Reading the City
April 1 to 7
Welcome back to Reading the City, a weekly newsletter of bookish events in and around NYC.
This week, I’m excited about Michael Ondaatje kicking off Poetry Month, Lisa Ko launching Memory Piece, Lucy Sante at Hunter’s Distinguished Writers Series, an important conversation around gun violence prevention at the Rally Reading Series, and—a new one for me—Nonhuman Teachers is hosting Susan Orlean and Naomi Fry for an evening of ecological storytelling. Yes to all of that!
Also, hello to my new subscribers! Lovely to see you here. Always feel free to send me any events I should have on my radar or just say hi. And please share the love with your bookish friends.
Monday, April 1
Miss Manhattan 10th Anniversary
Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series celebrates its 10th anniversary with a special celebratory evening featuring Margo Jefferson (Negroland), Elizabeth Kendall (American Daughter), Naomi Extra (Ratchet Supreme), Nabil Ayers (My Life in the Sunshine), and Zachary Pace (I Sing to Use the Waiting). There will be teeny cupcakes, books and totes for sale, and hosted, as ever, by Elyssa Maxx Goodman (Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City).
Free; 7.30pm; Niagara, 112 Avenue A, New York
Tuesday, April 2
Michael Ondaatje: A Year of Last Things: Poems
Greenlight kicks off National Poetry Month with one of my favorite writers, Booker Prize winning author Michael Ondaatje, and his long-awaited return to poetry with the collection A Year of Last Things. Ondaatje discusses his work with fellow Sri Lanka writer Sonali Deraniyagala (The Wave).
$28, including the book; St. Joseph’s University, 245 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn
Julia Alvarez: The Cemetery of Untold Stories with Edwidge Danticat
Julia Alvarez, literary icon and author of In the Time of the Butterflies, discusses her new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, about Alma Cruz, a writer who wants to lay her untold stories to rest by creating a graveyard where she buries her unfinished drafts and manuscripts. Alvarez is joined by the also iconic Edwidge Danticat (Breath, Eyes, Memory).
$7.50; 7pm; The Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
Benjamín Labatut: The Maniac
Benjamín Labatut (When We Cease to Understand the World) discusses his new work, The Maniac—a haunting story centered on the Hungarian polymath John von Neumann, tracing the impact of his singular legacy on the dreams and nightmares of the twentieth century and the nascent age of AI—with film director Bennett Miller.
Free; 7pm; Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue, Brooklyn
Samir Chopra: Anxiety: A Philosophical Guide
Samir Chopra discusses his newest book, Anxiety: A Philosophical Guide—on how philosophy can teach us to be less anxious about being anxious by understanding that it’s an essential part of being human—in conversation with philosopher and author Skye Cleary.
$5, redeemable in store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Zito Madu: The Minotaur at Calle Lanza
Zito Madu launches the The Minotaur at Calle Lanza—a surrealist debut memoir meets pandemic travelogue, with nods to Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges—in conversation with culture writer Shamira Ibrahim.
Free; 6.30-8pm; Lofty Pigeon Books, 743 Church Avenue Brooklyn
Wednesday, April 3
Lisa Ko: Memory Piece
In Memory Piece, Lisa Ko, the award-winning author of The Leavers, offers a strikingly imagined portrait of the 2040s, following three lifelong friends striving to build satisfying lives in a world that turns out to be radically different from the one they were promised. Ko is joined by Melissa Rivero (Flores and Miss Paula).
$10.89, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Sheila Yasmin Marikar: Friends in Napa
Sheila Yasmin Marikar (The Goddess Effect) launches Friends in Napa—a dark comedy in which six old friends descend on Napa Valley for a luxurious weekend of fine wine and good times, until old tensions simmer to the surface—joined by Simi Shah, the founder and CEO of South Asian Trailblazers and author of My Life in Full.
Free; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, April 4
Distinguished Writers Series presents Lucy Sante
A reading and discussion with Lucy Sante (I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition) as part of Hunter Creative Writing Program’s Distinguished Writer Series, which invites notable writers for intimate class visits. The events are open to students and the public. Non-students should arrive early to get a day pass from security.
