LIVE from the NYPL: New York City's Über-Salon Announces Spring Line-Up

Margaret Atwood, Eric Bogosian, R. Crumb, Frank McCourt, Judith Martin, Salman Rushdie, Jeff Tweedy, and Derek Walcott Among the Talent Speaking This Season Live at The New York Public Library Starting March 15

New York, NY, February 25, 2005 -- Surprising combinations, unexpected celebrity pairings, and intriguing conversations are in store from the new public programs series, now known as LIVE from the NYPL, under the direction of Paul Holdengräber: Jeff Tweedy, the frontman of Wilco, talks to Lawrence Lessig, legal mind extraordinaire; R. Crumb, the bad-boy graphic novelist, converses with Robert Hughes, the cantankerous and eloquent critic; Salman Rushdie, Paul Auster, Margaret Atwood, and others celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote by coming together onstage for one night.

LIVE from the NYPL kicks off its Spring season on March 15 with Irish writers Colum McCann, Frank McCourt, and Nuala O'Faolain discussing Joyce's ideas of silence, exile, and cunning.

Tickets and Information:
Programs are held at The New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Unless otherwise indicated, tickets are $10 for the general public and $7 for Library Donor groups, including Friends of the Library, Young Lions, and Conservators. Tickets are available through Smarttix. To order tickets by phone, call the Smarttix hotline (212) 868-4444, 9 am -- 8 pm Monday through Friday, 10 am – 8 pm Saturday, and 10 am -- 6 pm Sunday. To order online, visit www.Smarttix.com. For more information about each event, visit www.nypl.org/live or call the 24-hour LIVE from the NYPL phone line, (212) 930-0571.

Contact: Tim Farrell 212.704.8600; Lindy Regan 212.704.8600.


Schedule

SILENCE, EXILE AND CUNNING. WHAT'S SO IRISH ABOUT THAT ANYWAY?
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers
Colum McCann
Frank McCourt
Nuala O'Faolain

Tuesday, March 15 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Two nights before New York City celebrates St. Patrick's Day, three internationally renowned Irish writers -- Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes, ‘Tis); Nuala O'Faolain (Are You Somebody?, My Dream of You); and Colum McCann (Dancer, Songdogs) -- will discuss their work and the complexity of modern Irish identity in the context of Joyce's famous line about silence, exile, and cunning. This discussion will be moderated by Paul Holdengräber, Director of LIVE from the NYPL. Tickets on sale Wednesday, February 23 at 10 a.m.


SARAH VOWELL
Wednesday, March 30 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Author, social observer, and contributor to NPR's “This American Life,” Sarah Vowell talks to the NYPL audience. Described as “a Madonna of Americana” by the LA Times, Vowell is a brilliant critic and storyteller. She also voiced the character of Violet Parr for the recent smash hit film The Incredibles. (Other guests and program description to be announced.) Tickets on sale Wednesday March 9 at 10 a.m.

TOCQUEVILLE FOR TODAY, AMERICA IN FOREIGN EYES
Bernard-Henri Levy and David Brooks
Wednesday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m.
South Court Auditorium

Bernard-Henri Levy, author of "In the Footsteps of Tocqueville" appearing in The Atlantic Monthly in May 2005, interviewed by New York Times columnist David Brooks. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $7 for Library Donor groups including Friends of the Library, Young Lions, and Conservators.


WHO OWNS CULTURE?
LIVE from the NYPL and Wired magazine present:
Jeff Tweedy + Lawrence Lessig
in conversation with Steven Johnson
Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Wilco guitarist and frontman Jeff Tweedy and Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig explore the artistic, commercial and legal issues that surround the Internet-enabled freeing of culture. Lessig is the author of Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. Steven Johnson, Wiredcontributing editor and author of the forthcoming Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter, will moderate the discussion. Tickets on sale Thursday, March 17 at 10 a.m.


COME TO CRUMBLAND
R. Crumb and Robert Hughes: A Conversation
Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Robert Crumb's longstanding and eye-catching career in the graphic arts is celebrated as the bad-boy cartoonist makes his only scheduled U.S. appearance, at The New York Public Library. The creator of Fritz the Cat, Zap Comix, and Mr. Natural discusses how he went from underground, X-rated artist to cultural icon. Robert Hughes, renowned both as an art critic for Time magazine and as author of The Shock of the New and The Epic History of Art in America, will probe the famous, and very private, artist. Tickets on sale Wednesday March 23 at 10 a.m.

