Upcoming Events:
Monday, 8/2 7pm
Conspiracy Tour Presentation
The State of Minnesota alleges that organizing a convergence space for
protesters to have meetings, eat free meals, and check the interwebs (on
computers that an FBI informant helpfully set up!) makes the RNC 8 guilty
of conspiracy. The Federal government claims that Scott DeMuth?s writings
and associations suggest that he is an anarchist and therefore a domestic
terrorist, making him guilty of conspiracy under the Animal Enterprise
Terrorism Act.
We say organizing resistance to state repression isn?t conspiracy. It?s
survival. We say living our lives according to our principles isn?t
terrorism. It?s our right. We say we?ll continue organizing no matter how
much the state tries to destroy us and our communities.
So if this is conspiracy, we say to you?Join the Conspiracy!
This summer, the Conspiracy Tour is going on a whirlwind, month-long
excursion across the continental United States to raise awareness of and
solidarity for political activists from Minneapolis, MN who are facing
severe state repression. Come join us in raising political support and
much-needed legal defense funds for the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth.
It?s been alleged that the Tour will include a musical puppet show, a
scintillating presentation on the charges the activists are facing, and
various (some would say nefarious) ways you can join the Conspiracy to
support targets of state repression. In addition to the usual perks of
joining a conspiracy, co-conspirators will be learning ways to strengthen
and protect their communities from future incidences of state repression.
You know, just in case.
Come find solidarity, strategizing, resistance, and community that the
state could only dream of! This will be a roadshow to remember even before
you read about it in your FBI file.
Find out more about the Tour: http://conspiracytour.wordpress.com.
Thursday 8/12 - TWO GREAT READINGS!!!
7pm SHARP!
Reading by Mark Cohen from his new book: Missing a Beat: The Rants and Regrets of Seymour Krim (Syracuse U. Press)
In 1961, Beat writer Seymour Krim set
Greenwich Village on its ear with a slim volume of essays that featured an
unleashed voice, a brash title, and a foreword by Norman Mailer.
James
Baldwin called Views
of a Nearsighted Cannoneer an “extraordinary volume.” Saul
Bellow published an excerpt in his journalThe
Noble Savage, and Mailer saluted Krim’s jazzy prose with its
“shifts and shatterings of mood.” Despite such praise and critical attention, Krim’s
work is excluded from all Beat anthologies and is little known outside literary
circles. With Missing
a Beat, a collection of eighteen essays by Krim published between
1957 and 1989, Cohen introduces this influential writer to a new generation.
In
the Village Voice, New York Magazine, New York Times, and
elsewhere, Krim pioneered a new style of subjective and personal reporting to
write about the postwar American scene. Aggressively unacademic, Krim’s
journalism displays the “rapid, nervous, breathless tempo” that Irving Howe
called a hallmark of Jewish literature.
Krim
outlived his early literary fame, but he produced an impressive body of work
and was a tremendous prose stylist. Missing
a Beat resurrects an American original, finding Krim a new
literary home among such celebrated writers as Norman Mailer, David Mamet, and
Saul Bellow.
8pm! ->
Past Events:
Friday 7/23 7:30pm Justseeds Artists Cooperative Book Release and Art Show! -Art from Firebrands will be on display. Books and prints will be for sale
Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas
by Shaun Slifer and Bec Young
Curated by the Justseeds Artists' Collective, Firebrands is 192 pages of art, world history, and dangerous information. These beautifully illustrated mini-poster pages showcase radicals, dissidents, folk singers, and rabble-rousers, from Emma Goldman to Tupac, Pablo Neruda to Fred Hampton. As say editors Shaun Slifer and Bec Young in the introduction, the book "is especially made for anyone who has sat, trembling with frustration and disappointment in history class, or reading a text book heavily edited of anything interesting or useful. It's for all our ancestors, especially for the ones left out of or misrepresented in said textbook, because they were too brown, too female, too poor, too queer, too uneducated, too disabled, or because they felt or thought too much." This is a real people's history, a book packed with dynamite, desire, and, above all, courage.
Sunday July 25th 7:30pm
Book Release Readings by Two Zinesters!
Come celebrate the release of two new zine anthologies with:
JEFF MILLER of GHOST PINE - From Montreal, Canada's best and longest running zine is now compiled in one bad ass book!
