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Past Conversations from the Cullman Center Programs

  • What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
    Nathan Englander Nathan Englander
    Sarah Jones Sarah Jones

    Nathan Englander and Sarah Jones

    Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Former Cullman fellow Nathan Englander in conversation with playwright and performer Sarah Jones about his new collection of stories entitled, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.

    This program is now full. Seats may be available on a first-come, first-served basis on the night of the event.

    Pulphead Pulphead
    John Jeremiah Sullivan, photo by John Taylor John Jeremiah Sullivan, photo by John Taylor
    Wells Tower Wells Tower

    John Jeremiah Sullivan and Wells Tower

    Thursday, December 15, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Former CSW Fellows John Jeremiah Sullivan and Wells Tower discuss the art of the essay in light of Sullivan's new book, Pulphead.

    This program is currently full. There may be seats available on the night of the event on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Lorin Stein, photo by Mathieu Bourgois Lorin Stein, photo by Mathieu Bourgois
    Jean Strouse Jean Strouse

    The James Family

    Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Jean Strouse talks to Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review, about the James Family on the occasion of the re-issue of Strouse's biogarphy, Alice James. 

    This program is now full. There may be seats available on a first-come, first-served basis the evening of the event.

    Alphabetter Juice Alphabetter Juice
    Roy Blount Jr., photo by Joan Griswold Roy Blount Jr., photo by Joan Griswold
    James Shapiro James Shapiro

    Roy Blount Jr.and James Shapiro

    Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Roy Blount discusses his new book, Alphabetter Juice with James Shapiro.

    Registration for this event is now closed. There are still seats available. Please call 212-930-0084 if you would like to attend.

    Daniel Mendelsohn Daniel Mendelsohn

    James Romm and Daniel Mendelsohn

    Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    James Romm and Daniel Mendelsohn discuss Romm's Ghost on the Throne.

    Registration for this event is now closed. There are still seats available. If you would like to attend tonight please call 212-930-0084.

    The Convert The Convert
    Deborah Baker, photo by Julienne Schaer Deborah Baker, photo by Julienne Schaer
    Elizabeth Rubin Elizabeth Rubin

    Deborah Baker and Elizabeth Rubin

    Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.
    In a conversation with the journalist Elizabeth Rubin, Deborah Baker will discuss her latest book, The Convert, which Baker wrote when she was a Fellow at the Cullman Center in 2008-2009. Drawing from papers she found in The New York Public Library's Manuscripts and Archives Division, Baker tells the true story of Margaret Marcus -- a Jewish girl from Larchmont who converted to radical Islam, moved to Lahore, and continues to live there as Maryam Jameelah. The Convert was just nominated for the 2011 National Book Award.

    Elizabeth Rubin is an acclaimed journalist who has covered wars in Bosnia, Iraq Afghanistan, and Pakistan. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Harper's, and The New York Times, among other publications.
    Drama, An Actor's Education Drama, An Actor's Education
    John Lithgow John Lithgow
    Bill Moyers Bill Moyers

    John Lithgow and Bill Moyers

    Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    John Lithgow discusses his new memoir, Drama, An Actor's Education with Bill Moyers.

    This event is co-presented with LIVE from the NYPL. Tickets are now available here.

    Up From the Stacks Up From the Stacks
    Mark Mulcahy and Ben Katchor Mark Mulcahy and Ben Katchor

    Up From the Stacks, A musical theater piece by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy

    Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Set in The New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street and in the environs of Times Square circa 1970, Up From the Stacks is the story of Lincoln Cabinée, a college student working part-time as a page, retrieving books for readers from the Library’s collection of 43 million items. This routine evening job inadvertently thrusts young Cabinée into the treacherous crossroads of scholarly obsession and the businesses of amusement and vice that then flourished in the 42nd Street area. The intellectual life of the city and the happiness of a young man hang in the balance.

    Co-commissioned by the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at The New York Public Library, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for Target Free Thursdays at the David Rubenstein Atrium.

    Up From the Stacks Up From the Stacks
    Mark Mulcahy and Ben Katchor Mark Mulcahy and Ben Katchor

    Up From the Stacks, A musical theater piece by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy

    Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Set in The New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street and in the environs of Times Square circa 1970, Up From the Stacks is the story of Lincoln Cabinée, a college student working part-time as a page, retrieving books for readers from the Library’s collection of 43 million items. This routine evening job inadvertently thrusts young Cabinée into the treacherous crossroads of scholarly obsession and the businesses of amusement and vice that then flourished in the 42nd Street area. The intellectual life of the city and the happiness of a young man hang in the balance.

    Co-commissioned by the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at The New York Public Library, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for Target Free Thursdays at the David Rubenstein Atrium.

    Stacy Schiff Stacy Schiff
    Cleopatra Cleopatra

    Stacy Schiff

    Friday, September 23, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    The distinguished biographer, Pulitzer Prize winner and former Cullman Center Fellow Stacy Schiff discusses her highly acclaimed biography Cleopatra.

    STACY SCHIFF is also the author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Saint-Exupéry, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; and A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, winner of the George Washington Book Prize. Schiff has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and has contributed frequently to the New York Times op-ed page. She lives in New York City.

