This annual event presents free literary events in and around the cobblestone streets of NYU's storied Washington Mews
Since 2012, the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature and NYU's International Houses—including Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, Deutsches Haus at NYU, Institute of African American Affairs & Center for Black Visual Culture, La Maison Française, and the NYU Creative Writing Program—have collaborated in creating a festival within the festival: "The Literary Mews." This annual event presents free literary events in and around the cobblestone streets of NYU's storied Washington Mews. This event is a must for any lover of literature.
All events, which take place at NYU’s Washington Mews (between University Place and Fifth Avenue) and the NYU Kimmel Center, are free and open to the public and in English. RSVP info is available at the PEN World Voices site.
For more information, please contact Lisa Chow, La Maison Française, at Lisa.Chow@nyu.edu.
Friday, May 10, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Terrible Truths: Confronting History and Memory
A conversation with Daniel Blaufuks, Catherine Filloux, Tanisha Ford, and Domenico Starnone. Moderated by Ulrich Baer.
Nations share their official narratives through anthems and textbooks, websites and monuments—but a country’s glorious public story often diverges from the events remembered by its citizens. How do countries shape their evolving histories, and how are the true tales of terrible national tragedies obscured? How can writers and artists use their skills to challenge the erasure of inconvenient histories? Join a distinguished panel of writers, artists, playwrights, and academics as they reflect on significant revelations and obfuscations from our national stories, and examine how present-day memories influence perceptions of the past. Through discussions of global human rights abuses, Holocaust perception, African-American heritage and fashion and post-war political turbulence in Italy, our illustrious guests will illuminate what happens at the intersection of a nation’s private memories and its public identity. To RSVP, please visit the PEN World Voices site.
Location: La Maison Française of NYU, 16 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003
Friday, May 10, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Person, Place, And Politics: Rescuing Ourselves From States Of Turmoil
Inês Pedrosa, Isabella Hammad, and Felicity Castagna. Moderated by Arwa Mahdawi.
What happens when the sense of place that anchors our identity falls away? In this timely discussion, a talented trio of writers examine how political upheaval challenges notions of place and self. Inês Pedrosa’s In Your Hands portrays the journeys of self-definition undertaken by three generations of Portuguese women during the Salazar dictatorship. Isabella Hammad’s The Parisian examines a young man’s tumultuous return from Paris to the angry nationalism of British-occupied Palestine. And Felicity Castagna’s No More Boats relates a migrant family’s trauma during a refugee crisis that envelops Australia. Join these outstanding authors for a literary exploration of personal identity and political turmoil. To RSVP, please visit the PEN World Voices site.
Location: Deutsches Haus at NYU, 42 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003
Friday, May 10, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Reinvent and Rediscover: A View From Elsewhere
A conversation with Pénélope Bagieu, Brian Keith Jackson, Elif Shafak, and Takis Würger. Moderated by Rebecca Falkoff.
Personal reinvention is a constant and mysterious journey. A trip overseas, a disruption in the culture of our home country, or the impact of a powerful book can shift our views. How do new discoveries and unfamiliar settings cause us to (re)examine and (re)interpret our inner narratives? Join feminist graphic novel creator Pénélope Bagieu, novelist and culture writer Brian Keith Jackson, acclaimed author Elif Shafak, and investigative journalist Takis Würger, and in a discussion about what factors propel personal reinvention, and how a view from elsewhere can disrupt, recreate, or relocate the stories of ourselves. To RSVP, please visit the PEN World Voices site.
Location: Deutsches Haus at NYU, 42 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003
Friday, May 10, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
This Transfronterizo Life
Jennifer Clement and Willivaldo Delgadillo. Moderated by Oliver Laughland.
As rage surrounding America's southern boundary intensifies, fresh visions emerge from writers whose unique experiences span both sides of the border. Jennifer Clement's novel Prayers for the Stolen exposes the horror of women kidnapped and trafficked by drug cartels south of the border, while her Gun Love dives into the culture of violence in firearm trafficking in the US. And Willivaldo Delgadillo's novels and essays explore the current of violence flowing through the El Paso-Juarez border region of his youth. Join these celebrated authors as they discuss the cross cultural influences on their life and work and the contentious issues - human trafficking, drug smuggling, and the forced separation of families – that mark the geographical, political, and literary territory of the US southern border. To RSVP, please visit the PEN World Voices site.
Location: La Maison Française of NYU, 16 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003
Saturday, May 11, 7:00 p.m.
Yusef Komunyakaa: A Celebration
A 7pm reading by Yusef Komunyakaa and other special guests (NYU Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South) preceded by a day of panels and talks at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House (58 West 10th Street) See as.nyu.edu/cwp for more information.
Co-presented with Cave Canem Foundation. Co-sponsored with the PEN World Voices Festival.
Location: NYU Kimmel Center for University Life, Rosenthal Pavilion, 60 Washington Square South