Real surreal: 6 choice events at the Brooklyn Book Festival
The A.V. Club gets literary, if only for a few hours
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Now that summer and its attendant slew of music festivals have passed, books will take the spotlight, if only for a single day. The Brooklyn Book Festival lacks the hedonic spark of its musical counterparts—you’re probably safe leaving your sunscreen and beer money at home—but there are few finer ways to spend an early autumn Sunday. Problem is, the schedule is littered with rarefied event titles that sound more like grad-school theses than laid-back literary discussions: “Reality Prisms?” “The Eye Of The Book?” “The Cult Of The Amateur?” Below, we demystify some of the choicer readings and discussions. (And keep in mind that some of these events require free tickets, which are available up to an hour before the event at information booths at the end of Montague Street, right near the Borough Hall subway stop.)
10 a.m. The Legacies Of John Updike And David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace2008’s book festival began the morning after reports of David Foster Wallace’s suicide had reached the media, and for obvious reasons it cast a shadow over the day’s proceedings. John Updike’s death in January was less surprising, perhaps, but equally momentous. This year, three critics—Time’s Lev Grossman, Salon’s Laura Miller, and Los Angeles Times’ David Ulin—give Wallace and Updike proper memorials. They’re joined by David Lipsky, who’s working on one of two forthcoming Wallace biographies. Their task? To revere two very talented but vastly different prose stylists—at the same time. (Borough Hall Courtroom, 209 Joralemon Street)
11 a.m. The Writer’s Capital: From Experience To The Limits Of Fiction
This agreeably vague conference should allow its participants to ramble on about nearly anything without veering off-topic—or on-topic, for that matter. The real pleasure will be in seeing Paula Fox (Desperate Characters) and Steven Millhauser (Dangerous Laughter) in the same room: two underappreciated writers with practically nothing in common. Fox is a gifted realist with a keen eye for psychological states; Millhauser’s last story in The New Yorker concerned a global plague of yellow dust from outer space. If nothing else, you’ll have a chance here to ogle Millhauser’s sterling moustache up close. Also appearing: Bradford Morrow, Roxana Robinson, and Harold Augenbraum. (Borough Hall Courtroom, 209 Joralemon Street)
12 p.m. Real Surreal
Tao LinA very promising gathering of ridiculous novelists. There’s Tao Lin, whose debut title, Eeeee Eee Eeee, refers to dolphin calls; Ben Marcus, whose Notable American Women stars himself and yet manages to be completely non-autobiographical; and Yona Zeldis McDonough, whose new Breaking The Bank hinges on an ATM machine that spits out free money. They’ll read from their works, and hopefully keep the weirdness in check. (St. Francis College Reading Room, 180 Remsen Street)
2 p.m. Movin’ On Up
The topic here is upward mobility, that bête noire of urban artists everywhere. In the wrong hands, the talk might quickly devolve into “eat the rich” rabblerousing—not that such a pursuit is devoid of fun—but the speakers here are a thoughtful bunch. Gloria Browne-Marshall, a law professor, wrote Race, Law, And American Society; Walter Kirn contributes frequently to the New York Times Book Review and wrote a memoir, Lost In The Meritocracy, about our pliable education system; and Lewis Lapham used to be the editor-in-chief at Harper’s until he decided to launch Lapham’s Quarterly, his own, more historically-slanted magazine. (Borough Hall Community Room, 209 Joralemon Street)
4 p.m. Melvin Van Peebles
Though he's best known as the director of 1972’s Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, a blaxploitation classic, Van Peebles dabbles in all kinds of media. He has recorded some albums and made some appearances on the soap opera All My Children; now he has authored a graphic novelization of his new film, Confessions Of A Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha, out by Brooklyn’s own Akashic Books. Of course, none of this totally explains why he’s here—but we’re glad he is. (Borough Hall Courtroom, 209 Joralemon Street)
5 p.m. Jonathan Lethem And Mary Gaitskill In Conversation
Jonathan LethemLethem’s new novel Chronic City is out this fall, and Gaitskill has recently released Don’t Cry, a collection of stories. Though a remarkable speaker, Lethem can swerve unabashedly into self-promotion (“It’s the most unprecedented work I’ve ever done,” he recently told New York magazine of his forthcoming book); still, given their flair, he and Gaitskill shouldn’t have much trouble engrossing the audience. The Times’ Greg Cowles moderates, and if this strikes you as too sober a conclusion, there’s always Jonathan Ames and David Cross over on the main stage. Flip a coin? (St. Francis Auditorium, 180 Remsen Street)
