Arts Fuse critics select the best in film, theater, music, dance, visual arts, and author events for the coming week.

By The Arts Fuse Staff

Film

American Denial
June 4 at 7 p.m.
In Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The time is right to revisit this compelling film, which first aired on the PBS Independent Lens series. In 1944, Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal asked: How could America’s belief in liberty and equality tolerate Jim Crow segregation? American Denial uses Myrdal’s inquiry to probe — through a diverse chorus of commentators — the power of unconscious biases in what some today have called post-racial America. The result is a fascinating and provocative film that challenges our assumptions about who we are and what we really believe. There is Discussion Guide available on-line. A conversation with the director follows the screening.

Silents, Please
June 7 at 2 p.m.
Somerville Theater, Somervile, MA

The Silent Film series with Jeff Rapsis at the organ presents a double feature this month. In Play Safe (1927), Monty Banks plays an average guy who survives impossible circumstances. He becomes involved in what is regarded by some critics as the greatest train chase sequence of the silent era. Show People (1928), directed by King Vidor, stars Marion Davies as a young woman who tries to break into the movies as a dramatic actress, but can only find work as a pie target in slapstick comedies. This is a delightful insider valentine to silent-era movie-making, enlivened by cameo appearances from stars such as John Gilbert and Charlie Chaplin.

— Tim Jackson

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Dance

Scheherazade
June 3 & 4 at 7:30 p.m, June 5 at 8 p.m., June 7 at 3 p.m.
Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA

North Atlantic Dance Theatre’s Scheherazade offers a new take on the ballet classic, beginning where the traditional story ends and adding in female empowerment.

going forward/some digressions
June 5 & 6 at 8 p.m., June 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Green Street Studios
Cambridge, MA

Across the Ages Dance Project presents an evening length production that highlights some of the area’s most talented performers in works by choreographers Adriane Brayton, Peter DiMuro, William McLaughlin, Lynn Modell, James Morrow, and Erica Schwartz.

Cambridge River Arts Festival
Saturday, June 6 from noon–6 p.m.
Central Square Cultural District
Cambridge, MA

Wander through the Cambridge River Festival this Saturday and enjoy an afternoon of dance, music, theatre, poetry, art-making activities, food vendors, and crafters.

Dancing in the Streets
Saturday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. (rain date Sunday, June 7)
Davis Square’s Bank of America Parking Lot
Somerville, MA

The Somerville Arts Council presents Intimations Dance this weekend as part of its performance series “Dancing in the Streets.” Intimations’ modern dance production explores themes of human interaction, social acceptance, and introspection.

— Merli V. Guerra

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Jazz

Bathysphere
May 31, 7 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA.

The folks at Driff Records convene their Bathysphere large ensemble (named for its low-end sound, “deep explorations,” and Thelonious Sphere Monk, get it?) as a lead-up to their June 19-20 Driff festival. This edition of the all-star Bathysphere lineup includes trumpeter Dan Rosenthal, tubist Josiah Reibstein, saxophonists Andy Voelker, Matt Langley, and Charlie Kohlhase, pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, bassists Nate McBride and Jef Charland, drummer Luther Gray, and Andrew Neumann on electronics.

Albare
June 3, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

Mixing varieties of Afro-Latin and Brazilian grooves, smooth, skillful funk out of George Benson and hip-hop, and Pat Metheny prog, Moroccan-born guitarist and composer Albare (Albert Dadon) celebrates the release of his new CD, Only Human, with pianist Axel Tosca, bassist Yunior Terry, percussionist Luisito Quintero, and drummer Pablo Bencid.

Larry Goldings-Peter Bernstein-Bill Stewart
June 5, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA

The venerable organ-trio tradition gets a fine iteration with Hammond B-3 guy Larry Goldings, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and drummer Bill Stewart, all bringing detail and nuance to the almighty groove.

Rubens de La Corte
June 6, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

The Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer Rubens de La Corte has had an extended run as musical director for Afro-pop diva Angelique Kidjo and has recently been a regular in pianist Eliane Elias’s group. Back in the day, he gained some notoriety in Boston with his band Brazz Jazz, which was known for its original twists on standard repertoire as well as the leader’s own writing. De La Corte, now based in New York, returns to town with pianist Maxim Lubarsky, bassist Ebinho Cardoso, drummer Bertram Lehmann, and vocalists Gokul Ramdas, Matilde Soto, and Aguliar Bralic.

