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The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

THE ‘ONE LOVE’ EDITION:

From Tony Antoniadis:

“a show at Issue Project Room on July 3 at 8pm. It will feature separate performances by and a collaboration between Gibby Haynes (of Butthole Surfers fame) and Joe Wenderoth (best known for “Letters to Wendy’s” and “The Holy Spirit of Life: Essays Written for John Ashcroft’s Secret Self.”) The performance will feature video, music, and reading, will take place at our new location at the Old American Can Factory at 232 3rd St (at 3rd Ave.) [NOTE: IN THE 718]. The event is a part of the Littoral Reading Series, which fuses writers and musicians whose work or methods of work contain similarities that might translate into great, unlikely shared bills on the stage…

Other past readers and musicians include Rick Moody, Hannah Marcus, Ben Marcus, Sam Lipsyte, Lynne Tillman, Marc Ribot, Christine Schutt, Mary Caponegro, John Haskell, Pure Horsehair, Diane Williams, Sarah Ibrahim, and Maria Chavez. Writers booked for fall include Deb Olin Unferth, Daniel Borzutzky, Amy Hempel, Jim Shepard, and Susan Daitch.”

That’s my pick for the week. The rest of it… mmmmm, pink hijinks, drinks?, methinks.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.
 
MONDAY, JUNE 25: Join us for a rare treat as Jean Thompson, praised by ELLE for her “stirring prose and masterfully funny repartee,” gives her first reading in New York since 1999 (when she was nominated for the National Book Award for her last collection) from her widely acclaimed new collection of short stories, THROW LIKE A GIRL. At Barnes & Noble, Astor Place. 7PM, FREE [full disclosure, as always: Jean is one of my PR clients].

TUESDAY, JUNE 26: I like to dance around my apartment to this song, so that’s what I’ll probably do on Tuesday night. There’s also the “Emo-Thug 2 Release Party.” I have no idea what that means but it sounds great. So does this reading series, Other Means.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27: In a rare appearance (her first time in New York since 1999, when she was nominated for the National Book Award for her last collection) Jean Thompson reads from her widely praised new collection of short stories, THROW LIKE A GIRL at the season finale of Amanda Stern’s wildly popular Happy Ending reading series, along with Alison Bechdel and Eliza Griswold, with music from One Ring Zero. Doors open at 7, show at 8 sharp, FREE.

THURSDAY, JUNE 28: If Tuesday night’s dance party wasn’t enough creative expression for you, you can always make an experimental film (or unearth one): “SPLICE recently celebrated its first anniversary of bringing eclectic and underground sounds and performers from around the world to New York audiences. If you are a VJ, video/multimedia artist, or experimental filmmaker, we invite you to submit your contact details and information about your work. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: Multimedia artists who create both sound/music and video; Video artists interested in projecting their work, by itself or in collaboration with musicians; VJs who can generate live and remixed video during DJ sets and musical performances; Filmmakers with experimental (preferably short-form) works.”

FRIDAY, JUNE 29: “The launch of a new online journal, Essays & Fictions is to be celebrated at a reading open to the public at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden in the East Village, 9th St and Ave C - Friday June 29 6 p.m., with a rain date of Sunday, July 1st. Danielle Winterton, David Pollock, Adam Golaski, Jeff Paris and others will read from the premier issue.” Recommended.

SATURDAY, JUNE 30: At the pacesetting downtown gallery jen bekman [full disclosure, as always: where I used to be the PR director, but now we are ‘just friends’], A New American Portrait, a group exhibition of photographs featuring artists at the vanguard of contemporary portraiture in America, is shaping up to be the most talked about show of the season judging from the opening night photos.

SUNDAY, JULY 1: How intriguing– is “Broken English” the story of your life?

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.
 

MONDAY, JUNE 18: Says Emilie Stewart of Smart Set fave The Reader’s Room: “We were awash last week in stunning, startling poetry, and this week we return to a poetic ‘state’ of mind of a sort, as we host a night of readings from LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: New Jersey Writers Take on the Garden State (just published by Touchstone/Fireside). Funny, irreverent, nostalgic, heartfelt, this book will make you wonder, “Why didn’t I get to grow up in Jersey?” Contributors Lucinda Rosenfeld and Joshua Braff will read, and the ever delightful editor, Irina Reyn, will introduce.” At Mo Pitkin’s. 7PM, one drink minimum. In Brooklyn, “Brooklyn Independent is pleased to present a selection of short films from the Lake County Film Festival.” At Barbes. 7PM, FREE.