+
ERICK LYLE of SCAM MAGAZINE! - "Scam! The First Four Issues" is out now, a compilation of out of print, Miami classic "Scams"
*with special guests*
CRISTY ROAD - Author of Bad Habits. From The Homewreckers
+
MIKE TAYLOR - Scenery Zine, ex-MRR Columnist, Pacatka, The band.
Sunday 7/18 7-9pm RoofTop Farms Book Party! RoofTop Farms will be throwing a growing things book party this
Sunday, the 18th from 7pm - 9pm. Special guest Leda Meredith will be
Brothers Chocolate and City Bakery. It will be a collection of novice
and expert gardeners exchanging food growing tips, plants and
gardening books, so please join us and bring a plant or book if you
have some to spare! There will be urban agros from RoofTop farms, the
Greenhorns and Brooklyn Botanic Garden to answer questions, and we
will have plenty of starter how-to material on the many ways you can
grow in a metropolitan area!
Wednesday 6/30 7:30pm
VOL 1. BROOKLYN PRESENTS: Chicago vs. Brooklyn
Tuesday 6/29 8:00pm
Release Party for Abort! #23
-- short science fiction anthology zine from hot writers and fresh forces --
with readings by some of the fine authors:
Jessie Grey Singer/Colin Atrophy/Dylan Spies/Tony DiSanzo/+ more. Zine on sale, and beers just waiting around, not gonna drink themselves. This ain't a library.
Sunday 6/13 7:30pm
Report Back from Haiti
Slideshow and Discussion by Ivy Jeanne
Ivy spent almost two months in Haiti working with the relief group MESS. For More Information about Ivy's presentation and MESS check out:
Friday 6/4 8pm
East Coast Release for the poetics journal - On:Contemporary Practice 2
With readings by
CA Conrad
Robert Dewhurst
Brenda Iijima
Robert Kocik
Evelyn Reilly
Michelle Taransky
and other special guests
hosted by Thom Donovan, coeditor of ON
For more information about ON check out:
http://www.oncontemporaries.org/
Thursday 6/3 7-9pm
www.sliceharvester.blogspot.com
Sunday 5/30 7 PM
Featuring the very talented: Patrick Kosiewicz Uzodinma Okehi Jonathan Reeve
The film begins years after a modern nuclear war.
Dystopic action movie starring only women.
The one man who appears seems to be a crusty remnant of an expired society.
The women, who all carry machine guns, have grown up without sociality and its constraints.
Ladies running round with bullets and horses, uninterested in repopulating a dead planet.
Superb cinematography, editing, and visual metaphors
Sunday 5/9 7 PM
Celebrate Mother’s Day with a slideshow by CCNY professor and tattoo expert Ina Saltz, author of “Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh
Wednesday 5/5 8 PM
Release party for three local fanzines: Aaron Lake Smith (Big Hands), Dani Golumb (Savage Forest) and Rudi Munroe (Pale and Clammy) will read, plus guest author Andrew Hill.
Sunday 4/18 7PM
Canadian author Ruth Simkin reads from ‘The Jagged Years of Ruthie J’, a memoir of being wrongly instituionalized in an American mental hospital.
Thursday 4/15 7PM
‘Radical Zine Reading’ featuring Tomas of ‘Rad Dad’ (a mag about radical parenting) and friends.
Thursday 4/8 7PM
nycfeministread presents the film ‘Born in Flames’.
Friday 4/2 8PM
‘Good Friday/Black Friday’—a reading and release celebration for Nicole Wallace’s book ‘White Flowers’, a “potpourri of painted poems and variations on some themes.”
Wednesday 3/31 7PM
Tuesday, February 23rd
SOON Quarterly Release Party and Reading
for New Spring 2010 Issue
Friday, February 12th 8-10pm
Slice Harvester Pizza Party Zine Release!
The Slice Harvester is a man who is making good on his dream to eat a slice of pizza in every pizzeria in NYC! His story has been chronicled in The Daily News, NPR and many other news outlets, but on Friday at BOOK THUG NATION he'll be telling it himself as he reads from Vol. 1 of his pizza zine. For an idea of what to expect check out (and be sure to bookmark!) his site
www.sliceharvester.blogspot.com
January 23rd, 7pm
Reading and book signing by D.W. Lichtenberg author of The Ancient Book of Hip
January 23rd, 9pm
Thursday January 14th, 2010, 7pm 
January 11th, 2010, 7pm
As President Obama calls for more troops to Afghanistan, Americans have become divided in their support of the war. The U.S. Defense Department states that as of Dec. 24, 2009, 859 members of the U.S. military had died as a result of the war in Afghanistan, with 2009 being the deadliest year for U.S. and NATO troops and with the highest civilian casualties. It has become apparent to nations with troops in Afghanistan that security cannot be achieved through military means alone.
