TUESDAY
(Photo: Courtesy of Hyperallergic)
Hyperallergic IRL 2
August 16, 7 pm at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe,
The super stylish Hyperallergic, the online magazine for all your arts-and-culture-related thinkpiece needs, will come to life tonight at Housing Works for the second time as three Hyperallergic writers (Seph Rodney, Claire Voon, and Carey Dunne), as well as three editors (Elisa Wouk Almino, Jillian Steinhauer, and Hrag Vartanian) read from some of their pieces and bring your favorite self-proclaimed “Art Blogazine” to the masses.
In addition to the readings, tonight will also be the first time Hyperallergic Weekend‘s “Beer with a Painter” series – which is a column in which writer and art historian Jennifer Samet interviews different artist – will come to life as Samet interviews the painter Philip Pearlstein at the event. Come for the art commentary, stay for the cute art history grad students probably in attendance.
WEDNESDAY
(Photo: Courtesy of Greenlight Bookstore)
Book Launch: Kristin Dombek with Dayna Tortorici
August 17, 7:30 pm at Greenlight Book Store
Kristin Dombek’s essays have appeared in publications as renowned as in n+1, The New York Times Magazine, and The Paris Review, and on Wednesday night she’ll be chatting with Dayna Tortorici, the editor of n+1, about her book debut, The Selfishness of Others. If you wanna get a head-start on the Williamsburg-based writer’s manner of speaking (or maybe you’re just nervous that you won’t finish the book in time)– our own Bradley Spinelli spoke with Dombek about the book too. And guess what? She sounds like someone we’d wanna hang out with.
Dombek’s newest project is an essay that attempts to analyze and understand the phenomenon of the modern narcissist. In her trademark humorous, dark, and thought-provoking manner, Dombek (ever the thorough researcher) combs through items as diverse as “pop psychology bestsellers, sociological big data, Ovid, the self-help Internet, reality TV, and Dombek’s own relationships” in order to understand the reasons behind our culture’s preoccupation with narcissism.
By looking at how psychology intersects with popular culture, Dombek’s book manages to explore how our perception of a narcissistic prevalence in our society actually reveals a great deal about our anxieties surrounding love, friendship, and family.
THURSDAY
(Photo: Courtesy of KGB Bar)
Drunken Careening Writers
August 18, 7 pm at KGB Bar
The event’s title really does say it all. KGB Bar’s monthly reading series is back, and it’s still showcases a roster of writers who enjoy reading their work loudly, drunkenly, and amidst all kinds of misbehavin’.
And for those of you with short attention spans, this reading series is your truest match, since it’s based on the proposition that no good reading should go on for more than 15 minutes. Writers after our own heart!
This month’s iteration will feature playwright/actor/comedian/all-around Renaissance woman Andrea Alton; along with two actors, Allen Warnock and David Leeper; another writer Sean Chandler; and there’s even a playwright thrown in the mix– Honor Molloy.
We know that Alton, Warnock, and Leeper have all performed at the city’s Fringe Festival, but apart from that it’s up to the audience to discover the thematic thread uniting them. With so many actors in charge of this month’s reading material, the performances (and drinking abilities) should certainly not disappoint.
FRIDAY
(Photo: Courtesy of Strand Bookstore)
New American Comedy at the Strand
August 19, 8 pm at Strand Bookstore
New American Comedy is a Brooklyn-based comedy collective that brings in authors, musicians, and performance artists to create alternative variety shows and sketches. In keeping with their gonzo/DIY spirit, the group has been busily working on the second volume of their zine, which they’ll be launching this Friday at the Strand.
Come support fringe self-publishing and stay for comedic performances by Jacqueline Novak (author of How To Weep in Public and from “The Late Late Show with James Corden”) and Mitra Jouhari (from “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”), also Seth Simons, and the founders of New American Comedy– Steven Markow and Zach Mandeville.
The festivities will be hosted by Catherine Cohen, of UCB and Brooklyn Comedy Festival fame, as well as Angelica Blevins from NAC and the Sex and Monsters comics. Alt-comedy fans, your Friday night just got sorted.