Joelle Lurie
June 9, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

A former Bostonian, singer and songwriter Joelle Lurie brings cabaret-powered pipes and jazz feeling to standards, originals, and contemporary pop.

Django A Go-Go
June 10, 7:30 and 10 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

New York-based guitarist Stephane Wremble puts together a biennial touring group dedicated to the musical tradition codified by the great Roma guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt. This year’s edition includes Wremble, French guitarist Sebastien Felix, the French-Tunisian guitarist Kemlo, esteemed American swing guitarist Howard Alden, violinist John Intrator, bassist Kells Nollenberger, drummer Nick Anderson, and percussionist/washboard player David Langlois.

Marisa Licata
June 10, 8 p.m.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA.

Violinist Marisa Licata brings virtuoso chops to a varied repertoire that includes progressive jazz charts and world-music fusions of Eastern European, Arabic, and Afro-Latin traditions. Expect this show to lean on American blues, since veteran singer and harp player James Montgomery will be on hand as a guest.

— Jon Garelick

Get your maps and open up your calendar app—it’s time to plan your summer of jazz in New England. From big “destination” festivals to underappreciated local gems, there’s something for everyone, everywhere, every week. Here is the exciting lineup.

— J. R. Carroll

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Theater

after all the terrible things I do by A. Rey Pamatmat. Directed by Peter DuBois. Staged by the Huntington Theatre Company at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, through June 21.

We are told that this is a provocative drama from an “emerging Filipino American playwright” that “examines how our prejudices impact those closest to us and what the cost of forgiveness and second chances actually looks like. Pamatmat explores the origins of bullying and its mental and psychological ramifications.” The Huntington’s production of after all the terrible things I do will run alongside Company One Theatre’s production of Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (directed by Shawn LaCount). Both productions will be produced in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, the Huntington’s home for new plays. Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them will run from June 4 through 27 at in Deane Hall.

Henry VI, Part 2, by William Shakespeare. Directed by Tina Packer. Staged by the Actors’ Shakespeare Project in the Modern Theatre at Suffolk University, 525 Washington Street, Boston, MA, through June 7.

Why not start with Part 1 of this trilogy of early history plays? Perhaps because some critics think this script (believed to have been written in 1591) is the most accomplished of the three? Because it is the tale of weak (perhaps mentally challenged?) monarch who can’t control the forces around him? Interesting choice … Arts Fuse review

Three by Emily Kaye Lazzaro. Directed by A. Nora Long. Staged by Boston Public Works in the Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA, June 5 through 20.

A good sign: the script doesn’t sound very empowering. It “is a coming-of-age story about three young women finding validation, struggling against loneliness, and losing everything. It’s about friendship and independence and death and adulthood. It also has a lot of jokes about genitalia.” Arts Fuse feature on Boston Public Works.

Light Up the Sky, by Moss Hart. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Staged by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston at 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA, through June 13.

Hart’s venerable backstage Broadway comedy in a production that features a dream cast of Boston actors — including Will LeBow, Will McGarrahan, Bob Mussett, Terrence O’Malley, Paula Plum, Alejandro Simones, Kathy St. George, Richard Snee, and Bobbie Steinbach.

Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz. Directed by Francis Kelly. At The Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA, through June 7.

Here’s the plot: “Two friends, Jody and Carl, use humor and their own sense of absurdity to navigate the turbulent world at the height of the AIDS crisis.”

Crossing, Music & Libretto by Matthew Aucoin. Directed by Diane Paulus. Staged by the American Repertory Theater in Association with Music-Theater Group at the Citi Schubert Theatre, Boston, MA, through June 6.

“Inspired by the diary Walt Whitman kept as a nurse during the Civil War, this world premiere opera by the prolific young composer Matthew Aucoin explores how the individual experiences of soldiers are remembered and told. As Whitman listens to wounded veterans share their memories and messages, he forges a bond with a soldier who forces him to examine his own role as writer and poet.” This production features baritone Rod Gilfry in the role of Walt Whitman, and the Boston-based orchestra A Far Cry.

The How and the Why by Sarah Treem. Directed by Nicole Ricciardi. Staged by Shakespeare & Company in the Bernstein Theatre, Lenox, MA, through July 26.

