LIVE! From City Lights

City Lights LIVE presents John Szwed in conversation with Raymond Foye celebrating the publication of “Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith,” published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux. “Cosmic Scholar" follows the life and legacy of Harry Smith, the brilliant eccentric who transformed twentieth century art and culture. He was an anthropologist, filmmaker, painter, folklorist, mystic, and walking encyclopedia. He taught Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe about the occult, swapped drugs with Timothy Leary, sat at the piano with Thelonious Monk, lived with (and tortured) Allen Ginsberg, argued film with Susan Sontag, and received one of the first Guggenheim grants. He was always broke, always intoxicated, compulsively irascible, and unimpeachably authentic. Harry Smith was, in the words of Robert Frank, “the only person I met in my life that transcended everything.” In “Cosmic Scholar”, John Szwed patches together, for the first time, the life of one of the twentieth century’s most overlooked cultural figures. John Szwed is the author or editor of many books, including biographies of Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, and Alan Lomax. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and in 2005 was awarded a Grammy for “Doctor Jazz”, a book included with the album Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax. A former Professor of Anthropology, African American Studies, and Film Studies for 26 years at Yale University, he was also a Professor of Music and Jazz Studies at Columbia University, and served as the Chair of the Department of Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Philadelphia with his family. Raymond Foye is a writer, curator, editor and publisher. From 1978-80 he worked as a literary editor with City Lights Books where he edited “The Unknown Poe” (1980). He also edited two issues (Nos 29 & 30) of Beatitude magazine. His show The Heavenly Tree Grows Downward (James Cohan Gallery, New York) was the first exhibition to feature the artworks of Harry Smith, and was named one of the ten best exhibitions of 2002 by the New York Times (Holland Cotter). He is also currently preparing an edition of “Cosmologies: The Naropa Lectures of Harry Smith”, to be published in October 2023. You can purchase copies of “Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith” at https://citylights.com/cosmic-scholar-life-times-harry-smit/ This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/

City Lights LIVE in conjunction with Princeton University Press presents Joanna Moorhead in conversation with Wendi Norris celebrating the newly published book “Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington” from Princeton University Press. An illustrated biography of the pioneering British artist and writer, Leonara Carrington, tracing her life and work through the many places around the world where she lived. The British-born artist and writer Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) is one of the vanguards in the history of women artists and the history of Surrealism. The interests of this visionary—feminism, ecology, the arcane and the mystical, the interconnectedness of everything—are now shared by many. Challenging the conventions of her time, Carrington abandoned family, society, and England to embrace new experiences and forge a unique artistic style in Europe and the Americas. In this evocative illustrated biography, writer and journalist Joanna Moorhead traces her cousin’s footsteps, exploring the artist’s life, loves, friendships, and work. Joanna Moorhead is a British journalist and author whose critically acclaimed memoir, “The Surreal Life of Leonora Carrington,” chronicles her relationship with Carrington, her cousin. Moorhead writes for the Guardian, the Observer, the Times (London), and many other publications. Wendi Norris is the founder and head of Gallery Wendi Norris, a leading international art gallery based in San Francisco. She champions critically acclaimed modern and contemporary artists and artists’ estates, including several associated with the Surrealist movement. Gallery Wendi Norris fosters their artists’ legacies by placing their work in museum exhibitions, building dynamic institutional and private collections, participating in top-tier biennials and art fairs, and educating the public. Since establishing the gallery in 2002, Wendi Norris has curated over 150 solo and thematic exhibitions. You can purchase copies of “Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington” at https://citylights.com/surreal-spaces/ This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/

City Lights LIVE and Verso Books celebrate the publication of “Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination” by Adam Shatz, published by Verso Books. “Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination” dives into the question of what it means to be a politically committed writer. Shatz asks: do writers have an ethical imperative to question justice? Shatz’s work demand that we interrogate the relation of thought and action in the struggle for a more just world. Adam Shatz is the U.S. editor of the London Review of Books and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and other publications. He is also the host of the podcast “Myself with Others.” E. Tammy Kim is a contributing writer at The New Yorker and a co-host of the podcast “Time to Say Goodbye.” You can purchase copies of "Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination” at https://citylights.com/commodity-aesthetics/writers-missionaries-essays-on-the-r/. This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/.

City Lights LIVE and The New Press celebrate the publication of “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” by Norman Solomon, published by The New Press. Solomon is joined in conversation with Kris Welch. “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” exposes the dynamics between media and politics and how the American Military conceals perpetual war. More than twenty years ago, 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan set into motion a hugely consequential shift in America’s foreign policy: a perpetual state of war that is almost entirely invisible to the American public. "War Made Invisible" is an eloquent moral call for counting the true costs of war. Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His books include “War Made Easy,” “Made Love,” “Got War,” and "War Made Invisible" (The New Press). He lives in the San Francisco area. Kris Welch is a producer/host at KPFA-FM radio in Berkeley, California. You can purchase copies of “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” at https://citylights.com/muckraking/war-made-visible/. This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/.

