Arts Fuse critics select the best in music, film, visual art, theater, author readings, and dance that’s coming up in the next week.

By The Arts Fuse Staff

Film

Boston Area Film Schedules — What is playing today, Where and When

Boston Film Festival
September 24 – 28
Varuious Locations around Boston, MA

Opening night features Wild with Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon, and Gabby Hoffman in a film written by Nick Hornby. The ambitious schedule includes evening screenings on the weekdays and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday features local filmmaker Beth Harrington presenting The Winding Stream, a documentary about the Carter Family (as in June Carter and Johnny Cash) at 5 p.m. The documentary Playing for the Mob screens at 9 p.m. — it is about how mobster Henry Hill fixed Boston College basketball games in 1978 and 1979.

The Pawtucket Film Festival
September 26 – 28
Pawtucket Visitors Center

Part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival, the movie programming (screenings of small eccentric films) is combined with musical performances. Many of the events and movies are free. The festival kicks off with this writer’s documentary, When Things Go Wrong: Robin Lane’s Story. There will also be a performance by the titular singer-songwriter. See schedule for details.

The Sorcerer and Killer Joe
September 26 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA

Director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) will be at the HFA for two nights. The Sorcerer is a wonderful movie based on the great French film Wages of Fear (though Friedkin denies the connection). Killer Joe is a grim Southern Gothic tale based on the Tracy Letts play. Friedkin is a wonderful speaker and these are two of his lesser-seen films.

The Aryans (Die Arier)
September 28, at 5 p.m.
Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA
Admission is free. Registration is requested.

The Aryans is a personal journey into the madness of right-wing hatred. Award-winning documentarian Mo Asumang talks with German neo-Nazis, American racists, including Tom Metzger and members of the Ku Klux Klan. The film was awarded the 2014 Öngören Prize for Democracy and Human Rights. In Germany, Asumang is a well-known filmmaker, TV host, and actress. A discussion with the director follows the screening.

Mountainfilm from the Telluride Festival
Tuesday, September 30th at 7 p.m.
Regent Theater, Arlington, MA

Mountainfilm on Tour offers an unusual selection of short movies from the Telluride Festival. The focus of the selection is on stories about sportsmen and the great outdoors – rock climbers, ballooners, buffalo herders, and others.

— Tim Jackson

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Special Events

ArtWeek Boston
September 26 through October 5
Festival events will take place in 27 Greater Boston area neighborhoods, in Boston and outside the city, including Cambridge, Lowell, South Hamilton and Harvard, MA.

The 3rd edition of ArtWeek Boston is a really big show … rather than try to give a rundown of the 77 events — resulting from collaborations between more than 130 organizations and partners — better to check out the website for the impressive gathering. There is something here for every cultural taste and budget: “Events will be offered for all audiences, including families, sleek sophisticates, young professionals, and cognoscenti, featuring global cultural experiences from free to $50. More than half of the events are free, and many of the paid events are very affordably priced at $5 – $20.”

— Bill Marx

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Dance

Body and Spirit: The Work of Isadora Duncan
Sept. 26–27
Dance Complex
Cambridge, MA

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, local troupe Dances by Isadora presents selections from the repertory of modern dance’s foremother, augmented by a few new surprises, in a program with live accompaniment by pianist Sarah Takagi.

Dance Showcase 2014
September 26-27
BU Dance Theater
Boston, MA

Ryan Casey, Carey McKinley, DeAnna Pellecchia & Ingrid Schatz, and New York dance makers Sarah Foster & Christian Serrano (aka C&S Creations) join BU faculty and friends for a wide-ranging evening.

And further afield

Compagnie Marie Chouinard
Sep 26 – 27
Hopkins Center for the Arts
Hanover, New Hampshire

Surrealist diva Marie Chouinard and her Montreal-based company interpret the poems and calligraphic ink drawings of Belgian artist Henri Michaux. A preshow talk in the adjacent Hood Museum looks at Michaux’s 1960 work, No. 8.

Rebecca Rice Dance
Sept 27
Cowell Chapel Theater, Cushing Academy
Ashburnham, MA

Boston choreographer Rebecca Rice tips her hat to the Denishawn style of her grandmother and mother, and offers new ensemble works plus a performance by Boston Ballet corps de ballet dancer Marcus Romeo in Gem to Rachmaninoff.