Dramatist Sarah Treem once told an interviewer that for a good play, “you put people in a room who have very good reasons to be furious at each other and you don’t let them leave. The How and the Why is somewhat based on that principle.” Tod Randolph and Bridget Saracino star in this production of a clash between two highly intelligent female scientists. Arts Fuse feature

Sweet and Sad by Richard Nelson. Directed by Weylin Symes. Staged by the Gloucester Stage Company in collaboration with Stoneham Theatre at 267 Main Street, Gloucester, MA, through June 20.

Part Two of the Apple Family Plays, Richard Nelson’s series of scripts about an American family in which he mixes domestic issues and political commentary. Each drama takes place during a different time. This installment is set on “the tenth anniversary of 9/11” as “a family gathers to share a meal and grapple with topics of remembrance, loss, and change.” Here is my review/commentary on Part One, That Hopey Changey Thing, which was staged earlier this season at Stoneham Theatre with the same cast.

Melancholy Play: a chamber musical by Sarah Ruhl and Todd Diamond. Directed by Liesl Tommy. Staged by the Trinity Repertory Company in the Dowling Theater, Providence, Rhode Island, May 28 through June 28.

“Tony-nominated playwright Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House) teams up with prolific composer Todd Almond (New York’s Public Theater) for this world premiere musical directed by Obie Award-winner Liesl Tommy.”

Seminar by Theresa Rebeck. Directed by Christine Toy Johnson. On the Julie Harris Stage at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Wellfleet, MA, through June 13.

Alan Campbell stars in “a provocative comedy from Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck.” The script follows the experiences of “four aspiring young novelists who sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored.”

Mothers & Sons by Terrence McNally. Directed by Paul Daigneault. Staged by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Boston Center for the Arts, through June 6.

“A 2014 Tony Nominee for Best Play, Mothers & Sons is a timely and touching new play that explores our evolving understanding of what it means to be a family.” The cast includes Nancy E. Carroll and Michael Kaye. Arts Fuse review.

— Bill Marx

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World and Roots Music

The Black Lillies
June 3
Johnny D’s, Somerville MA

Roots music fans with long memories may recall guitarist/songwriter Cruz Contreas’ role in Robinella and the CC String Band. Since that group’s demise he’s come into his own as leader of the gothic Americana performed by The Black Lillies. Co-lead singer Trisha Gene Brady and Contreas harmonize on tales of murder and woe accompanied by Tom Pryor’s weeping pedal steel guitar. We heard great reports about their fall show at Johnny D’s, and now they’re back on tour working out the material from a new LP due this fall.

Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters
June 4
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA

Boston’s blues guitar master pays tribute to his friend and mentor B.B. King. While Earl usually goes the all-instrumental route, he’ll be joined by vocalist Diane Blue.

Dayna Kurtz
June 5
Johnny D’s, Somerville MA

There’s a long list of big-venue artists who’ve played Johnny D’s on their way up, and it’s hard to imagine that at some point Dayna Kurtz’s name won’t be added to that heavyweight list. In an era of whiny, self-serious singer/songwriters Kurtz stands out: with a memorably husky voice she belts out soulful versions of originals and country tunes, jazz as well as blues gems.

James Cotton
June 5
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA

B.B. King’s passing was yet another reminder of how few living links are left to the world that created the blues. Happily Tunica, Mississippi native James Cotton is still going strong. The foremost practitioner of both country and urban electric blues harmonica can still play with unmatched power. HIs longtime band includes two fine artists with local connections: Berklee guitar faculty member Mike Williams and blue-eyed soul singer supreme Darrell Nulisch.

Bishop Harold Branch Gospel Anniversary
June 7
Russell Auditorium at the Carver Lodge, 70 Talbot Avenue, Dorchester, MA

The indefatigable Bishop Branch is perhaps best known for his decades-long radio stint as the host of Down Home Gospel which remains on the air Sunday mornings at 6 on WRCA (1330-AM). But he’s also one of the great practitioners of Pops Staples-style gospel guitar. Branch has been active so long he declines to give a number for what anniversary this is. He’ll be joined by a number of local and visiting gospel singers and quartets for an afternoon of music, food and worship.

— Noah Schaffer

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Visual Arts

American Epics: Thomas Hart Benton and Hollywood
June 6 – September 7
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

Born into a prominent Missouri political family and named for a famous Missouri senator, painter Thomas Hart Benton grew up between his native state and Washington, DC, where his father served in Congress. Benton’s choice of career was an act of rebellion against the family business. He moved to New York City where he became perhaps the leading artist of the “regionalist” school, painting scenes of ordinary people and rural American life in a naturalistic style. Despite creating murals controversial for their leftist perspective, his politics and painting style eventually grew so conservative that he alienated the New York art world and moved back to Missouri, where his attacks on art museums and the influence of homosexuals in the art world eventually cost him his job. His many students in New York and Kansas City included painter Jackson Pollock and actor Dennis Hopper.

