter Dizozz, Prewar Yardsale, Domino, Jeffrey Lewis, Regina Spektor and many more. 8:00PM – 12:00AM.
A.S. Byatt reads at the 92nd St. Y. 8:00PM.
FRIDAY 10/30 – Subterranean Homesick Blues Project in NYC -Thirty poets have been asked to write a poem in response to a line from a Bob Dylan song. Readers include Timothy Donnelly, Josh Bell, Sharon Mesmer, Ari Messer, Justin Taylor, and Sasha Fletcher. Ding Dong Lounge: 929 Columbus Ave (@105th St.). 7:00pm.
Tao Lin reads at New Museum. 235 Bowery. 7:00pm.
The Long Count: Members of The National, Pixies and The Breeders tell a song-filled myth about the beginning of time. BAM. 8:00pm.
Roberto Rossellini’s Neo-Realist film classic Rome Open City. 4:15pm. Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Opening of “Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the present.” Brooklyn Museum.
SATURDAY 10/31 – Halloween Wonder Cabinet curated by Lawrence Weschler. See Laurie Anderson rhapsodize on her days at NASA, Walter Murch discern the music of the spheres, and Chandlere Burr, the Scent Critic of the New York Times. This day of “sublimely odd, wonderflecked and just plain cool” presentations is apparently nothing new for Lawrence Weschler, the director of the New York Institute for the Humanities, and author, among others, of the Pulitzer-nominated Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder. This year, his all-day festival takes place Halloween. Cantor Film Center at NYU, 36 E. 8th St. 10:45AM – 9:30PM. Free.
Artist Talk – The Long Count: Brothers Bryce and Aaron Dessner of indie rock band The National, and British-born visual artist Matthew Ritchie, known for his kaleidoscopic, cosmological projects, have come together to present The Long Count. Their new collaboration will lend itself to a discussion on music, art, and genesis, moderated by Brandon Stosuy, Senior Writer at Stereogum and a Contributing Editor at The Believer Magazine. BAM. 6:00pm. $8.
The Long Count: Members of The National, Pixies and The Breeders tell a song-filled myth about the beginning of time. BAM. 8:00pm.
MetroPCS Masquerade with Weezer, Matt and Kim, and PT Walkley. Hammerstein Ballroom. 8:00pm.
SUNDAY 11/1 –Performa 09 the Performance Art Bienniale begins. The festival will be staged across many venues through the first three weeks of November including Cooper Union, P.S. 1 and Castle Clinton, Battery Park. The presentation of cutting edge collaborative projects will begin on Sunday. Fischerspooner presents an evening length work at the Museum of Modern Art. 11 W. 53rd St. 6:00pm. For Tickets to events, click here. For a full calendar, click here.
“Looking” – 2 filmmakers and 4 writers present work that investigates the nature of perception. Writers Wayne Koestenbaum, Eileen Myles, Maggie Nelson and poet CA Conrad. The program will be interspersed with short films by Douglas Goodwin and Rebecca Baron. Cabinet Magazine. 300 Nevins St., Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Robert Wilson and Tony Kushner on Heiner Muller – Artist Talk: “Avant-garde” theater director Robert Wilson will talk with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner about the work of Heiner Muller, “Germany’s most important dramatist since Bertolt Brecht.” Robert Wilson is staging Muller’s Quartett, an adaptation of Les Liasons Dangereuses, at BAM’s Next Wave Festival beginning November 4. BAM.6:00pm.
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