— Debra Cash

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Classical Music

Triple Helix
Thursday, September 25 at 8 p.m.
At the Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA.
($10 suggested donation/ $5 for students; all proceeds benefit the BU Student Food Rescue)

The Boston University School of Music, in collaboration with Music for Food, presents the respected trio playing an all-Brahms concert: the program includes the Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87, and the Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34. Guest artists are Hyunjung Kim (violin) and Hyemin Choi (viola).

Jue Wang
Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.
At New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

The Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts presents the celebrated pianist in a program of the Four Chopin Ballades and Rachmaninoff’s Barcarolle and Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor (original version).

Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston
Sept 27 at 8 p.m. and September 28 at 4 p.m.
First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough St., Boston, MA

The acclaimed group presents a program entitled “music heard above the sway.” The aim is to explore “the region between human imagination and the world around us.” Tenor William Ferguson will be the guest artist. The program will include Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Along the Field for tenor and violin; Karen Tanaka’s Invisible Curve for flute, string trio, and piano; John Luther Adams’s Dark Wind for bass clarinet, vibraphone, marimba, and piano; and Franz Schubert’s beloved Piano Quintet in A Major, Die Forelle (The Trout).

Cellist Wendy Warner and pianist Irina Nuzova
September 28 at 1:30 p.m.
At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

The duo will play an all-Brahms program, including the two sonatas for cello and piano.

Ashmont Hill Chamber Music
September 28 at 3 p.m.
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 14 Cushing Ave., Dorchester, MA

The series presents soprano Jeanine De Bique singing Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate as well as songs by Strauss and Wolf and selected spirituals.

Paul Biss’s 70th Birthday Concert
September 28 at 8 p.m.
Presented by New England Conservatory at Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Free

The artists scheduled to appear at the Biss bash: Jonathan Biss (piano), Tessa Lark (violin), Paul Biss, (viola), Kim Kashkashian (viola) and Marcy Rosen (cello). On the program: selected works of Fritz Kreisler, along with Mozart’s Sonata in C Major for Violin and Piano, K. 296; Dvorak’s Sonatina in G Major, and Mendelssohn’s Quintet for Strings No. 2 in B Flat Major.

— Susan Miron

Lee Hyla Memorial Concert
Presented by New England Conservatory
September 25, 8 p.m.
Jordan Hall, Boston

Lee Hyla, the revered former chair of the composition department at NEC who died suddenly this summer, is remembered with a concert that presents a substantial cross-section of his output. The lineup of performers reads like a who’s-who of the local contemporary music scene: Stephen Drury, Callithumpian Consort, Gabriella Diaz, and the Lydian Quartet, to name but a few.

Let’s Make a Sandwich
Presented by Guerilla Opera
September 25-27, 8 p.m.
Zack Box Theater, Boston, MA

Two micro-operas drawn from the same 1950 informational film (Let’s Make a Sandwich) are presented in a pair of stagings: one by Copeland Woodruff and the other by Giselle Ty. Written, respectively, by Curtis Hughes and Rudolf Rojahn, the operas are intended to “give the audience insight into the collaborative process in creating new opera.”

Andris Nelsons at the BSO
Presented by the Boston Symphony Orchestra
September 27, 8 p.m.
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

The long wait for the arrival of Andris Nelsons as the BSO’s next music director finally ends with a hodge-podge program of opera arias (sung by Nelsons’ wife, Kristine Opolais, and superstar tenor Jonas Kaufman) and orchestral showpieces by Wagner and Respighi. Nelsons’ most recent appearances with the BSO at Tanglewood were (mostly) electrifying; here’s hoping the magic continues during his ten weeks at Symphony Hall this season.

Haydn, Fine, and Chopin
Presented by the Longwood Symphony
September 28, 3 p.m.
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

The Longwood Symphony’s first program of the 2014-15 season features Haydn’s Symphony no. 103 (“Drumroll”) and Chopin’s F minor Piano Concerto (no. 2). Vassily Primakov is the soloist in the latter work. In between comes Irving Fine’s charming Diversions, most recently heard in a performance from the Boston Modern Orchestra Project last May.

