(Photo: Courtesy of Strand Books)
Nicolaia Rips: Trying to Float
July 12, 7pm at Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway at 12th Street.
The Chelsea Hotel is deeply entrenched in New York City folklore, and for good reason: basically anyone who’s ever made a name for themselves in the art, music, and literature scene of the 20th century has, at one point or another, set up camp there. Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, William S. Burroughs, Dylan Thomas, and Iggy Pop all enjoyed a stint in the famed hotel. The Chelsea also gained notoriety for less pleasant occurrences: Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of the Sex Pistol’s Sid Vicious, was found stabbed to death in one of the hotel’s rooms, and many have reported sightings of paranormal activities within its walls.
And while many may wonder what it must have been like to stay at the Chelsea, first-time author Nicolaia Rips knows firsthand, because she actually grew up there. Her memoir captures a bizarre upbringing among a constantly changing cast of characters, from her babysitter, who might have worked as an escort, to a lady next door who kept a pink handgun strapped to her ankle. Rips will be joined in conversation with the model, actress, and author Paulina Porizkova.
(Photo: Courtesy of Greenlight Book Store)
July 12, 7:30pm at Greenlight Book Store, 686 Fulton Street at S. Portland.
Proehl’s debut novel centers around a road trip to beat all other road trips: a nine-year-old boy and his mother, the former star of a superhero TV show, make their way across the United States to visit one Comic Con after the next. Along the way, they meet a cast of kooky and unforgettable characters, all obsessed with their own particular brand of fandom. An intimate exploration of fantasy, fanning out, and the complicated love between mother and son, Proehl’s novel examines how we use fan culture to shape our own personal identities. He will be joined by Ryan Britt, author of Luke Skywalker Can’t Read: And Other Geeky Truths.
Wednesday
(Photo: Courtesy of McNally Jackson)
July 13, 7pm at McNally Jackson, 52 Prince Street between Lafayette Street and Mulberry Street.
Ryan’s short stories all center around the lives of ordinary people trying to survive their day-to-day while living in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the shadow of the NASA program. Ryan sets his characters – a lonely grandmother, a Boy Scout troop leader, an engineer having an affair, a small-time criminal – against the backdrop of significant historical moments of the past century, including the first moon launch and Watergate. Ryan, who is the author of three previous novels, will be joined by Hannah Tinti, author of New York Times Notable Book of the Year The Good Thief.
Sunday
(Photo: Courtesy of Bowery Poetry Club)
July 17, 3:30pm at Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery.
This multidisciplinary performance will feature everything from video, poetry, stand-up, and spoken word to create a nuanced and thought-provoking exploration of how humans seek personal connections in an age of overt digitalization. The four artists are all specialists in different media, with Slauson, Anderson, and Roggenbuck merging video and visual arts with Bowen’s poetry and written words.