The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.
Per usual the city is calling my name, but the teeming metropolis of my dreams isn’t New York this week. To wit, the LA-LA-LA-LONDON edition for your enjoyment:
MONDAY, 4.30: At the Institute of Contemporary Arts, “A discussion between David Dawson and Christine Binnie of the Neo-Naturists… whose work features in The Secret Public. The group had the structure of an open network and performances during the 1980s were presented not only in galleries but in night clubs as cabaret and public spaces.” 7PM.
TUESDAY, 5.1: “Central Saint Martins and The Look present: CLASH CULTURE: A NIGHT OF TREASON. Paul Gorman, Michon & Kolowska and special guests. Central Saint Martins celebrates the most visually exciting rock ‘n’ roll band of all time THE CLASH, with contributions from key collaborators, plus special guests.” 7PM, FREE.
WEDNESDAY, 5.2: “Focusing on key moments in art, sculpture, architecture and philosophy in relation to body measures, and on the development of scientific thought that led to the metric system, Robert Tavernor in his inaugural lecture will look beyond the notion that measuring is strictly a scientific activity, divorced from human concerns. Instead, he will set measures and measuring in cultural context to show how deeply they are connected to human experience and history. Robert Tavernor is professor of architecture and urban design, and director of the Cities Programme at LSE. His book, Smoot’s Ear, will be published in May 2007.” 6:30PM, FREE.
THURSDAY, 5.3: Retail therapy: Topshop, the London Review of Books bookshop, and the no longer bricks and mortar (how will I know for sure if I’m getting advice from left-handed staffers if I order online?) “Anything Left-Handed” shop.
FRIDAY, 5.4: Literary pub crawls are always an excellent idea (in New York, both Lolita and Verlaine do a blissfully cheap happy hour, and the exotic house cocktails at Les Enfants Terribles are divine).
SATURDAY, 5.5: That darling boy from Harry Potter is trying to establish his credentials as a serious actor the old-fashioned way, by working blue, bless his heart. The reviews are mixed on Equus but it’s good fodder for cocktail party chatter.
SUNDAY, 5.6: Penguin UK did this “My Penguin” thing where readers can design their own cover. I attempted to have a go conceptually with Dorian Grey and a few ripped out pages from my fave glossies, but never got it right. It wouldn’t have been as good as this one, anyway. Sunday’s toss-up: re-imagine a book cover, or mount a protest against the use of joylessly quotidian stock photos and slapped together fonts that everyone has seen on a menu already. Don’t cut corners on the sign, though.
On the radar aka “What I’m dying to do for my birthday”: The Puppini Sisters at the Algonquin’s Oak Room in New York next month…Heathcliff, don’t you know that it’s me, it’s Cathy… (from “Wuthering Heights“).
P.S., genius: BritLitBlogs.com.