— Jonathan Blumhofer

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Jazz

Eric Harland & Voyager
September 23, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

Of late, the astute 35-year-old drummer Eric Harland has been working with the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Dave Holland’s Prism, and Joshua Redman. His band Voyager includes another regular collaborator, guitarist Julian Lage, along with saxophonist Walter Smith III and bassist Harish Raghavan.

Claudia Quintet
September 24, 8 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA.

Drummer/composer John Hollenbeck has been pushing the bounds of small-group composition with the Claudia Quintet since 1997 — the players, the instrumentation, and Hollenbeck’s evocative scores make this group one of a kind. Expect them to play a bit of last year’s September (Cuneiform), a retrospective of pieces going back to 9/11, as well as other work new and old. The band includes vibist Matt Moran, bassist Drew Gress, accordionist Red Wierenga, and Chris Speed on clarinet and tenor sax.

Offiong Bassey
September 24, 8 p.m.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston

The charismatic Nigerian-American singer-songwriter Offiong Bassey mixes jazz, gospel, folkloric Afropop, and contemporary R&B in an appealing blend.

Alexei Tsiganov Quintet
September 24, 9 p.m.
Ryles, Cambridge, MA.

The Russian-born Afro-Latin jazz adept Alexei Tsiganov fronts a superb quintet playing original Afro-Cuban/Brazilian fusion: Paul Lieberman on saxes and flutes, guitarist Freddie Bryant, bassist Ebinho Cardoso, drummer Renato Malavasi, and the leader on piano.

Craig Handy
September 25, 8 p.m.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA

Saxophonist Handy — who has been impressive in his recent tours with the Cookers — brings his New Orleans-groove based outfit, 2nd Line Smith.

Kenny Werner: Coalition
September 25, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

Werner is one of the most talented pianists and composers in jazz and his scheduled band at the Regattabar is crazy good: the phenomenal young guitarist Gilad Hekselman, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, tenor saxophonist Davíd Sanchez, and drummer Ferenc Nemeth.

Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
September 27, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
South End, Boston (Columbus Ave., between Mass Ave. and Burke St.), MA.

The 14th annual BeanTown fest feature Sheila E., Miguel Zenón, Snarky Puppy, Kneebody, Dionne Farris, the Russell Gunn Quartet, Ambrose Akinmusire, and more, outdoors on three stages. And it’s free.

Snarky Puppy and Kneebody
September 28, 8 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA,

Snarky Puppy and Kneebody follow up their appearance at yesterday’s Berklee BeenTown Jazz Festival with this ticketed event at the BPC. The Texas-born jazz-R&B fusion collective Snarky Puppy (now based in New York) was a huge hit at this year’s Newport Jazz Festival. Kneebody is a more rockist-leaning West Coast quintet.

Laszlo Gardony Sextet
September 29, 8 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA.

Pianist and composer Laszlo Gardony, who most often performs in a trio format, here convenes a special all-star sextet: saxophonists Bill Pierce and Don Braden, bassist John Lockwood, drummer Yoron Israel, and Stan Strickland, who will sing as well as play one of his “doubles,” bass clarinet, rather than his usual saxophones.

Diego Figueiredo
September 30, 8 p.m.
Johnny D’s Uptown, Somerville, MA.

The 34-year-old Brazilian jazz guitarist Diego Figueiredo’s credits include Gilberto Gil, Hermeto Pascoal, and most recently the French-born singer Cyrille Aimée. His playing exhibits the requisite virtuoso fire as well as bossa-like subtlety.

Ryan Keberle & Catharsis
October 1, 7:30 p.m.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA.

Keberle is the go-to trombone guy for jazz orchestra composers Maria Schneider and Darcy James Argue as well as for indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His debut disc, Into the Zone (on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf label), shows him writing sharp tunes for the twined frontline voices of himself, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, and singer Camila Meza. Maybe it’s sacreligious to say so, but in his big sound, free-wheeling lyricism, and even his use of vocals, I hear a bit of trombone demigod Roswell Rudd. The band at the Regattabar is filled out by bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Eric Doob.

