The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled and posted by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30 pm, 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 Ms. Cerand at lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication. Due to the volume of submissions, events cannot be considered unless the date appears in the subject line of your message.
TUE, MAY 27: Roxana Robinson, whose new novel is Cost, and Janice Erlbaum, whose new memoir is Have You Found Her, read from their work at Other Means, an inventive series that connects bookish types with nonprofit organizations. Tuesday evening’s suggested $5 cover will go to the Natural Resources Defense Council. 8PM [Full disclosure, as always: both authors are current publicity clients of mine].
WED, MAY 28: Anne Landsman (The Rowing Lesson) and Terese Svoboda (Black Glasses Like Clark Kent) read from their new books at Sip Lit, “a monthly series of readings in a cafe,” on the Upper West Side, and one of my favorites. Sip is on Amsterdam between 109 and 110th Streets. 8PM, FREE.
THU, MAY 29: Violist Tanya Kalmanovitch and pianist Myra Melford, who met at a Canadian jazz festival and since then have together made the album “Heart Mountain,” bring their stylish improvisation and “shared interests in the music of India” to Roulette. 8:30PM, $15.
FRI, MAY 30: This week not French enough for you? Learn “how to tell a lady from a tramp” when Godard’s Vivre, described by Susan Sontag as “a perfect film,” screens at Film Forum.
SAT, MAY 31: At the Whitney, Polaroids: Mapplethorpe. Noted, “Included are self-portraits, figure studies, still lifes, and portraits of lovers and friends including Patti Smith, Sam Wagstaff, and Marianne Faithfull. Many of these small, intimate photographs convey tenderness and vulnerability. Others depict a toughness and immediacy that would give way in later years to more classical form.” Through September 7.
SUN, JUN 1: Kelly McMasters’ tale of childhood in a small town features both Anna Wintour and a nuclear lab. She’ll connect the dots when she reads from Welcome to Shirley at Sunday’s at Sunnys, “a legendary old bar on the Brooklyn waterfront in Red Hook at 253 Conover Street (between Beard & Reed Streets). You can buy books and get them signed by the authors. The bar (cash) will be open. Free coffee and Italian pastries and cookies will be provided. Bar telephone (only available when the bar is open): 718-625-8211.” Recommended, of course. 3PM, $4 suggested.