TUESDAY, JUNE 19: PAGE series at the National Arts Club co-director (and all around lit star) Wah-Ming Chang reads from her work with other NYFA Fiction Fellows at the Drawing Center: “Please join Jenny Offill, Shamar Hill, Wah-Ming Chang, Vestal McIntyre, and Emily Blair as they present new work. Ernesto Mestre-Reed will moderate discussion. The readers are 2006 Artists’ Fellowship recipients of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). This presentation is co-sponsored by Artists & Audiences Exchange, a public program of NYFA.” Highly recommended. 6:30PM, FREE. And the discerning Michelle Lin sends word about another SoHo event: “I’m writing to invite you to the opening of the Atlantic Gallery’s latest exhibit, Playing for Keeps: Toys and Their Side Effects. “When TOYS are cherished by adults the quest of the TOY becomes a lifestyle and a contact sport. The days of playing marbles, blocks and jacks seem so distant when games are played by grown-ups on a global scale. Atlantic Gallery invites artists to play with TOYS and consider the side effects, spiritually, culturally, economically, and politically about the games we play.” The reception is this Tuesday, June 19th from 6-8 pm, and the Atlantic Gallery is at 40 Wooster St., between the Canal and Spring St. stops on the A,C,E lines.”

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20: The monthly Mixer series takes place on Wednesday evening at Cakeshop, with “Readings by Mark Doty, Paul Lisicky, Jennifer Murphy, and introducing Caitlin Delohery. Music by Schwervon!” 7-9PM, FREE.

THURSDAY, JUNE 21: At McNally Robinson, “Writing From The Edge”… “a historic appearance by Tommy Trantino, the prison author whose book Lock The Lock (Knopf, 1974) was lauded by luminaries such as Henry Miller, Allen Ginsberg, Kurt Vonnegut and William Burroughs. Trantinto was convicted of the 1963 murder of 2 New Jersey police officers and spent many years on death row before his sentence was commuted to life. It was while in prison that he turned to art as a means of self-preservation, and his art and writing exudes a powerful influence on the underground writing scene. Tony O’Neill’s work has been championed by such important names in the American underground as Dan Fante, Dennis Cooper and John Giorno. He is the author of Digging The Vein, Seizure Wet Dreams and his latest, Songs From The Shooting Gallery: Poems 1999 - 2006. Tommy and Tony will read selections from their work as well as taking part in a Q&A.” 7PM, FREE.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22: Don’t miss “BOOKED! The Books Through Bars Benefit Art Auction and Party!” featuring “Street Art Inspired by Issues of Reading and Incarceration” by 35 artists at ABC No Rio, “Auction and Closing Party benefits Books Through Bars. No Cover Charge. Cheap Beer. Auction over and art gone by 10:30 - So come early!” 7PM, FREE.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23: “Jonathan LeVine Gallery is proud to announce E Pluribus Venom, a solo exhibit of new works by Shepard Fairey. This show will be the artist’s first solo show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery and will feature a second, off-site exhibition space for the artist to exhibit large-scale installations and murals on wood and canvas. Shepard Fairey’s provocative collection includes politically charged paintings, screen prints, stencils, album covers and mixed media pieces rich with metaphor, humor and seductive decorative elements.” Opening reception: 5-9PM, FREE.

SUNDAY, JUNE 24: Say Nita Noveno and Caroline Berger of Smart Set fave Sunday Salon: “To celebrate our fifth year, we came up with a grand idea– skydiving en masse! That’s right, imagine leaping off a cliff and soaring over the ocean blue, eye level with the gulls, and trailing above a pod of killer whales! How awesome would that be? Then, the logistics sunk in, you know, airfare, bus fare, guides, wind factor, lunch… for how many again? Anyhow, it was a fine thought for a celebration, but we are going to stick to what we know best, equally breath-taking yet no movement required (unless you feel like it). Join us by singing in our fifth year with four effusively talented writers and musical guest. Books by our featured writers will be on sale and so will the finest of NY beers and wines at our home: Stain Bar, 766 Grand St (take “L” to Grand and walk one block west) in Williamsburg. The stars have aligned this month. We’re celebrating on the same day our sister Salons in Chicago and Nairobi are holding their readings. Check them out (and go if you’re in the area). (What’s that? NY Salon alumnus, Jeff Allen, reading in Nairobi? Yes, indeedy!) [Full disclosure, as always: Jean Thompson, one of my PR clients, is reading at Sunday Salon Chicago]. 7PM, FREE.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.
 