Mehmet Ali Sanikol & whatsnext?
October 1, 8 p.m.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, MA

The Berklee and New England Conservatory-trained composer and multi-instrumentalist Mehmet Ali Sanikol has woven a unique, personal fusion of traditional Ottoman forms and colors with expert big-band jazz writing. The crew at Scullers will include trumpeter Jerry Sabatini, reed players Mark Zaleski, Aaron Henry, and Jared Sims, guitarist Phil Sargent, bassist Fernando Huergo, and drummer Bertram Lehman.

— Jon Garelick

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Theater

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. Directed by David R. Gammons.
September 24 through October 19
Staged by the Actors’ Shakespeare Project at the Brighton High School, Brighton, MA

An early comedy from the Bard that aims for capers rather than complexity. The ASP cast includes stalwarts Richard Snee, Sarah Newhouse, and Jessie Hinton.

Reconsidering Hanna(h) by Deirdre Girard. Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary.
September 25 through October 19
Staged at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Boston, MA

An intriguing dramatic premise: “Hanna, a brutally blunt international journalist, is struggling to come to terms with her husband’s violent death. After accepting a seemingly tame assignment, she becomes increasingly obsessed with uncovering the history of another Hannah: the infamous Hannah Dustin who was kidnapped by a Native American raiding party in 1697.”

Knock! The Daniil Kharms Project Directed by Matthew Woods.
September 26 through October 18.
Staged by imaginary beasts at the Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA.

The world premiere production of “a carefully curated evening” of work by early Soviet-era surrealist/absurdist writer Daniil Kharms via “new translations (by Irina Yakubovskaya) of his micro-prose, short plays, and poetry in new adaptations by the imaginary beasts ensemble.” Kharms is a fascinating figure, a dreamer of marvelously anarchistic fantasies. American short story writer George Saunders, an avid admirer, has summed up his brilliance this way: “Reading Kharms makes us look askance at more traditional stories. We see more clearly what they are: beautiful reductions. They are more substantial, yes, more moving, more consoling. But his work constitutes a kind of noble boundary, the limit to which stories can go before succumbing to the necessary falsification — dozens of small crouching men, misshapen but dignified, refusing, forever, to jump.” This evening promises to be a real treat. Knock! will be presented in rep with First of all, Second of All, “a play for children and their families adapted from a story by Kharms and performed by the Wee Beasties ensemble.”

Bent by Martin Sherman. Directed by David J. Miller
Through October 11
Staged by Zeitgeist Stage Company in the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA

Well, now I feel old. According to the Zeitgeist Stage Company press release this acclaimed play about “the often-overlooked persecution of gays in Nazi Germany” has not been produced professionally in Boston in nearly 30 years. I saw that staging, and look forward to seeing if the script retains its power after three decades.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed by Spiro Veloudos.
Through October 11
Staged by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Boston, MA

I don’t remember ever seeing a production of this show that didn’t provide plenty of blood-curdling fun: “Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-Award winning Sweeney Todd, a macabre musical thriller, blends Sondheim’s characteristic wit with a sweeping and hauntingly beautiful score, grisly humor, and chilling drama.” Arts Fuse review

Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Judy Braha.
Through October 5.
Staged by the Nora Theater Company at the Central Square Theater, Cambridge, MA.

A wild and wooly script that promises to give us the French Enlightenment from the point of view of a feisty female: “Emilie du Châtelet, leading physicist (before there was such a word), card shark, and all-around bad ass during the Age of Enlightenment returns searching for answers: Love or Philosophy? Head or Heart?” The production marks the Boston acting debut of Lee Mikeska Gardner in the title role. She was recently appointed Artistic Director of The Nora Theatre Company. Arts Fuse review

Grounded by George Brandt. Directed by Judith Swift.
Through September 28.
Staged by the Gamm Theatre, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

I am generally suspicious of one-person plays, but this New England premiere sounds very intriguing. And it has relevance going for it. The critically acclaimed script deals with “a hot-rod fighter pilot whose unexpected pregnancy ends her career in the sky. Reassigned to fly remote-controlled drones in Afghanistan from a windowless, air-conditioned trailer near Vegas, “The Pilot” hunts terrorists by day and goes home to her family at night.” Liz Hayes stars in the kick off production of Gamm Theatre’s 30th anniversary season. Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler is next.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner by Todd Kreidler. Directed by David Esbjornson.
Through October 5
Staged by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Boston University Theatre, Boston, MA.