LIVE from the NYPL Launches The PEN World Voices of International Literature Festival with three events, Saturday, April 16

PAUL AUSTER AND CHICO BUARQUE
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with PEN American Center
Saturday, April 16 at 2 p.m.
South Court Auditorium

The American novelist Paul Auster interviews the Brazilian musician, composer, poet and novelist Chico Buarque, who recently wrote Budapest: A Novel. Tickets on sale Wednesday, March 23 at 10 a.m.

CONFRONTING THE WORST: WRITING AND CATASTROPHE
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with PEN American Center
Ha Jin
Svetlana Alexievich
Elena Poniatowska
Natsuki Ikezawa
François Bizot
Carolin Emcke
Philip Gourevitch

Saturday, April 16 at 4 p.m.
South Court Auditorium

All these panelists have experienced catastrophe first-hand, including: Chernobyl; the genocide in Rwanda; the Mexico City earthquake; the 2002 invasion of Iraq; and the destruction of Angkor Wat. They will discuss how witnessing violent upheaval affects those who document it. Tickets on sale Wednesday, March 23 at 10 a.m.

DON QUIXOTE AT 400: A TRIBUTE
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with PEN American Center
Salman Rushdie
Paul Auster
Margaret Atwood
Claudio Magris
Antonio Muñoz Molina

Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

An international and illustrious group of today's literary giants celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Cervantes masterpiece Don Quixote. Tickets on sale Wednesday, March 23 at 10 a.m.

POETRY AND POWER
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with The Poet's House
Derek Walcott
Glyn Maxwell

Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Dramatist and poet Derek Walcott, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992, discusses translation and the postcolonial mind with one of his former students, Glyn Maxwell, a writer and the poetry editor of The New Republic. Tickets on sale Wednesday, March 30 at 10 a.m.


BETWEEN THE COVERS
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with The Moth
Wednesday, April 27.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., event starts at 7:30 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Jonathan Ames and others tell stories about life and letters. Curated by Terri Galvin, Jennifer Hixson, and Paul Holdengräber. Tickets on sale Wednesday, March 30 at 10 a.m.


ERIC BOGOSIAN
Wednesday, May 4 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

(Other guests and program description to be announced). Tickets on sale Wednesday, April 6 at 10 a.m.


LET'S PUT MANNERS ON YOU
Judith Martin
Bob Morris

Tuesday, May 10 at 7 p.m.
South Court Auditorium

Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, discusses modern etiquette with Bob Morris, the edgy, hardboiled writer who regularly pens the “Age of Dissonance” column for The New York Times Sunday Styles. Expect Martin and Morris to debate about the refined, the uncouth, and more. Tickets on sale Wednesday, April 6 at 10 a.m.


A TRIBUTE TO WILL EISNER
Tuesday, May 24 at 7 p.m.
South Court Auditorium

A host of people from the world of art and literature remember the father of the graphic novel and creator of The Spirit, the late Will Eisner. Tickets on sale Wednesday, April 13 at 10 a.m.


ISABEL ALLENDE
Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Isabel Allende discusses her latest book, Forest of the Pygmies, the final installment of her celebrated trilogy for young readers. In this novel, Jaguar and Eagle journey through exotic equatorial Africa. Tickets on sale Wednesday, April 27 at 10 a.m.

UP, DOWN, IN, OUT: STORIES ABOUT CLASS IN AMERICA
LIVE from the NYPL in conjunction with The Moth
Wednesday, June 15.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., event starts at 7:30 p.m.
Celeste Bartos Forum

Hosted by Andy Borowitz, curated by Rick Marin and Paul Holdengräber. Tickets on sale Wednesday, April 11 at 10 a.m.

###

About LIVE from the NYPL
LIVE from the NYPL is the new name for Public Programs at The New York Public Library. Expect conversations, real debates, performances, readings, and much more. Bookmark: www.nypl.org/live and email live@nypl.org.

The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers is made possible by a generous endowment from Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman in honor of Brooke Russell Astor, with major support provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Estate of Charles J. Liebman, Sue Ann and John Weinberg, The Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, William W. Karatz, and additional gifts from Mel and Lois Tukman, The Gilder Lehrman Institute, and Margaret and Herman Sokol.