The Smart Set is late today because I slept in. Since I woke up, I’ve been drinking sweet tea, enjoying the breeze, listening to Chet Baker and not compiling events at all. My picks for the week will be up either tonight at 12:30am or tomorrow at 12:30pm; until then, I recommend all of the above.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

MONDAY, 6.4: Tristesse, ennui, the mean reds, call it what you will, but one thing is indisputable– the best way to stave off a rainy Monday is almost certainly “a nosh, a drink, and some fine writerly company,” at The Reader’s Room with hosts Emilie Stewart and Leigh Newman. This week features Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food for Millionaires [full disclosure, as always: I’ve been delighted to work with Min Jin to publicize her buzzworthy debut]. Join us this evening at Mo Pitkin’s. 7PM, one drink minimum.

Check back tomorrow at 12:30pm for the rest of this week’s picks.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.
 

TUESDAY, 5.29: Not long ago, I was sitting with a friend who said, “It’s amazing that people think there are no single men in New York.” I gently pointed out that we were sitting in a record store at 11:30 on a Wednesday night and the so single men out front were also so smoking pot. And probably not getting up so early if you know what I mean. Less questionable types may congregate at “The Jeffrey Leonard Invitational,” aka New York Sports Trivia Night on Tuesday evening. I specifically asked guest host Bryan Keefer [full disclosure, as always: my favorite ex-boyfriend] for a literary Ron Mexico reference but instead got, “You can say something like “I’m told there may be a question involving David Beckham’s grammatically suspect sexy texting.” And so I am. 8PM, FREE. Plus, The Reader’s Room at Mo Pitkin’s presents a special Tuesday evening edition of the always excellent series, this week with Rich Cohen (Sweet and Low) and Ian Frazier (Gone to New York). 7PM, one-drink minimum.

WEDNESDAY, 5.30: This kind of breaks my heart, but it’s a must-do: “This month will be the last How To Kick People for quite some time. After three and a half years, Bob and Todd will be taking a much-needed hiatus from the (cut-throat!) world of reading humorous things off of a page in front of people. So join us on May 30th for “Parting Advice,” the final installment in the How To Kick People Reading Series. To say goodbye, we’ll be joined by an unusually huge lineup of old friends and first-timers we’ve been dying to have on the show, including: Brian Stack (writer/actor, Late Night with Conan O’Brien), Tom Shillue (Comedy Central Presents Tom Shillue), Christian Finnegan (Best Week Ever, Comedy Central Presents Christian Finnegan), Amelie Gillette (writer, The Onion’s ‘AV Club’), Chris Deluca (former writer, The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn), and a video from Steve Burns (former host of Blue’s Clues, current musician) & Paul Ford (associate editor, Harpers.org; author, GARY BENCHLEY, ROCK STAR).” Go, or hate yourself forever. 7:30pm, $8. And, I haven’t seen it yet, but Once is getting some great buzz.

THURSDAY, 5.31: It figures that the Book Expo-related party I’m most looking forward to doesn’t even have an open bar (why else would one go?) — but it’s because all the BEST people will be there. Join members of the Lit Blog Co-op to discuss “the best of contemporary fiction, authors, and presses” and, noted per one invitation, “Discussion of books will be condoned only if you bring juicy gossip that can’t be substantiated.” Mais oui. At the Kettle of Fish, 59 Christopher St. at 7th Avenue. 8-11PM, FREE.

FRIDAY, 6.1: And, an invitation from our friends at A Public Space and Tin House, “The Brooklyn Independent Press Party With A Public Space, Akashic Books, Archipelago Books, Bomb Magazine, Cabinet Magazine, Soft Skull Press & Tin House. Hosted by powerHouse Books, MTV Books & Vice Books at the powerHouse Arena.” Warning for those with delicate sensibilities: the Misshapes are involved. 7-10PM, FREE; RSVP [email protected]. For those attending BEA, check out Bud Parr’s panel discussion, “Blogs: Is Their Growing Influence a Tastemakers Dilemma?” 10AM.