Will sending more U.S. troops reduce the conflict? Why have billions of dollars of U.S. funding spent since 9/11 not led to greater stability? Why have opium production and corruption increased since the Taliban were ousted? Dr. Nadir Atash is a renowned Afghan-American educator, entrepreneur, activist, and author of TURBULENCE –The Tumultuous Journey of One Man's Quest for Change in Afghanistan. Based on his unique firsthand experiences as a former Afghan Government official, he offers solutions on what it will take to stabilize Afghanistan.
TURBULENCE provides over fifty years of personal insight into Afghanistan – starting in the 1950’s when Afghans thought fondly of John F. Kennedy and America – to the subsequent Soviet war, the rise of the Taliban, and U.S. engagement following the attacks of 9/11 when Dr. Atash became an advisor to the Government of Afghanistan.
Through real life chilling accounts, Dr. Atash's book shows how corruption has become one of the greatest enemies to stability in Afghanistan and offers practical advice on how the international community can improve its assistance. His exposure of corruption in Afghanistan in 2006 resulted in media smear campaigns, arrest warrants, and death threats in an effort by Afghan officials to silence him. Now, the warnings he provided three years ago about the effects of rising corruption are being recognized by the international community. His quest for justice is a great inspirational tale, from which individuals and nations supporting the cause of freedom and democracy can learn. Dr. Atash’s efforts show that with committed leadership and meaningful action, there is hope for positive change.
The author’s book talk will be followed by an opportunity for participants to ask questions and a book signing. The discussion will impart valuable knowledge about how the U.S. can improve its strategy, thus creating a self-governing Afghanistan so that American troops can come home. www.turbulencethebook.com.
Saturday, 12/19 7:30pm-11:00pm
RepoMan/Mad Max Movie Night and Bakesale
Just $5 for two classic 1980s dystopian technothrillers and a chance to sample home-baked goods? all funds used to send free books to people in prison? that's right. Come support New York City's books to prisoners program. Learn about Books Through Bars here
7:30pm -- MAD MAX II: THE ROAD WARRIOR
1982, directed by George Miller
"In a post-nuclear war world, a lone adventurer who drives the roads of outback Australia in an endless search for gasoline. His opponents include Lord Humungus, and they battle over a tiny band of civilized survivors and their horde of fuel."
Haven't seen Mad Max I? Don't worry about it.
9:30pm -- REPO MAN
1984, directed by Alex Cox
"Otto, a baby-face punk played by Emilio Estevez, becomes an apprentice to Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a coke-snorting, veteran repo-man-of-honor prowling the streets of a Los Angeles wasteland populated by hoods, wackos, burnouts, conspiracy theorists, and aliens of every stripe." (blurbs from Amazon)
Cake -- cake, cake, cake, cookies, cake! Lovingly prepared.
Monday, 12/7 6-8pm
Green Brooklyn!
Street Tree Care Workshop
Adopt a Tree and Receive Free Gardening Tools from Million Trees NYC!
Saturday, 12/5 2pm
"Annabel Adams and the Puzzling Project"
By Caitlin & Nancy Connelly
Wedesday, 12/2 8pm
On the evening of November 18th the regents of the University of
California voted to raise undergraduate tuition to more than $10,000
per year, a 32 percent increase. There was also the announcement of
massive layoffs and furloughing. From November 18-20, students,
faculty, and workers of the University of California at Berkeley
striked, marched, and occupied buildings throughout the campus.
People collected garbage and piled it in front of California Hall.
Students and demonstrators battled police lines to attempt to enter
the administration building. Average college students quickly became
militants. Graduate students laid down books and hit the streets.
Union members, students, and activists joined together in struggle.
General assemblies became part of everyday campus life. Police and
campus administrators lost control of the situation and the media
looked in awe.
Brandon Jourdan went to document the events that unfolded at the UC
Berkeley strike.
On December 2 at 8PM, there will be a special screening of Jourdan’s
footage at Book Thug Nation, 100 N. 3rd St, between Berry St and Wythe
Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He will be showing unseen footage from
the Berkeley uprising and speaking about the situation in California.
There will also be students from the New School occupations talking
about the current situation in NYC. The event is open and free of charge.
