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(Nicole McFeely)

“I’m a con artist in that I’m an actor. I make people believe something is real when they know perfectly well it isn’t,” said John Lithgow, and with five Emmys, two Tonys, two Golden Globes, and two Oscar nominations, I’d believe him. Hear him speak about his new autobiography on Tuesday, October 4th at the Kabuki Theater, presented by The Booksmith, who will also present Jeremy Rifkin on the same evening! Rifkin will discuss his new book “The Third Industrial Revolution,” which explores how Internet technology and renewable energy are merging to create a powerful “Third Industrial Revolution” that will transform the way we work and live in the 21st century. Also this Tuesday, over at City Arts and Lectures, Andy Borowitz will be in conversation w/ Paul Lancour. Borowitz, a comedian and writer whose twitter feed was recently voted #1 by a TIME magazine poll and whose work appears in the New Yorker, is also the man responsible for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That’s right. He created the Fresh Prince. Pretty awesome in my book. Read the rest of this entry »

(Evan Karp)

"i am a really shy human, i swear. if i can do this, you can do it."

As you probably know, Quiet Lightning recently filed its articles of incorporation as a non-profit organization (status: pending). This month’s show, Apr 4 @ Mina Dresden Gallery, was the first QL show since the formation of its board and the first time the series teamed up with Litquake (other than last year’s crawl). Of the approximately 130 people there, about 33% had never attended the series. Some people were so excited they signed up for the mailing list twice (and they had the clearest handwriting). Read the rest of this entry »

(Nicole McFeely)

I want to see Charlie Jane‘s pages.

I’ve never gone to a reading where I’ve enjoyed the host’s introductions to the performers as much as the performers themselves. It would be a pretty unusual thing to expect, I believe. However, there are a lot of unusual things about the Writers With Drinks series hosted by Charlie Jane Anders.

For one, the audience that packs the house every month at the Makeout Room to enjoy the show is much more lively and interactive than many of the crowds I’ve been a part of at literary events. This has a lot to do with not only the caliber of performers who have stepped up to the mic at the series for the past ten years but by the uncharacteristically wide range of genres by which they might be categorized: poetry, smut, science fiction, stand-up comedy, erotica—the list continues. By including such a wide array of genres, many of which have struggled in the past or still struggle today to gain the credit they deserve from “serious” literature critics, Charlie has found a way to bring these unsung communities together to experience and appreciate one another’s work.

And nowhere are the results of this unique collaborative phenomenon documented more tangibly than Charlie Jane’s pages. For they also serve as the notes Charlie occasionally references during her brilliant and hilarious introductions to the readers. These introductions, which are smart performances in themselves, are half of the enjoyment of the show for me, and I don’t imagine I am alone; Charlie bears a very rare talent—a sharp intellect coupled with the ability to wield it properly. Like some of my favorite satirists and Science Fiction authors—Vonnegut, Twain, Swift—she is adept at stirring us to laughter while covertly coaxing us to realize that we are laughing mostly at ourselves. Read the rest of this entry »