Early in his career, Benton served in the Navy drawing camouflaged ships during World War I and worked briefly on silent films, Both became major influences. The Peabody Essex exhibition, the first major Benton show in more than a quarter century. is also the first show to feature the link between Benton’s cinematic, story-telling painting style and his early film industry experience. Benton, the show’s organizers claim, foresaw the shift of American taste towards motion pictures and moved accordingly: with large-scale murals, paintings, drawings, prints, and illustrations that made him one of the most popular and best-known artists of his time.

All the Sea Knows: Marine Art from the City of New York
June 5 – September 20
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, MA

Located in the grounds of a sea captain’s mansion and sometime boarding house, the Griswold Museum was once the center of a summer art colony that was especially popular with American impressionists. Both the Palladian-style house and its elaborate gardens have been carefully restored to their idyllic, early 20th-century appearance, suggesting the serene settings that once inspired the likes of Childe Hassan and Willard Metcalf.

The title of this summer show, All the Sea Knows, is taken from a Carl Sandberg poet The exhibition itself features Marine art and artifacts from the Griswold collections and on loan from the Museum of the City of New York, interspersed with sea-related passages from American literature. Both underline the importance of sea-going to the region and the nation. Artists on view include James Bard, James Edward Buttersworth, Thomas Chambers, Edward Moran, and Fitz Henry Lane.

Annual Juried Exhibitions: Off the Wall Community of Artists Picture This
June 7 – August 2
Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA

Established in 1975 by a group of art-loving citizens, the Danforth has always had an essential commitment to its surrounding communities west of Boston. One of its many shows devoted to local artists opens on June 7.

— Peter Walsh

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Classical Music

Pianist Constantine Finehouse
May 31
Presented by the Hammond Performing Arts Series at Brimmer and May School, 60 Middlesex Road, Chestnut Hill, Boston, MA
Free

On the program: Mozart’s Fantasie in D Minor, KV 397 and Twelve Variations on Ah vous dirai-je, Maman K. 265/300; Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique”; Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58.

Trio Cleonice and Friends
June 2 at 7 p.m.
In The Parlor in the United Parish Brookline, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA

The program is called “Transcendent Pairings.” Composer Richard Wernick, violinist Emily Smith, violist Samuel Rhodes, and cellist Joel Krosnick are part of a program that includes Donald Martino’s Piano Trio, a violin/piano work TBA, the world premiere of Richard Wernick’s For Two (for two celli), and the Schubert Quintet.

Boston Camerata
June 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Presented by Nahant Music Festival at St. Thomas Church, 248 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA

“Soloists of the Boston Camerata with the Festival Apprentices” perform Carmina Burana. “With its usual verve and vivacity, the Camerata gives a deepened, in turn exuberant and contemplative reading of this manuscript, under the direction of vocalist Anne Azéma.”

Classic American Songs
June 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Presented by Nahant Music Festival at St. Thomas Church, 248 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA

The program includes songs by Ayer, Berlin, Foster, Gershwin, Harline, Kern, Loesser, Porter and Sondheim. The performers: Donald Wilkinson, bass-baritone; Emily Jaworski, mezzo-soprano; and Timothy Steele, piano.

Boston Choral Ensemble: Long, Long Night
June 6 at 8 p.m.
At the First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA
Same program on June 7 at 4 p.m. at Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston, MA

“The music we sing includes Taverner’s five-voice motet Dum transisset Sabbatum (1575), which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and, to bring our season full circle, we sing his famous setting of Audivi vocem, which we heard in a setting by Thomas Tallis in our first cycle. John Taverner (1490-1545) was widely regarded as one of the most important composers of his era. A former organist of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, he composed mostly vocal music and was both innovative and creative in his use of harmony and counterpoint. We juxtapose the music of the renaissance Taverner with the modern one, celebrating the life and work of John Tavener (1944-2013), who claims lineage to his illustrious predecessor. Tavener’s haunting and spare music has touched many with its beauty and grace. We will sing his Song for Athene (sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales), and we include music from his extraordinary cycle Ex Maria Virgine for choir and organ. The concert will also include the world premiere of Song of the Wandering Aengus, a setting by Balint Karosi of the poem by W. B. Yeats, dedicated to the Boston Choral Ensemble.”