City Lights LIVE and Dalkey Archive Press celebrate the publication of “small pieces” by Micheline Aharonian Marcom and Fowzia Karimi, published by Dalkey Archive Press. “small pieces” is a collaboration between novelist Micheline Aharonian Marcom and writer and visual artist Fowzia Karimi, pairing Marcom’s short stories with watercolors done by Karimi. The work is a conversation between two artists in text and image, side by side. Micheline Aharonian Marcom is the author of seven novels. Her novels include "The New American," "The Brick House," and "A Brief History of Yes." She has received fellowships and awards from the Lannan Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and the US Artists’ Foundation. She is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia. Fowzia Karimi has a background in Visual Arts and Biology. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College, California. Her work explores the correspondence on the page between the written and the visual arts. She is a recipient of The Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards (2011). She is the author of "Above Us the Milky Way" (Deep Vellum, 2020). She lives in Denton, Texas. You can purchase copies of “small pieces” at https://citylights.com/new-fiction-in-hardcover/small-pieces/ This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/

City Lights LIVE and Duke University Press celebrate the publication of “The Williamsburg Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront” by Cisco Bradley, published by Duke University Press. In “The Williamsburg Avant-Garde” Cisco Bradley documents the rise and fall of the underground music and art scene in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn between the late 1980s and the early 2010s. Drawing on interviews, archival collections, musical recordings, videos, photos, and other ephemera, Bradley explores the scene’s social, cultural, and economic dynamics. Bradley not only documents some of the most vital music of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries; he helps readers better understand the formation, vibrancy, and life span of experimental music and art scenes everywhere. Cisco Bradley is Associate Professor of History at the Pratt Institute and author of “Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker,” also published by Duke University Press. Lee Ranaldo is a Grammy nominated musician, composer, visual artist, writer, and producer. He is a founding member of Sonic Youth and continues to work on numerous solo projects. His artwork and videos have been on view in galleries and museums across the globe. He is the author of the books “Some Writings on Music and Musicians,” “Against Refusing,” and “How Not To Get Played On The Radio." He makes his home in New York State. You can purchase copies of “The Williamsburg Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront” at https://citylights.com/williamsburg-avant-garde-experimental/ This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/

City Lights LIVE presents Brandon Shimoda and Emily Luan reading from their books,“Hydra Medusa” and “In 回 / Return,” published by Nightboat Books. “Hydra Medusa” by Brandon Simoda takes us through the poet's day-to-day life as he works five jobs and raises his child. His collection of poems and essays touches on the realities of living on the US-Mexico border. Shimoda documents the realities and oftentimes horrors of living in the desert as he encounters his own past and ancestry as a Japanese American individual. Brandon Shimoda is a poet and author of eight books of poetry and prose. He teaches at Colorado College. “In 回 / Return” by Emily Luan is rooted in the classical tradition of the Chinese “reversible” poem. "In 回 / Return” is engaged in the act of looking back—toward an imagined homeland and a childhood of suburban longing, through migratory passages, departures, and etymologies, and into the various holes and voids that appear in the telling and retelling of history. Emily Luan is a former Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. You can purchase copies of "Hydra Medusa” and “In 回 / Return” at https://citylights.com/.

City Lights LIVE celebrates the publication of Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems by Joyce Mansour (Translator: Emilie Moorhouse), published by City Lights Books. Join us as we dive into the works of iconic Surrealist poet, Joyce Mansour, who emerged from Paris in the 1950s. Mansour is best known for her unfiltered poetry and her participation in the post World War II circle of Surrealist poets. “Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems” by Joyce Mansour is a bilingual anthology of her striking works. In this episode, Emilie Moorhouse, translator and author of the book's introduction, discusses Mansour's unwavering voice with Garrett Caples, American poet and City Lights editor. Mansour, through her work, expresses her frustration with a patriarchal society that views women as objects rather than multidimensional individuals. Mansour's poetry is as necessary as ever. You can purchase copies of "Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems" directly from City Lights here: https://citylights.com/emerald-wounds-sel-poems/.

City Lights, in conjunction with Heyday Books, presents Jane Smiley in conversation with Steve Wasserman to celebrate the publication of "The Questions that Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom" by Jane Smiley, published by Heyday Books. Smiley’s new book offers essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. She dives into the complexities of character and history and how she is inspired by literature of all kinds in her own writing. She shares her analysis and research on the works of classic authors such as Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, and many others. Smiley shares her personal journey as a writer moving from Iowa to California and reflects on her findings within the diverse literature of the state, which often highlights issues of race, class, and sex. Jane Smiley is a novelist and essayist. She has won various awards for her work, including the Pulitzer Prize for her novel "A Thousand Acres." She has written for numerous magazines and newspapers such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper’s, and the Nation. Her most recent novel, "A Dangerous Business," was published in 2022. Steve Wasserman is the publisher of Heyday Books. He is a former editor-at-large for Yale University Press, editorial director of Times Books/Random House and publisher of Hill & Wang and The Noonday Press at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. He has written for numerous publications, including The Village Voice, Threepenny Review, The Progressive, and many others. You can purchase copies of "The Questions that Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom" directly from City Lights here: https://citylights.com/new-nonfiction-in-hardcover/questions-that-matter-most-reading-wr/. This was a virtual event hosted by Peter Maravelis and made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation: citylights.com/foundation.

City Lights LIVE presents Kirsten R. Ghodsee discussing her new book "Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life," published by Simon and Schuster. "Everyday Utopia" is an exploration throughout the world and history where varying communities challenge the conventional ways in which we live our lives, raise our families, and interact with those around us. Ghodsee introduces readers to these communities who reimagine life as we know it. From Danish cohousing communities that nourish neighborly bonds to Colombian ecovillages who grow their own food, Ghodsee takes readers through the worlds of those who live in their own utopia. "Everyday Utopia" offers radical hope for what our future could look like if community and connectedness is prioritized. Kristen R. Ghodsee is a Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the critically acclaimed author of "Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence." Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Le Monde Diplomatique, and Jacobin, among other publications. She lives outside of Philadelphia. You can purchase copies of "Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life" directly from City Lights here: https://citylights.com/new-nonfiction-in-hardcover/everyday-utopia/. This was a virtual event hosted by Peter Maravelis and made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation: citylights.com/foundation.