SATURDAY, 6.2: On Saturday at BEA, Our very own Maud converses with author Shalom Auslander. Elsewhere in New York, New Orleans big band Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship disembark at ABC No Rio for a much-anticipated show. 3PM. And if you are not at BEA, or in New York on Saturday, well then I dare you to listen to Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart It Races” just once and not relentlessly over and over again like I have been for the last hour.

SUNDAY, 6.3: Also at BEA, Maud discusses The Crisis in Newspaper Reviewing. 10AM. Elsewhere, “Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era” is on at the Whitney. Check out “the unprecedented explosion of contemporary art and popular culture brought about by the civil unrest and pervasive social change of the 1960s and early ’70s, when a new psychedelic aesthetic emerged in art, music, film, architecture, graphic design, and fashion.” Or, fast-forward a few decades and subscribe to Arthur.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

The best thing going this week is the weather.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

MONDAY, 5.14: The Reader’s Room at Mo Pitkin’s presents “Tin House Night,” featuring debut authors Josh Goldfaden (Human Resources) and Mary Otis (Yes, Yes, Cherries). 7PM, one drink minimum. And, buzzed-about novelist Amity Gaige reads from her latest, The Folded World, “the story of an idealistic young social worker drawn into the lives of his mentally ill clients,” at Barnes and Noble, Astor Place. 7PM, FREE. Also, “Join contributors, readers, and friends of Esopus to celebrate the release of our latest issue at New York City’s Center For Architecture (just down the block from the Esopus office). The evening will include a special performance by Philadelphia-based Headlong Dance Theater, whose article about their groundbreaking 2006 piece Cell appears in the issue. Shipping this week, the issue includes artists’ projects by Dawn Clements, Neil Goldberg, and Allen Ruppersberg, as well as the maps and transit systems of Neil Greenberg, a found love letter between 1970s revolutionaries, a decor artist’s anonymous reflections on her profession, and new fiction from Stuart Nadler.” 6 - 9PM.

TUESDAY, 5.15: I have no idea what this book is about but anyone named Glasgow has to be totally cute, clever and charming, right? Or, you know “rough as f***” if it’s a true homage. Unfounded speculation aside, “Glasgow Phillips, author of the memoir THE ROYAL NONESUCH: Or, What Will I Do When I Grow Up will be in New York, reading at the Astor Place Barnes and Noble.” Check it out. 7PM, FREE.

WEDNESDAY, 5.16: Dana Vachon (Mergers and Acquisitions), Min Jin Lee (Free Food for Millionaires) and others read sexy stuff as part of the In the Flesh series at Happy Ending [Full disclosure, as always: Min Jin is one of my PR clients]. 8PM, FREE. In the 718, Gabriel Cohen celebrates the publication of his new novel, Boombox, already garnering some serious accolades, at BookCourt. 7:30PM, FREE.

THURSDAY, 5.17: Brilliantly crafted short stories get a much-deserved night out as Lorrie Moore reads at Barnes & Noble, Union Square with British cult favorite Helen Simpson (In the Driver’s Seat), who Jay McInerney makes sound utterly irresistible in a NYTBR review from a few years ago: “‘And where, ladies and gentlemen, where would we be without poetry?’ one windbag asks, as the crowd drinks, flirts and networks…The evening ends on a perfectly ludicrous note of violence.” 7PM, FREE. Plus, Hotel Chelsea Blogger Ed Hamilton reads as part of Drunken! Careening! Writers! at KGB, where the organizers posit that “the drinks are pretty and the boys and girls are relatively cheap.” I’ll drink to that. 7PM, FREE.

FRIDAY, 5.18: One for the country house crowd– Christine Boyka Kluge reads at Katonah Art Center, 131 Bedford Road (opposite the A&P), refreshments will be served. 7:30PM, FREE.

SATURDAY, 5.19: All day is the new Saturday night: Olive Juice Music Festival runs from 1pm - 9pm at Cake Shop.

SUNDAY, 5.20: “Sunday with the Magazine” presents conversations on topics explored in NYT-published magazines.

Soundtrack to this week’s edition: Julie Doiron, “No More.”