Malcolm-Jamal (The Cosby Show) Warner makes his Huntington Theatre Company debut with this stage version of the 1967 Hollywood movie about race relations and the superannuated that starred Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. “Joanna surprises her liberal, white parents when she brings home John, her African-American fiancé, to meet them. Both sets of parents must confront their own unexpected reactions and concerns for their children as their beliefs are put to the test.” Do we need a theatrical version of his old cinematic warhorse? Let’s see if this antique can be air-brushed into relevance. Arts Fuse review

Closer Than Ever — Music by David Shire, Lyrics by Richard Maltby. Directed by Leigh Barrett
Through September 28
Staged by the New Repertory Theatre in the Charles Mosesian Theater the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA

A strong cast, featuring Leigh Barrett (who is also at the helm), David Foley, Brian Richard Robinson, and Kathy St. George, tackles Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire’s acclaimed musical about middle-aged people with the blues. Winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, the show serves up “twenty-four wise and witty ‘songs of experience'” that are based “largely on true stories” and “intertwine insightful tales about love, security, happiness, and self-definition in an ever-changing world.” Arts Fuse review

The Forgetting Curve by Vanda. Directed by Kimberly Loren Eaton
Through September 27
Staged by the Bridge Repertory Theatre of Boston (n partnership with Theatrum Mundi Productions and Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company, NYC) at the Wimberly Theatre, Boston Center for The Arts, Boston, MA

A world premiere production: “Desperate to cure his epilepsy, a young man underwent an experimental neurosurgery in 1953 — shockingly, the procedure destroyed his brain’s ability to form new memories. Now known as Patient HM, he became widely studied, and his fascinating case serves as the inspiration for this play.”

Ivanov by Anton Chekhov. Translated from the Russian by Curt Columbus. Directed by Brian McEleney.
Through October 5.
Presented by Trinity Repertory Company in the Dowling Theater, Providence, Rhode Island.

The world premiere translation of one of Chekhov’s earliest seriocomic works — it is a tricky script to pull off, but if well staged this can be a powerful study of managing the fallout of failure. The script focuses on the lethargy that afflicts an idealistic man after his life goes sour.

Year Zero by Michael Golamco
Through October 5
At the Merrimack Repertory Theater, Lowell, MA

Well, not your typical youths-bonding-with-youths story: “All teenagers need someone to talk to. Vuthy has chosen a skull. He is a young Cambodian-American struggling to find his place – in a community that doesn’t truly accept him and in a family that seems to be disappearing.” MRT Artistic Director Charles Towers writes that “the specific ethnicity of this particular story makes it especially important to be produced in the city that has the second largest Cambodian-American population in the country.”

Far From Heaven: A New Musical — Book by Richard Greenburg, Music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie. Based on the Focus Features/Vulcan Production Motion Picture written & directed by Todd Haynes. Directed by Scott Edmiston.
Through October 11.
Staged by SpeakEasy Stage Company, at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA.

The out-of-control fad of adapting films into musicals continues with “a lush musical adaptation of Todd Haynes’ acclaimed romantic melodrama of private longings and social taboos. A 1950s Connecticut housewife’s perfect life is shattered when she discovers her husband’s shocking secret and then seeks comfort in a forbidden relationship that dramatically alters her view of herself and the world.” Arts Fuse review

— Bill Marx

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Rock

The Black Keys
September 21
TD Garden, Boston, MA

I’m still not crazy about the Black Keys’ most recent release, Turn Blue, but having seen the band at TD Garden in 2012, I can say that they really do put on a great arena rock show. If this performance is anything like that one, the duo will have their sound augmented by additional musicians on a few tracks, and then for others it will be just the two of them. Also, they will most likely dip into their back catalogue and pull out a few songs that predate their reign as World’s Biggest (Non-Legacy Act) Rock Band.

Kasabian
September 26
Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA

It’s no longer a given that a popular British band will make a dent in the States. Over the past few years though, more and more seem to be making the leap, Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg, and the Vaccines among them. None of these groups are as popular here as they are in their homeland, but they have made significant strides. Kasabian, on the other hand, is a band that is massive in the UK for the past five years or so, but has yet to make much of a dent in America. Perhaps they’re just the tiniest bit too quirky for us (which is why Blur were never nearly as huge here as Oasis). If that is the case it is a real shame, because Kasabian is an inventive rock band that’s well worth checking out.