Free; 7:30pm; Hunter West, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room, New York
Rally Reading Series
The Rally Reading Series launched in 2016 to provide a platform for overtly political literature in the hope of finding actionable, meaningful ways to cultivate change, and advance community and democracy. Hosted by Ryan D. Matthews, this month speakers include multimedia artist and activist Antonius Wiriadjaja, Lizzie Eaton, a writer and a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, and Po Murray, the cofounder and chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance, an organization dedicated to reversing escalating gun violence through smarter, safer gun laws—for which the event will also be raising funds.
Free; 7pm; Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn
Crystal Hana Kim: The Stone Home
Presented in collaboration with the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Crystal Hana Kim (If You Leave Me) launches The Stone Home, a poetic family drama and coming-of-age story that reveals a dark corner of South Korean history through the eyes of a small community living in a reformatory center. She is joined by Julia Phillips (Disappearing Earth).
$10.89, redeemable in-store; 7-8pm; Books Are Magic Montague 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn, and livestreamed free
Ursula Villarreal-Moura: Like Happiness
Ursula Villarreal-Moura (Math for the Self-Crippling), launches her debut novel Like Happiness—about the complexities of gender, power, and fame, told through the story of a young woman’s destructive relationship with a legendary writer—in conversation with Alejandro Varela (The Town of Babylon).
Free; 7-9pm; Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Jennifer Baum: Just City
Jennifer Baum celebrates the release of Just City—a memoir of New York’s Historic Upper West Side at a time when community and unity defined the neighborhood—in conversation with Manhattan historian Rob Snyder.
Free, register online; 7pm; Book Culture, 536 W 112th St, New York
Friday, April 5
Brooklyn Poets Reading Series
Occurring bimonthly, each reading features three poets, with at least one from Brooklyn and one from outside the borough, curated by Jason Koo. This time, readers include Cindy Juyoung Ok (Ward Toward), Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Silver), and Monica Youn (From From). Wine reception to begin, followed by readings at 7.
Free; 6-9pm; Brooklyn Poets ,144 Montague St 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, and livestreamed
Ryan Chapman: The Audacity: A Novel
Ryan Chapman (Riots I Have Known) discusses his new book, The Audacity—a bracing satire about the implosion of a Theranos-like company, a collapsing marriage, and a billionaires’ “philanthropy summit”—in conversation with Amitava Kumar (My Beloved Life).
$5, redeemable in store; 7pm; P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York
Saturday, April 6
The 28th Poets House Showcase
The Poets House Showcase is an admission-free exhibit featuring thousands of books of poetry published by hundreds of presses. The first to be hosted there since the pandemic and their major renovations, it focuses on books published in 2020 and 2021. The exhibition will be on view from April 6-May 31, during regular library hours, and will be accompanied by readings—such as at this celebratory opening reception, hosted by Cornelius Eady (706 Union Ave: Memphis Session) and Myra Shapiro (When the World Walks Toward You).
Free; 4-6pm; Poet’s House, 10 River Terrace, New York
Sunday, April 7
Ecological Storytelling: Susan Orlean
Nonhuman Teachers is a nonprofit organization that blends science, art, and the imagination to help deepen the relationship between humans and the natural world through ecological storytelling (also found at
). For their first event in 2024, they host the great Susan Orlean for an evening of drinks and discussion around her writings about plants, animals, and the Homo sapiens who love them, joined by fellow New Yorker staff writer Naomi Fry. The conversation will be preceded by screenings of rarely-seen 4K restorations of short films by surfing's resident mad scientist and filmmaker George Greenough (he invented surfboard fins!).$35; 3-6pm; West Room at Nine Orchard, 9 Orchard Street New York
NB. Please check all details before attending, the fact checker went awol.
I’m a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and teacher, and the author of No Way Home: A Memoir of Life on the Run (St. Martin’s Press) and Amphibian (forthcoming from Virago). I’m here and here on Instagram. Get in touch with any bookish events you’d like me to include!