Shanghai Quartet
June 6 at 8 p.m.
Presented by Rockport Music at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA

On the program: Beethoven’s Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 18 No. 6 and Quartet in F major, Op. 59 No. 1; Barber’s String Quartet. A pre-concert talk with Dr. Jan Swafford at 7 p.m.

— Susan Miron

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Rock

Death
May 31
Middle East-Downstairs, Cambridge, MA

Death are one of the original punk bands. Like the Stooges and the MC5, they sprang out of Detroit with a style that had nothing to do with the Motown Sound that city is best known for. And like fellow Detroiter Rodriguez, the group was mostly unknown until a documentary (in this case, A Band Called Death) brought their music to the masses.

Conor Oberst
June 5
House of Blues, Boston, MA

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Conor Oberst, best known for his work with Bright Eyes, was considered an indie-wunderkind. Now he’s in his mid-30s, but is as prolific as ever. Last year saw the release of the solo album Upside Down Mountain, and Payola, his second full-length release with his garage/emo/hardcore band Desaparecidos, is due later this year.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
June 6
Boston Opera House, Boston, MA

I wasn’t in love with Noel’s latest album Chasing Yesterday, but there’s enough good stuff on there that I occasionally find myself popping it on for pleasure. Of course, even if the record was complete rubbish it would still be worth checking out Noel’s show this week. He was, after all, the main songwriter in Oasis, and you can expect a smattering of some of those oldies but goodies in his set.

Lana del Rey
June 9
Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA

Lana del Rey had one-hit wonder written all over her following the huge success of her song “Video Games.” A disastrously received Saturday Night Live appearance and the lukewarm reception to her debut album were bad signs. Yet she has persevered. Now, she and Grimes will play the shed out in Mansfield; she appears to be in it for the long haul.

Upcoming and On Sale…

Florence + the Machine (6/10/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Best Coast (6/12/2015, Paradise Rock Club); South Shore Indie Music Festival (6/13/2015, Fuller Craft Museum); Paul Weller (6/13/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Spoon (6/18/2015, House of Blues); Rush (6/23/2015, TD Garden); Morrissey (6/24/2015, Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts); Buffalo Tom (6/26 and 27/2015, The Sinclair); Huey Lewis and the News (6/27/2015, Indian Ranch); Melvins (6/27/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Brian Wilson (with Rodriguez) (7/2/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); U2 (7/10, 11, 14, 15/2015, TD Garden); Green River Fest (featuring Steve Earle, Punch Brothers, and tUnE-yArDs) (7/10-12/2015, Greenfield Community College); Mudhoney (7/11/2015, Brighton Music Hall); Billy Joel (7/16/2015, Fenway Park); Raekwon & Ghostface Killah (7/17/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Foo Fighters (7/18-19/2015, Fenway Park); Neil Young + Promise of the Real (7/22/2015, Xfinity Center); Modest Mouse (7/23/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Interpool (7/23-24/2015, House of Blues); Bombino (7/27/2015, The Sinclair); X (7/30/2015, The Sinclair); Veruca Salt (7/30/2015, Paradise Rock Club); (the) Thurson MoOre Baand (8/2/2015, The Sinclair); Brandon Flowers (8/3/2015, House of Blues); Jamie XX (8/9/2015, The Sinclair); Dick Dale (8/15/2015, Middle East-Downstairs); Willie Nelson & Family (8/21/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); AC/DC (8/22/2015, Gillette Stadium); Counting Crows (8/23/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Social Distortion (8/23/2015, House of Blues); J. Geils Band (8/27/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Death Cab For Cutie (9/11/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Albert Hammond Jr. (9/20/2015, The Sinclair); Bob Mould (9/23/2015, The Sinclair); Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls (9/25/2015, House of Blues); Kraftwerk (10/3/2015, Wang Theatre); Ride (10/3/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Mark Knopfler (10/9/2015, Orpheum Theatre); Ringo Starr and His All Star Band (10/23/2015, Citi Performing Arts Center); The Who (10/29/2015, TD Garden)

— Adam Ellsworth

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Author Events

Kelly Link
Discussing The Bloody Chamber: 75th Anniversary Edition
June 1 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA
Free

Angela Carter (1940-1992) is seen as a heroine of contemporary fiction; her distinctive blend of feminism/magic realism influenced a number of writers, including Neil Gaiman and J.K. Rowling. Kelly Link, a Nebula Award-winning short story writer, contributed an introduction to the anniversary edition of Carter’s 1979 collection of short fiction The Bloody Chamber and will discuss the volume’s lasting importance.