Jeff Tweedy
September 26
Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA

Jeff Tweedy, the singer/guitarist best known for fronting Wilco, will release his first solo album, Sukierae, just a few days before this show. He made it in collaboration with his son Spencer (technically, the album is by “Tweedy,” which is also how this concert is being billed) and many of the songs were inspired by Tweedy’s wife’s lymphoma diagnosis. That sounds like the music is depressing, but the album is reported to be pretty upbeat, so perhaps the same can be expected from the Berklee concert.

Upcoming and On Sale…

Bryan Ferry (10/2/2014, Orpheum Theatre); Neil Young (10/5-6/2014, Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theater); The Orwells (10/9/2014, Brighton Music Hall); Remembering the Tam! With Terry Kitchen, Jay Feinstein, and the Memphis Rockabilly Band (10/9/2014, Brookline Library); Foxygen (10/11/2014, Paradise Rock Club); J Mascis (10/18/2014, The Sinclair); The Thurston Moore Band (10/22/2014, The Sinclair); Temples (10/24/2014, Paradise Rock Club); Drowners (10/29/2014, Great Scott); Chrissie Hynde (11/1/2014, Orpheum Theatre);Peter Hook & the Light (11/8/2014, Royale); Stevie Wonder (11/11/2014, TD Garden); Bob Dylan (11/14/2014, Orpheum Theatre); Bob Dylan (11/15/2014, Providence Performing Arts Center); Johnny Marr (11/16/2014, Paradise Rock Club); Randy Newman (11/19/2014, Wilbur Theatre); Film Screening: Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets (11/19/2014, Brattle Theatre); Daniel Lanois (11/22/2014, Brighton Music Hall); Greg Trooper (11/23/2014, Atwood’s Tavern); Julian Casablancas + The Voidz (11/26/2014, House of Blues)

— Adam Ellsworth

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Author Events

Robert Pinsky, Jorie Graham, Stephen Burt, Dan Chelotti, Thera Webb
Privacy Policy: The Anthology of Surveillance Poetics
Co-Sponsored by The Boston Review
September 22 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

Our privacy is under attack, from the NSA to drones to wiretapping. Can poetry challenge this alarming state of affairs? An eminent group of poets gather to read from their new anthology, using the poetic form to speak truth to the powerful, whether they’ve heard it already or not.

Lodro Rinzler
Buddha Walks into the Office
September 22 at 7 p.m.
Brookline Booksmith, Coolidge Corner MA
Free

The bestselling author of Buddha Walks into a Bar comes to Cambridge to discuss his latest perambulatory look into the meaning of life. In his book, Rinzler offers advice on how to make work more satisfying, and bring compassion and meaning to the job you have.

Becky Thompson
Survivors on the Yoga Mat: Stories for those Healing from Trauma
September 23 at 7 p.m.
Brookline Booksmith, Coolidge Corner MA
Free

The Simmons College professor shares an inspiring collection of stories gathered from her classes, travels, and workshops that explore how yoga can be used to to heal the body and the mind.

Sam Baltrusis
Ghosts of Salem
September 25 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Coop, Cambridge MA
Free

It’s no secret that Salem is steeped in a spooky literary mystique. Baltrusis shares his research into the fabled North Shore seaport’s real life history of smugglers and fires, deepening our understanding of one of New England’s eeriest locations.

Ladette Randolph
Leaving the Pink House: A Memoir
September 26 at 7 p.m.
Newtonville Books, Newton Centre MA
Free

The Ploughshares managing editor will be at a release party for her memoir. On September 12, 2001 she and her husband bought a dilapidated house in Nebraska, fixing it up during a time of national unrest and fear. Randolph will discuss the process of creating a house of one’s own, both literally and metaphorically.

Laurie Penny
Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution
September 26 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

The activist, journalist, and Harvard Fellow takes a fresh look the issues raised by gender, desire, power, and queer politics in the 21st Century. Combining dissent with fresh scholarship and iconoclasm, Penny hopes to shake up how we think about human bodies and what they are good for.

— Matt Hanson