About Brandon Jourdan
Brandon Jourdan is an award-winning independent filmmaker, journalist,
and writer. Jourdan has contributed to the NY Times, CNN, Babelgum,
Reuters, Deep Dish TV, Democracy Now!, the Independent Media Center,
Now with Bill Moyers, Foreign Exchange, and Free Speech Television.
Visit www.brandonjourdan.blogspot.
Wednesday 11/18
Thursday 11/19
The Lecture Series (www.thelectureseries.com) 8pm
Lecture 1:
The Oscar Wilde Economy: what is it, how did it happen and can it last?
Lecture 2:
Cyber-Society: why net neutrality is the most important issue no one cares about
*** A Night of Social Criticism with Devin Reitsma, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., M.W.O. ***Lecture 1:The Oscar Wilde Economy: what is it, how did it happen and can it last?Lecture 2:Cyber-Society: why net neutrality is the most important issue no one cares about
*** A Night of Social Criticism with Devin Reitsma, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., M.W.O. ***Lecture 1:The Oscar Wilde Economy: what is it, how did it happen and can it last?Lecture 2:Cyber-Society: why net neutrality is the most important issue no one cares about
*** A Night of Social Criticism with Devin Reitsma, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., M.W.O. ***Lecture 1:The Oscar Wilde Economy: what is it, how did it happen and can it last?Lecture 2:Cyber-Society: why net neutrality is the most important issue no one cares about
Friday 11/20
Take It or Leave It Poetry Reading
8pm
featuring....
Thera Webb
Bill Cassidy
Cody Clevidence
Much more to come. To receive one weekly email about events and happenings at the store, sent us an email at info@bookthugnation.com with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Also, feel free to email us if you'd like to hold your own event (readings, movie nights, children's readings, etc.)
Thursday 11/12 The Lecture Series (www.thelectureseries.com)
Liam Turkle
"Mash Ups & Mysticism"
About The Lecture Series -
The Lecture is the new power chord. Like the canvas and pop song once were, the Lecture is a kinetic medium. It is an option. The Lecture is our media of choice for liberating non-specialized knowledge transmission. And the exact opposite. The Lecture doesn’t have to be art or innovation to be effective. The Lecture is as modern as you want it to be. You don’t have to be sober for a Lecture.
Practical sentence: The internet is for cowards. It’s easy and non-confrontational – exactly like the 21st century. Live communication is ecstatic knowledge confrontation. Human vocalization is dangerous and confusing. It’s easy to blame the confusion for our vacuum society. Understanding and Confusion are enemies, it’s true, but confusion is an effect not a cause. Besides, confusion is more fun than understanding.
Communication was once a survival technique, now it is as useful as an appendix. Communication is confusing. This is one reason for starting the Lecture Series – to learn how to be confused. Automatic evolution makes speech more and more useless everyday, and we’d hate to see vocal expression buried under a bonfire of iPods.
“Ideas are for everyone.”
11/5 Lecture Series
Thursday 10/29 THE LECTURE SERIES (www.thelectureseries.com)
8pm!8pm!8pm!
Sunday, 10/25 6-7pm Talk by Performance Artists Tim Bromage and Erik Hokanson, following their performances this weekend at Grace Exhibition Space. (www.grace-exhibition-space.com)
TIM BROMAGE [Wales, UK]
Artist statement: Primarily taking inspiration from biblical narrative and religious imagery, my performance explores notions of loss, sin and redemption. Themes of machismo and the industrial workplace are also recurrent within these works, as is the use of costume that makes reference to personal mythologies and stereotypes. Often ambiguous in their meaning, they can be perceived as either ridiculous or unsettling.
ERIK HOKANSON [Newark, NJ]
Erik Hokanson's performance work has lately focused on the idea that the food we eat always comes from life. Eating is always an act of violence. You, me, the carrot, fish, and steak we eat, the bacteria that makes us sick, or the mold on our bread, all share a common ancestor. Everything we eat is our relative.
ERIK HOKANSON'S work focuses on the body in actions. Although he came to Performance Art recently, he has found a home within this medium. He has already exhibited internationally, in Europe, Asia and the United States. His background was first in theater, until he moved onto sculpture and woodworking from hand-making exquisite guitars to shingl;ing roofs. Yet, he has found a medium to challenge existing ideas forcefully through his performances
Thursday, 10/22 8:30 PM THE LECTURE SERIES (www.thelectureseries.com)
Willis Elkins:
"Expanding arenas and exploding stadiums"
Scott Schwartz:
"Death to the neo-easternists! Long live the neo-easternists!"