Jane Smiley
Early Warning
June 4 at 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA
$5 tickets

In an event co-sponsored by Mass Humanities, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist will read and sign copies of her latest novel, the second installment in her The Last Hundred Years trilogy. The century-spanning saga finds the Langdon clan struggling with death in the family and the Cold War paranoia of the ’50s.

James Wood
The Nearest Thing to Life
June 1 at 7 p.m.
Porter Square Books, Cambridge MA
Free

A professor at Harvard and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, James Wood has been called one of the finest literary critics of our time by no less an authority than Cynthia Ozick, among with many other members of the literati. He comes to Porter Square to read from his latest critical tome, a mix of literary criticism and personal memoir that examines his bookish childhood as well as the works of W.G. Sebald, Saul Bellow, Chekhov, and Penelope Fitzgerald.

John Waters
in conversation with James Parker
Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America
June 2 at 6 p.m.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline MA
Tickets are $5 or free with purchase of the book

Armed with his inimitable style, pencil-thin mustache, and a sign declaring I’M NOT PSYCHO, The Pope of Trash hit the road to hitch his way across America. Carsick is the chronicle of his adventures, spanning states and cities from sea to shining sea. The filmmaker behind camp classics like Polyester and Pink Flamingos will come to Brookline to sit down to discuss his colorful odyssey with The Atlantic‘s James Parker.

Rebecca Dinerstein and Leslie Parry
The Sunlit Night and Church of Marvels
June 3 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

In an event to promote new voice (co-sponsored by Grub Street) promoting, a poet and a short story writer will read from their debut novels in Cambridge. Dinerstein will present a section from The Sunlit Night, which Jonathan Safran Foer called “lyrical as a poem, psychologically rich as a novel.” Parry’s Church of Marvels reimagines turn-of-the-century New York City from the Coney Island seashore to the Lower East Side.

Mary Pinard and Moira Linehan
Portal and Incarnate Grace
June 4 at 4 p.m.
Brewster Ladies Library, Brewster, MA
Free

Two local poets will discuss their work in Brewster. Pinard is a professor at Babson College and will read from her latest collection, which juxtaposes familial loss with environmental catastrophe. Linehan’s gathering delves into the magical properties of everyday life in the wake of personal catastrophe.

Fiction Fridays
June 5
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA

Every Friday this summer, the Harvard Book Store is offering 15% off off fiction purchases in the store. The promotion isn’t limited to fiction alone, however. Book lovers can get the discount on poetry, graphic novels, audiobooks, and YA fiction as well.

Rick Mullin and Anton Yaklovev
Powow River Poets Reading Series
June 6 at 3 p.m.
Newburyport Public Library, Newburyport MA
Free

Mullin is a poet and painter who will read from his latest collection, Soutine, named after the painter, which explores how poetry and painting illuminate each other. The Russian-born poet Yaklovev will read from Neptune Court, a volume that leads the reader through a unique and vivid world with “your sneakers soaked,/ your camera steady,/ your heart awake.”

Alexandra Petri
A Field Guide to Awkward Silences
June 8 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

Ever been afraid of social awkwardness? That pregnant pause you’re not entirely certain how to fill? How about your shame when you remember making a stupid and/or insulting remark at a party? Fear no more — Alexandra Petri has figured out how to handle embarrassment with aplomb. She’s risked looking ridiculous in a variety of ways, including an appearance on TV’s Jeopardy, reenacting the Civil War, and auditioning for America’s Next Top Model. In this collection of essays, Petri explains how to put humiliation into perspective.

Lev Grossman
The Magician’s Island
In conversation with Gregory Maguire
June 10 at 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, Cambridge MA
$5 tickets

Grossman’s wildly successful Magicians trilogy centers on Brooklynites with super powers: it will soon be adapted for the silver screen. To celebrate the paperback edition of the conclusion of the trilogy, Grossman will sit down with Gregory Maguire, the author of the Wicked series. Tickets are bound to be going fast, so make sure you use whatever supernatural powers you possess and reserve one soon.

— Matt Hanson