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events.

Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.
 

MONDAY, 5.7: The Reader’s Room presents The Raw Shark Texts at Mo Pitkin’s. Highly recommended. 7PM, one drink minimum.

TUESDAY, 5.8: Lolita hosts an opening party for an exhibition of paintings — including Swim(Mo), pictured above, right — by ANNE-FRANCOISE POTTERAT, “inspired by life and lexicography in her native Lausanne as well as her experiences in the United States and Iran.” We’ll also be blessed with the sonic stylings of avant pop sensation DJ MAXX KLAXON. And cheap drinks! Details (Full disclosure as always: I put this event together just for fun). 6 - 8PM, FREE.

WEDNESDAY, 5.9: Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Series presents an evening with “Joshua Ferris, Michael Fitzgerald, Nick Bertozzi, Sheila Heti, with music from The Feverfew.” Highly recommended. 8PM, FREE.

THURSDAY, 5.10: “Upstairs at the Square” pairs singer-songwriter ROSIE THOMAS (These Friends of Mine) with French author ANNA GAVALDA (Hunting and Gathering) for an evening of performance and conversation with host KATHERINE LANPHER (Full disclosure as always: I am the PR consultant for this project). 7PM, FREE.

FRIDAY, 5.11: In limited engagement at Village East Cinema, “the NYC theatrical premiere of Guy Maddin’s new film, BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!, to be presented as a live spectacle with live orchestra, foley artists, castrato & celebrity narrators including Crispin Glover, Poet Laureate John Ashberry, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Isabella Rossellini, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, etc., etc.”

SATURDAY, 5.12: At the Jewish Museum, The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend: ‘Louise Nevelson constructed her sculpture much as she constructed her past: shaping each with her legendary sense of self as she created an extraordinary iconography through abstract means…The sculpture for which she is best known was made of cast-off wood parts – actual street throwaways – transformed with monochromatic spray paint. Through her elegant room-size works, Nevelson regularly summoned themes linked to her complicated past, fractious present, and anticipated future… The exhibition will be the first major American museum survey of Nevelson’s work in this country in a generation.’ Through September.

SUNDAY, 5.13: “good words @ Good World, a new reading series featuring a different theme every month, continues with DRINK: MAX BLAGG, co-editor of Bald Ego, a magazine of literature and art… and DAVID LYNCH, author of Vino Italiano and The Vino Italiano Buying Guide… He is General Manager of Babbo Ristorante.” 5PM, FREE.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

Per usual the city is calling my name, but the teeming metropolis of my dreams isn’t New York this week. To wit, the LA-LA-LA-LONDON edition for your enjoyment:

MONDAY, 4.30: At the Institute of Contemporary Arts, “A discussion between David Dawson and Christine Binnie of the Neo-Naturists… whose work features in The Secret Public. The group had the structure of an open network and performances during the 1980s were presented not only in galleries but in night clubs as cabaret and public spaces.” 7PM.

TUESDAY, 5.1: “Central Saint Martins and The Look present: CLASH CULTURE: A NIGHT OF TREASON. Paul Gorman, Michon & Kolowska and special guests. Central Saint Martins celebrates the most visually exciting rock ‘n’ roll band of all time THE CLASH, with contributions from key collaborators, plus special guests.” 7PM, FREE.

WEDNESDAY, 5.2: “Focusing on key moments in art, sculpture, architecture and philosophy in relation to body measures, and on the development of scientific thought that led to the metric system, Robert Tavernor in his inaugural lecture will look beyond the notion that measuring is strictly a scientific activity, divorced from human concerns. Instead, he will set measures and measuring in cultural context to show how deeply they are connected to human experience and history. Robert Tavernor is professor of architecture and urban design, and director of the Cities Programme at LSE. His book, Smoot’s Ear, will be published in May 2007.” 6:30PM, FREE.

THURSDAY, 5.3: Retail therapy: Topshop, the London Review of Books bookshop, and the no longer bricks and mortar (how will I know for sure if I’m getting advice from left-handed staffers if I order online?) “Anything Left-Handed” shop.

FRIDAY, 5.4: Literary pub crawls are always an excellent idea (in New York, both Lolita and Verlaine do a blissfully cheap happy hour, and the exotic house cocktails at Les Enfants Terribles are divine).

