Notable New York, This Week 11/30 - 12/6

This week in New York Cate Blanchett acts in A Streetcar Named Desire, John Ashbery and Paul Auster read, Mike Daisey monologizes, an n+1 panel discusses feminism and love, Sherman Alexie talks with Rick Moody, Samuel Beckett’s Letters get talked about, and Charles Burns and Adrian Tomine stand around, talk and sign books at The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival.

MONDAY 11/30: An Evening with n+1: The Unfinished Work of Feminism is Love. Join Slate culture critic Meghan O’Rourke, authors Carlene Bauer and Meghan Falvey, and documentarian Astra Taylor for a discussion centered around the question, “Why can’t feminists agree on love?” The discussion will be moderated by Allison Lorentzen, editor-at-large of n+1, the distinguished twice-yearly print publication that merges politics, pop culture, and literary theory. The Kitchen. 512 W. 19th St. Free. 7:00pm.

Paul Auster and Javier Marias read at the 92nd Street Y. Since reading James Wood’s review of Invisible in the New Yorker, are you wondering about l’eau d’Auster, trying to decide whether Paul Auster is a “peculiar kind of postmodernist,” or even a “postmodernist at all?” Find out. Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street. $10.00 for 35-and-under. 8:00pm.

Believer Mag editor Heidi Julavits, Sean Wilsey and Daphne Beal read from Liz Welch’s memoir about the splitting of her family. The Half King. 505 W. 23rd St. Free. 7:00pm.

TUESDAY 12/1: Cate Blanchett stars in Tennessee Willams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Liv Ullman, formerly Ingmar Bergman’s muse, and star of such classics as Persona and Scenes from a Marriage, directs. BAM. Through Dec. 20.

James Rosenquist, the painter and pop art icon, talks about his new memoir Painting Below Zero. Guggenheim Museum. 1071 Fifth Avenue. $5. 6:30pm.

Ward No. 6, film by director Karen Shakhnazarov. In conjunction with its Celebrating Chekhov series, the Film Society of Lincoln Center presents the U.S. premiere of Ward No. 6, Russia’s submission for this year’s foreign language film Oscar.

WEDNESDAY 12/2: Sherman Alexie Stories and Conversation. In the traditional manner of the renowned series Selected Shorts, National Book Award winning author Sherman Alexie presents performances by B.D. Wong and David Straithairn of his new collection, War Dances, and discusses his process and career with author and Rumpus columnist Rick Moody. Symphony Space. 2537 Broadway at 95th St. $27. 7:00pm.

Paul McCarthy White Snow. Drawings of Snow White like you’ve never seen her before. McCarthy develops his characters – the young Snow White masturbating in a solitary romantic reverie, various phallic-nosed dwarfs in a dither at the arrival of the beautiful stranger in their midst – as players in a sly yet poignant coming-of-age narrative packing a metaphorical wallop. The images touch upon the dark associations invited by the Snow White tale while simultaneously suggesting a love story with profound personal resonance for the artist. Hauser and Wirth. 32 E. 69th St. Tues – Sat. 10:00 – 6:00pm.

THURSDAY 12/3: Poet John Ashbery reads at NYU’s New Salon reading series. John Ashbery’s “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” won the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The winner of many other prizes and awards, he has received two Guggenheim Fellowships and was a MacArthur Fellow from 1985 to 1990.Vanderbilt Hall, Tishman Auditorium. 40 Washington Square South. 7:00pm.

Mike Daisey’s The Last Cargo Cult makes its New York debut at the Public Theater. Mike Daisey’s monologues are hilarious, rich and thoroughly researched narratives. With the Last Cargo Cult, Daisey tells the story of his journey to a remote South Pacific island whose people worship America and its cargo. This narrative is combined with an examination of the international financial crisis that occurred simultaneously with his trip. If you’ve never seen Mike Daisey, it’s a worthwhile outing. The Public Theater. 425 Lafayette Street. $40. Runs through Dec. 13.

Cabinet Magazine’s opening reception for its exhibition: “Darcy Lange: Work Studies in Schools.” The exhibition, which runs through January 16, 2010, draws from a series of videos and photographs by New Zealand artist Darcy Lange (1946–2005) which examine the processes of teaching and learning. In 1976, Lange videotaped a number of classrooms at three schools in the English city of Birmingham, carefully choosing institutions that would represent different social classes. Focusing on the teaching of art, history, and science, Lange first filmed each class in action. Afterward, he would watch the tapes with the teachers and then the students, each time recording their reactions. Cabinet. 300 Nevins Street, Brooklyn. 7:00pm – 9:00pm.

FRIDAY 12/4: Woods, the folk psychedelic jam band, performs with Real Estate at Market Hotel. 1142 Myrtle Avenue, at Broadway. 8:00pm.

Mike Daisey’s The Last Cargo Cult. See Thursday for full details.

SATURDAY 12/5: The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. Guest artists Charles Burns, Adrian Tomine and Gabrielle Bell, are some of the guest artists that will join this festival that brings together some of the best cartoonists, illustrators, designers and print-makers from all over the world. Over 50 exhibitors will be selling zines, comics, books, prints, and posters; there will be signings, lectures and panel discussions; an exhibition of vintage comic book artwork; and an evening of musical performances. Our Lady of Consolation Church. 184 Metropolitan Avenue. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Free. 11:00am – 7:00pm.

Old Hat and Kung Fu Crime Wave at The Debutante Hour’s Telethon Bash. The accordion/drum/cello power trio, presents a variety show with folk-rock group The WOWZ, Phoebe Kreutz and new cult phenomenon Old Hat. And magic too! The Ukranian National Home. 140 2nd Ave. 8:00pm.

SUNDAY 12/6:

The Letters of Samuel Beckett. An informal conversation with Martha Dow Fehsenfeld and Lois More Overbeck, who were chosen by Beckett to edit his letters. The first volume of the letters, spanning the years 1929-1940, was published in 2009. 92nd Street Y. Lexington Ave. at 92nd St. $10.00 for 35-and-under. 11:00am.

H.O.W. Journal Holiday Costume Party – Dress as a character from literature, film, theater, or art and swing by to hear Tao Lin and Willie Perdomo read. This fundraiser, the proceeds of which will be used to start an art, music and film-making program for young adults at Safe Space will host a Holiday Costume Contest, judged by Honor Moore ($300 First Prize), and a “Written Word Booth” where you can write your “best poetry, prose, blatherings.” Macao Trading Co. 311 Church Street. 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Free drinks from 6-7pm.

ART: Nikhil Chopra: “Yog Raj Chitrakar: Memory Drawing IX” is inspired by the 1920s and New York City’s role in that defining moment in the history of the world – a time of deep physical, imagined, and sociological changes impacted by immigration, architecture, and labor, caught between two world wars. For five days, as the character Yog Raj Chitrakar, Chopra activated the Glass Gallery at the New Museum, transforming it into a turn-of the-century tableau vivant. Remnants of Chopra’s occupation of the space remain on display as an installation. New Museum. 235 Bowery.