An Activist Guide to PEN World Voices

Tuesday, May 1

Revolutionary Plays Since 2000: the Future of Political Theatre Where: The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. What time: 2 p.m.: Reading, Iced Tea by Lasha Bugadze; 4 p.m.: Reading, A Diary in Scenes by Laila Soliman; 6:30 p.m.: Panel Discussion Cost: Free! Lasha Bugadze (Georgia), Laila Soliman (Egypt), Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (Iran), and the Civilians (New York) have all tried to turn street-level protest into art. Did they succeed? Moderator Mike Daisey, the monologist whose The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs has started a media firestorm over working conditions in China, hosts this provocative discussion of art and the revolution.

Wednesday, May 2

A Reporter’s Perspective on War Where: Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Center at Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn What time: 7–8:30 p.m.; Cost: Free! Polish journalist Wojceich Jagiski chronicles ongoing conflicts and the tolls they take upon those who live in their midst. His forthcoming book, The Night Wanderers, examines how the Lord’s Resistance Army under Joseph Kony preys upon Ugandan youth. Hear one of the most exciting voices in journalism discuss his career on the frontlines worldwide with Joel Whitney, a founding editor of Guernica: A Magazine of Art and Politics. Opening Night—The Kronos Quartet: Exit Strategies Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave. What time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $30 at 212-570-3949 or www.metmuseum.org/tickets / $20 PEN Members over the phone or at the museum’s box office.

Thursday, May 3

Herta Müller on Silence Where: Deutsches Haus, 42 Washington Mews What time: 3–5 p.m.; Cost: Free with required RSVP. [email protected]. Born in rural Romania as part of the German-speaking minority, Nobel Laureate Herta Müller has recalled her childhood as a “school of silence,” where the loss of words reflected an inadequacy of language itself, and resulted from an oppressive dictatorial regime with both communist and nationalistic traits. Writing became a way to break the silence. Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis and Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums) Where: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. What time: 4:30–6:05 p.m. (Persepolis) and 8–10:15 p.m. (Poule aux Prunes) Tickets: $12/$10 seniors/$8 students; tickets can only be purchased through MOMA’s box office beginning one week prior to the event.

Friday, May 4

In Conversation: Herta Müller and Claire Messud Where: 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center, 1395 Lexington Ave. What time: 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $20/$15 PEN Members and students with valid ID. Call (866) 811-4111 or visit ovationtix.com Translated into over 40 languages, Nobel Laureate Herta Müller’s works have received worldwide acclaim for their unflinching portrayals of the corrosive effect of political oppression on the human spirit. In her first New York appearance in over a decade, after a reading from her forthcoming novel The Hunger Angel, Müller will be interviewed by another literary titan, Claire Messud. In Conversation: Ludmila Ulitskaya Where: Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Sq. What time: 8–9:30 p.m. Tickets: $15/$10 PEN Members and students with valid ID. Call (866) 811-4111 or visit ovationtix.com Recipient of the 2002 Russian Booker Prize, Ludmila Ulitskaya is considered the heir to Chekhov and among the most important writers in Russia today. She will read excerpts from her correspondence with Amnesty International “prisoner of conscience” Mikhail Khordorkovsky and discuss the current political, cultural, and social situation in Russia, with special attention to the ongoing anti-Putin protests and the recent presidential election. John Cage: How to Get Started; with Aleksandar Hemon and Sonia Sanchez Where: Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th St.) What time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $20/$17 PEN and Symphony Space members/$10 students with valid ID. Call 212-864-5400 or visit www.symphonyspace.org. Capping off a day-long celebration of the work of composer John Cage, author Aleksandar Hemon and activist Sonia Sanchez will create an improvised performance dedicated to free speech that is based on 10 randomly-selected words.

Saturday, May 5

Life in the Panopticon: Thoughts on Freedom in an Era of Pervasive Surveillance Where: Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Sq. What time: 1–2:30 p.m. Tickets: $15/$10 PEN Members and students with valid ID. Call (866) 811-4111 or visit ovationtix.com The technological advancements spurred by the computing revolution have improved our lives, but have also diminished our privacy and enhanced the government’s power to monitor us. Writers and directors who have grappled with technology’s mixed blessings join civil liberties advocates to discuss ways of preserving our freedom in an era in which we all dwell in Bentham’s Panopticon—a prison that allows our wardens to observe us at all times without being seen themselves. In Conversation: Jamal Joseph and Sonia Sanchez on the Black Panther Party Where: Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Sq. What time: 3–4:30 p.m. Tickets: $15/$10 PEN Members and students with valid ID. Call (866) 811-4111 or visit ovationtix.com

Sunday, May 6

Occupy a New Debate Where: Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Sq. What time: 1–2:30 p.m. Tickets: $15/$10 PEN Members and students with valid ID. Call (866) 811-4111 or visit ovationtix.com What do we talk about when we talk about Occupy Wall Street? What has it done—and what it is doing now? Occupy! Gazette founders will discuss their inspiration for the publication and the challenges of writing about Occupy Wall Street as it unfolds, considering both the movement in its current form and its potential. Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture: Salman Rushdie Where: The Cooper Union, Great Hall, 7 E. 7th St. What time: 5–6 p.m. Tickets: $15/$10 PEN Members and students with valid ID. Call 866-811-4111 or visit ovationtix.com In his first Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, novelist and PEN World Voices Festival founder Salman Rushdie will examine the many faces of censorship in contemporary society and the role of the author within a climate of forced silence and intolerance. The talk will be followed by a pop-Q&A—designed and administered by fiction luminary Gary Shteyngart—that requires Sir Rushdie to ad lib responses to whatever is brought to the table. Join us for what is sure to be a surprising event where nothing is taboo!