SATURDAY, 5.5: That darling boy from Harry Potter is trying to establish his credentials as a serious actor the old-fashioned way, by working blue, bless his heart. The reviews are mixed on Equus but it’s good fodder for cocktail party chatter.

SUNDAY, 5.6: Penguin UK did this “My Penguin” thing where readers can design their own cover. I attempted to have a go conceptually with Dorian Grey and a few ripped out pages from my fave glossies, but never got it right. It wouldn’t have been as good as this one, anyway. Sunday’s toss-up: re-imagine a book cover, or mount a protest against the use of joylessly quotidian stock photos and slapped together fonts that everyone has seen on a menu already. Don’t cut corners on the sign, though.

On the radar aka “What I’m dying to do for my birthday”: The Puppini Sisters at the Algonquin’s Oak Room in New York next month…Heathcliff, don’t you know that it’s me, it’s Cathy… (from “Wuthering Heights“).

P.S., genius: BritLitBlogs.com.

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

MONDAY, 4.23: PEN World Voices kicks off a week of intriguing events with authors from across the globe.

TUESDAY, 4.24: “Green Apple Talk #3: Environmentalism Now explores how far the movement has come since the first Earth Day nearly forty years ago. What will the next wave of green culture look like, and how can the individual decisions consumers make have a global impact? Featuring Ramon Cruz, a policy analyst for Environmental Defense, Emily Gertz, environmental journalist and co-author of WorldChanging: A User’s Guide to the 21st Century, Aaron Naparstek, of Transportation Alternatives and StreetsBlog.org and author of Honku: The Zen Antidote to Road Rage, and Anne-Marie Van Dijk (DNA Models), who supports the work of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Orca Network and Natural Resources Defense Council when she’s not walking the runway for Marc Jacobs, Dries Van Noten, Aquascutum, Libertine and others. Moderated by best-selling author Bryan Keefer. 7PM, FREE [full disclosure, as always: I put this event together just for fun, so y’all come].”

WEDNESDAY, 4.25: Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending reading series presents a sure-to-be-lovely-as-she-is evening with “Kevin Moffatt, Heidi Julavits, Maggie Nelson, with music from
John Wesley Harding.” Highly recommended. 8PM, FREE. Plus, “Two weekly evening lectures are held at the New York Studio School during the regular semester… Art critics, historians or philosophers present pertinent and sometimes controversial subjects in art history and art criticism on Wednesdays. The Evening Lecture Series, although designed for students, has become a major resource for the vibrant art community of New York City. The Lecture Series provides a forum for discussion of issues in art, referring frequently to contemporary exhibitions in museums and galleries. Public access to the series broadens the scope of the evening’s discourse.” On Wednesday, W.S. Di Piero discusses “Painters and Poets” as well as his latest, Chinese Apples: New and Selected Poems, (Alfred a Knopf Inc., 2007). 6:30PM, FREE.

THURSDAY, 4.26: Broome Street’s gonna be cuter than a unicorn sticker when the person least likely to have been a loser nonetheless hosts the “When I Was a Loser” party at Lolita. Take that, West Bushwick!! 6:30PM, FREE.

FRIDAY, 4.27: David Lehman [“I’ve been fucked without a kiss,” she says,/ “and you can quote me on that,”/ which sounds great in an English accent.], Elaine Equi and Mairead Byrne read as part of the MiPo series at Stain Bar. 7PM, FREE.

SATURDAY, 4.28: Take your pick of quirky ’90s romantic heroines, with Minnie Driver (performing songs from her new album, Everything I’ve Got in My Pocket) at the Living Room and Julie Delpy (discussing her latest film project, “which she wrote, directed, edited, produced, scored, and starred in”) at the Apple Store.

SUNDAY, 4.29: At P.S. 1, “Chicago-based publisher Front Forty Press (FFP) showcases several of their recent publications as part of the Fine Print series.” Full details. 3:30PM, FREE [xoxo to Carrie for the tip!].

