Mikayla Bierma and Tyler Coates in Disappointing Gay Best Friend
:: Maybe you’ve seen this new web series all over the internet, Disappointing Gay Best Friend? It stars comedian Mikayla Bierma and Tyler Coates, “a writer who lives in Brooklyn.” They’ll both be at 92YTribeca 92YTribeca will screen episodes on August 6 for The Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival.
:: The Atlantic Tumblr rings the alarm: “...a whiskey crisis looms on the horizon.” We promise to have a well stocked supply for our Whiskey and Cheese Pairing on December 15.
:: Guest of a Guest snagged a photo of two hot stars sharing the stage together at Guild Hall in East Hampton; David Carr and Alec Baldwin. Baldwin, no stranger at 92Y, makes his next appearance here on October 19 with Andy Borowitz, Calvin Trillin, and more.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center’s 2011/2012 season. For more information and to see all scheduled events at Unterberg Poetry Center, visit http://www.92Y.org/Poetry. And remember, many of 92Y Poetry events are just $10 for those 35 and under.
92Y Video: From the Poetry Center Archives: Tomasz Różycki
Earlier this week, we featured a reading by Swedish poet Marie Lundquist, who visited the Unterberg Poetry Center on March 28 for The Tenth Muse—an evening of readings by emerging voices curated by Adam Zagajewski.
Today’s video features “Maps,” an early poem by the evening’s second reader, Tomasz Różycki, read in both Polish and English (with translator Mila Rosenthal reading her translation). Also read is an excerpt from Twelve Stations, a series of poems about Różycki’s hometown of Opole—“heroic city, thrice awarded the Silesian Order of Brilliance / and twice the Medal of the City of a Hundred Banks and One Bookstore!”—read by Różycki and a second translator, Bill Johnston.
A “vital new poet has emerged from the Polish language,” Zagajewski said of Różycki. His “poetry is serious, a private response to the historic moment.
In an ongoing effort to share with our readers some of the great literary moments which the Poetry Center has presented across the decades, this blog has begun to feature regular postings of archival recordings. For access to other recordings, please click here.
Unterberg Poetry Center webcasts and access to our archive are made possible in part by the generous support of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
Here’s great video from the recent “Curb Your Enthusiasm” event at 92nd Street Y. Larry David said, “I’m trying to get closer to on-screen Larry every day.”
The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” at 92Y episode airs on August 8!
The Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and William M. Arkin spent two years investigating a ”Top Secret America.” The reporters assiduously researched and documented the huge national security buildup, a “vast and hidden” branch of the U.S. government, created in the United States after Sept. 11, 2001. In introducing the project, The Washington Postwrote: “The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.”
The newspaper published their voluminous findings in numerous reports, as well as created maps, graphics and more, to help you sift through the information.
For further in-depth discussion on the project, Dana Priest is coming to 92nd Street Y on September 13, in conversation with Jim Hoge, former editor of Foreign Affairs magazine and currently Chairman of the Board of Human Rights Watch.
Do you have any questions for Dana Priest? Let us know in the comments below, and we will submit your questions for consideration during the Q&A portion of the event.
92Y Video: From the Poetry Center Archives: Marie Lundquist
On March 28, the Unterberg Poetry Center welcomed Adam Zagajewski as the curator of this year’s Tenth Muse evening. A long-standing Poetry Center tradition and a forum for emerging voices, The Tenth Muse features distinguished writers presenting the work of poets at different stages of their careers. Over the last 25 years, established poets such as Lucille Clifton, Billy Collins, Robert Creeley and Kay Ryan have served as curators, with Charles Bernstein, Anne Carson, Forrest Gander and Marie Howe featured as readers.
As his first poet, Zagajewski chose Marie Lundquist, who read in Swedish, her native language, with Malena Mörling offering translations into English. In his introduction, Zagajewski noted the delicate nature of her work: they have “the purity of the still-lifes of great masters. But in them, we hear the world tremble.”
The video above features Lundquist reading from her most recent collection, The Book of the Dead.
92nd Street Y Dance Education Laboratory faculty Kathleen Isaac gives a quick tap dance lesson, offering instructions on how to perform a paddle and roll.
Priority registration for Tap Dance Classes at 92Y is currently underway. Open registration begins on July 28.
92nd Street Y is excited to celebrate today, July 25, as Smurfs Day. Students from our musical-theater program will perform at the Smurfs Village at Columbus Circle. As part of the day, Smurfs coloring books and activity sheets will be available at all 92Y children’s events.
Film: Luna: Bertolucci’s lush, lurid Luna ends the 1970s with equal parts tragedy and camp, one-upping even the director’s own Last Tango in Paris for sheer provocation.
Daytime: Brooklyn Bridge and Beyond: Take a brief tour of City Hall Park; then walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoy skyline views and fascinating history.
It’s the bassist’s role in jazz to know the time and place; to anchor a band rhythmically and guide it through a song. The young bassists Pedro Giraudo and Ben Williams are quite adept at all that, but when they lead their own bands, they have an even broader sense of time and place.
Check out the set list, see a photo album of the performances, and listen to complete audio recordings on NPR’s A Blog Supreme.
The Checkout: Live from 92YTribeca is curated by Joshua Jackson, host of WBGO’s hour-long music magazine The Checkout. Next up in the series is Eric Harland and Eric Harland on August 9.
Beyonce Headlines Glatsonbury 22 Years After Suzanne Vega
A photo of the Glatsonbury stage in 1989
Beyonce’s recent performance at the Glatsonbury music festival has been heralded by many as amazing. Billboard.com called it ”career-defining.” You can watch some of it here.
It was extraordinary. But Beyonce was not “the first female in a quarter of a century to headline the Pyramid stage,” as host Jo Whiley mistakenly claimed. That honor belongs to Suzanne Vega, who headlined the Pyramid stage in 1989 and played with police protection and a bullet proof vest after receiving death threats. Here’s some video footage from that performance, recently shared on the Suzanne Vega Message Board.
Fans of Suzanne Vega should mark September 25 in their calendars. That’s when she will be appearing at 92nd Street Y along with recording artist Marc Cohn, to join NY1’s Budd Mishkin for an evening of shared stories and a few musical surprises. Tickets are available here.
Benjy is also the latest participant in the 92Y Culture Klatsch Q&A, a 12 question interview that focuses on the subject’s media and culture diet. In what might bode poorly for the magazine industry, Wenzelberg does not subscribe to any magazines, though he does read Time for Kids regularly.
Where do you go for news when you start the day?
Usually when school is in session, my friends and teachers fill me in on what’s new in the world, but during the summer, I rely upon my family and the TV.
What are your favorite websites?
I love to go to the Metropolitan Opera website to look up synopses and research singers and performances I want to see. I go to YouTube to review famous piano/vocal performances and research role/piano interpretations. I also enjoy looking up some of the Shakespearean language from the play I’m currently in at Merriam-Webster.com.
How much do you use Twitter and Facebook (or other social Networking services)?
I try to go to Facebook every other day, but I find that I check it daily to check in with my friends and keep in touch with friends from out of town. I don’t use Twitter.
11-year-old Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg is a 92nd Street Y 
