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.
Later this week, I’m leaving town for my cousin’s wedding in Tupelo, with a side of our family I haven’t seen in twenty years. My brother’s in it but not flying in ’til the morning of; meanwhile, my sister and I are road-tripping through Florence, Birmingham, and Oxford on our way. All that preamble is to say… not too many events in New York on my mind this week, except the ones I have a hand in [full disclosure, up front]:
TUES, MAY 12: Please join Melville House and friends at Galapagos Art Space to celebrate the launch of Ben Greenman’s novel, Please Step Back. New Yorker pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones joins Greenman live on stage for a conversation on writing, music, and more, and DJ Doc Delay (Psycrunk) takes charge of the afterparty. The first 72 people to arrive in a fashion evocative of the era receive a complimentary cocktail and book (between 7-8PM). The program will begin at 8PM sharp. Galapagos is located at 16 Main Street at the corner of Water Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn. No cover.
THU, MAY 14: “Upstairs at the Square” kicks off a celebration of three years of innovative and eclectic programming with an evening featuring Aleksandar Hemon (Love and Obstacles, the highly anticipated story collection from the MacArthur winner and National Book Award and NBCC finalist) and Alina Simone (Everyone is Crying Out to Me, Beware, which covers songs by Siberian punk-folk singer Yanka Dyagileva, who mysteriously drowned in 1991) performing and discussing their work in conversation with host Katherine Lanpher. 6PM doors, 7PM show; FREE. Next: May 26 (China Mieville & Japanther), June 16 (Carlos Ruiz Zafon & Las Rubias del Norte).
MON, MAY 18: Filmmaker (Mad Hot Ballroom) and author Amy Sewell reads from her new book, She’s Out There: Essays by 35 Young Women Who Aspire to Lead the Nation: The Next Generation of Presidential Candidates, with contributors — White House Project Founder, Marie C. Wilson, Harlem middle school student Fiona Lowenstein, who has interned for New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney; Albany-area resident Ingrid Tighe, a former U.S. Army captain who trained Iraq’s first all-female military company; Macalester College student Kyera Singleton, who has interned with N.J. state politicians working on educational reform; Duke University student Kelly Tully, who interned with then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, both before and during her presidential campaign; Columbia University student Cameron Russell, who is the founder and director of Interview New York and a model; and Kara Silverman, Communications Manager for the Avon Foundation for Women, who is running for Hudson County’s Democratic Central Committee — at Barnes & Noble, Tribeca, to benefit Girls Write Now. 7PM, FREE.
The Smart Set will return on May 25th.