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

MONDAY, 4.16: Says Smart Set pal and The Best Words in Their Best Order blogger Ami Greko, “If you … find yourself hankering for an event that will make you look impressive, fabulous and smart the next time your date asks, ‘what did you do last week?’ HERE is your answer: The Strand Bookstore. It’s a no-holds-barred literary battle of the heavyweights when FSG’s Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon faces off against Knopf’s Brad Leithauser to see who can create the best poem in front of an audience in only ten minutes. Debut poet Eliza Griswold opens the event with a reading from her upcoming book, Wideawake Field. Wine and cheese served. I hope you can all make it out–drinks to follow with the poetry literati, probably at Grassroots or something equally dive-y.” 7PM, FREE. in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Independent is “equally pleased to present the April 16th program, featuring As Smart As They Are: The Author Project, directed by Brooklyn Independent’s curator, Joe Pacheco. AS SMART AS THEY ARE follows the band One Ring Zero and documents their collaboration with McSweeney’s Publishing and an ensemble cast of award winning authors. Featuring: Paul Auster, Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Ames, Myla Goldberg, Darin Strauss, Amy Fusselman, Clay McLeod Chapman, & Lawrence Krauser.” At Barbes, 7PM, FREE [Full disclosure, as always: I helped to publicize the film when it was first released].

TUESDAY, 4.17: Half the reason I’m not ambitionless or addicted to low-quality snack foods and video games is because I grew up in DC and spent most of my childhood availing myself of the myriad charms of the Smithsonian. On Tuesday evening at the Corner Bookstore (one of the city’s best, at 93rd & Madison), “Heather Ewing, New York resident, young historian, and first-time author of The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian…The book is a biography of the mysterious Brit who left his entire fortune to the young U.S.A. for the foundation of a museum that later became the Smithsonian Institution.” 6PM, FREE.

WEDNESDAY, 4.18: “The second ever monthly reading and music series, MIXER, on April 18th at 7pm at Cakeshop (152 Ludlow St., between Stanton & Rivington). It is FREE. Featuring Vijay Seshadri, David Hollander, Amy Holman, Meehan Crist, and the musical sounds of The Chapin Sisters. Hosted by Melissa Febos and Rebecca Keith.” The Chapin Sisters make this one beyond essential.

THURSDAY, 4.19: At Barnes & Noble in Chelsea, “Alison McGhee will read from her two new books: FALLING BOY: A Novel (Picador, paperback original) and SOMEDAY, a picturebook currently #1 on the New York Times Children’s Bestseller List.” 7PM, FREE. And, “Girlsalon Writers: a monthly forum for lesbian/queer writers. Opens Thursday, April 19th, 2007. Hosted by author, Janine Avril. The Perch Cafe in Park Slope. 365 5th Avenue between 5th and 6th streets. 718-788-2830. FREE.”

FRIDAY, 4.20: Be bold. Take a risk. Write a letter. Embark on a grand adventure. Whatever, just something besides, you know, reading books, or talking about them. Just for a day.

SATURDAY, 4.21: “DEBUT LIT will usher in its first release party and reading with Random House author, Phil LaMarche and his highly acclaimed novel American Youth, at the KGB Bar in New York City. DEBUT LIT will also welcome Christian TeBordo, author of The Conviction and Subsequent Life of Savior Neck from Spuyten Duyvil press. DEBUT LIT is a national literary event series dedicated to helping new writers gain a wider audience. Its mission is to combine the release of a new literary work with parties that merge art, music and readings. DEBUT LIT believes that new work deserves a new idea, and literature can come alive in ways it never has before.” 7PM, FREE.

SUNDAY, 4.22: One word in my calendar for Sunday: Jarvis!

The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30pm and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to publication, with the date in the subject line.

MONDAY, 4.9: O luminous dusk! Heart of the summer night!/ Hold fast your secret, breathe the watchword never./ Keep it inviolate, veiled from sense and sight;/ Safe from disclosure’s disenchanting blight,/ Dear and desired, unknown, beloved for ever. (From “In a London Garden”). One of my most treasured volumes, Decadent Poetry from Wilde to Naidu — “(Penguin Classics), a definitive collection of poems that express the languid eroticism and aesthetic rebellion of the late Victorian age, edited by Lisa Rodensky” — receives the celebration that it deserves at the Reader’s Room. “There will be readings from the collection by Honor Moore, Bob Holman, Maureen Howard, Dan Brady, Adam Kirsch, Lisa Rodensky, and Billy Merrell.” Presumably, lotus eating and deshabille optional. At Mo Pitkin’s. 7PM, one-drink minimum.