    This event is co-presented with LIVE from the NYPL. Tickets are now available here.

    Francine Prose Francine Prose
    David Bezmozgis David Bezmozgis
    The Free World The Free World
    My American Life My American Life

    David Bezmozgis and Francine Prose

    Monday, May 9, 2011, 7 - 11 p.m.
    David Bezmozgis, author of the story collection Natasha, and Francine Prose, whose most recent book is Anne Frank, talk about their novels The Free World and My New American Life, respectively.

    Both books are available in the Library's Book Shop by clicking on the titles.

    Reservations for this program are now closed. Stand-by seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

    A Visit from the Goon Squad A Visit from the Goon Squad
    Jennifer Egan Jennifer Egan

    Jennifer Egan in conversation with Laura Miller

    Thursday, April 14, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    Jennifer Egan’s spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other’s pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.

    JENNIFER EGAN is the author of The Invisible Circus, Emerald City and Other Stories, Look at Me, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 2001, and the bestselling The Keep.  Her new book, A Visit From the Goon Squad, a national bestseller, was published last June.  Also a journalist, she writes frequently in the New York Times Magazine.

    George Packer George Packer
    "Broken America" "Broken America"

    Broken America

    Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 7 p.m.

    The Joanna Jackson Goldman Memorial Lectures in American Civilization and Government

    “Broken America”
    Two lectures by the author and New Yorker writer George Packer on the decline of American institutions, from government and business to the media. The lectures are consecutive; however, you are not obligated to attend both.
     

    Please note: We are no longer taking reservations for this program. Stand-by seats may be available on the night of the event.


    George Packer George Packer
    "Broken America" "Broken America"

    Broken America

    Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.

    The Joanna Jackson Goldman Memorial Lectures in American Civilization and Government

    “Broken America”
    Two lectures by the author and New Yorker writer George Packer on the decline of American institutions, from government and business to the media. The lectures are consecutive; however, you are not obligated to attend both.
     

    Please note: We are no longer taking reservations for this program. Stand-by seats may be available on the night of the event.


    Black Gotham Black Gotham
    Carla Peterson Carla Peterson
    Annette Gordon-Reed Annette Gordon-Reed

    Carla Peterson and Annette Gordon-Reed

    Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.
    Carla Peterson discusses her book Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth Century New York City with the Pulitzer-prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

    This event is currently full. Seats will be available on a stand-by basis only on the night of the event.

    Carla Peterson and Annette Gordon-Reed's books are available at the Library's Book Shop by clicking on the book's title.

    Swamplandia! Swamplandia!
    Karen Russell Karen Russell
    Wells Tower Wells Tower

    Karen Russell and Wells Tower

    Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.
    Karen Russell, named one of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists in 2007, talks about her novel Swamplandia! with Wells Tower, author of Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned and winner of The New York Public Library’s 2010 Young Lions’ Fiction Award.  
     
    Co-Sponsored with the Library's Young Lions Program.

    Click here to reserve your free tickets.

    Karen Russell and Wells Tower's books are available at the Library's Book Shop by clicking on the book's title.

    Liberty's Exiles Liberty's Exiles
    Maya Jasanoff Maya Jasanoff
    Jill Lepore Jill Lepore

    Maya Jasanoff and Jill Lepore

    Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.
    Maya Jasanoff discusses her new book, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World, with Jill Lepore, a New Yorker writer and the author most recently of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History
     

    THIS EVENT IS FULL. However we will have a "first come, first served" standby line on Tuesday evening for seats available at the last minute.

    Both Maya Jasanoff and Jill Lepore's books are available at the Library's Book Shop. To access the Book Shop, click on the book's title.

    Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín
    The Empty Family The Empty Family

    The Empty Family, A Conversation with Colm Tóibín

    Thursday, February 3, 2011, 7 - 11:45 p.m.

    Colm Tóibín, the author most recently of the novel Brooklyn, talks about his collection of short stories, The Empty Family.

    Presented with LIVE from the NYPL. Please click here to purchase
     
    Astra Taylor Astra Taylor
    Anthony Gottlieb Anthony Gottlieb
    Cornel West Cornel West
    Lewis Lapham Lewis Lapham

    Does Philosophy Still Matter?

    Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 7 - 9 p.m.
    A distinguished panel that includes Astra Taylor, Anthony Gottlieb, Simon Critchley, Cornel West, and James Miller – moderated by Lewis Lapham - will discuss the present state of philosophy in light of Miller’s  book, Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche.
    Co-sponsored with The New School University
     This event will take place at The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, at 7 p.m.

    Admission is free. RSVP: Please email molok819@newschool.edu 

    Radioactive Radioactive
    Lauren Redniss Lauren Redniss
    Radioactive Radioactive

    Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout

    Friday, January 21, 2011, 7:30 - 11:45 p.m.

    Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus, MD, talks with the artist Lauren Redniss about science, art, process, discovery, and the current New York Public Library exhibition of Redniss’s work, Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout.

    Co-presented with Science & the Arts, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York

    This event is currently full. Standby tickets will be available the night of the event, first-come, first-served. Thank you.

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