TUESDAY, 4.10: Said Sayrafiezadeh says he’ll be “reading an excerpt from my upcoming memoir” as part of Periodically Speaking: Literary Magazine Editors Introducing Emerging Writers at The New York Public Library. The event takes place in the Dewitt Wallace Periodicals Room, 5th Avenue and 42nd Street (Use 5th Avenue Entrance). 6PM, FREE. Plus, “[The Crier] has broken new ground with pieces on female wrestlers in Bolivia, iconoclastic New York rock promoter Todd P, and several short articles on the theme of surveillance, among others. To celebrate Issue 3, The Crier will hold a reading featuring writers from the issue. Gabriel Boylan will read from his piece on iconoclastic New Age composer Vangelis, who wrote the theme to Chariots of Fire, and he promises musical accompaniment. Alexander Provan will read from his piece on Bolivian wrestlers (he may even do some reenactments), and Kate Levin will read from her piece on NannyCams… The party will be held at Cake Shop, from 7-9pm. The readings will begin at 7:30pm. Admission is free for subscribers to The Crier, $10 for non-subscribers, and the admission fee for non-subscribers includes a copy of Issue 3 of the magazine.”

WEDNESDAY, 4.11: The best part about the award-winning play “Blackbird” is that my sister and I discussed going to see it while she was visiting (it’s kind of a “Lolita story”), and although we ultimately were too lazy (and the tickets rather pricey), it did come in handy when the (grand)father/daughter-seeming duo in front of us at the opera started going at it when the lights went down, and we hissed “blackbird” in a half-whisper and elbowed each other until we almost fell prey to the giggle loop. Anyway, sounds great, Jeff Daniels stars. In previews.

THURSDAY, 4.12: Barnes & Noble presents “Upstairs at the Square,” at the Union Square B&N. The series features host Katherine Lanpher in conversation with established and emerging authors and musicians, who read and perform their work. Presented in association with the Scottish Book Trust as part of the Isle of Jura Festival of Scottish Writing, Wednesday’s guests are Ian Rankin and Aidan Moffat & the Best-ofs [full disclosure, as always: I am the PR consultant for this project]. 7PM, FREE.

FRIDAY, 4.13: Jami Attenberg announces the “Instant Love/Red Weather Paperback Release/Tax Day Party” at KGB with Pauls Toutonghi (Red Weather), Darin Strauss (Chang and Eng, The Real McCoy), Min Jin Lee (Free Food for Millionaires), and an accountant [Full disclosure, as always: Min Jin is a PR client of mine]. 7PM, FREE.

SATURDAY, 4.14: “future perfect is a fifty-minute quest for the curious, with music ranging from Little Jimmy Scott to Arabic folk ballads. A playful but delicate piece, this ensemble explores the individual paths that lead to a more desirable place. Misnomer is sharing the program with another company, Keigwin & Co, which will present work for 80 dancers! The evening ends with a DANCE PARTY and a live DJ on the stage of the 860-seat Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Misnomer’s most recent production was named by the NY Times as one of the 10 Top NYC Dance Performances for 2006. Come see what’s new for 2007! Two performances only! Price: $20 (balcony) / $30 (orchestra) / Students $15 / NYU Students $12.” Highly recommended.

SUNDAY, 4.15: Nelly Reifler writes in to extend an invitation to a reading by “The glorious Amy Hempel and erudite surfer Thad Ziolkowski at Magnetic Field, 97 Atlantic Ave. between Henry & Hicks (We’re quite excited about this one).” 7PM, FREE. Plus, “The good words @ Good World reading series continues with THE SPORTSWRITERS: “ESPN anchor and national correspondent JEREMY SCHAAP , the author of Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics, and the New York Times bestseller Cinderella Man, and New York Times sports reporter ALAN SCHWARZ, the author of Once Upon a Game: Baseball’s Greatest Memories and The Numbers Game, one of the bestselling sports books of 2004. He is the host of ESPN’s Baseball Today.” 5PM, FREE. Also, charming, environmentally friendly, fiercely independent Minneapolis-based phenom, Cloud Cult (Have you heard “Chandeliers” yet? Download it already, I’ll give you the 99 cents.) plays Mercury Lounge.

This week’s soundtrack: The Medicine Show, Vagabonds.