BOOKISH: Film disasters, CA Conrad and Politico's chief columnist

Each week, Nina Willbach puts together a rundown of book-centric events. This week: A reading from CAConrad's new book, a history of film disasters and a talk by Politico's chief political columnist.

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BOOKISH: Film disasters, CA Conrad and Politico's chief columnist

POSTED: Thursday, March 8, 2012, 11:00 AM

Filed Under: Arts Books

Each week, Nina Willbach puts together a rundown of book-centric events. This week: A reading from CA Conrad's new book, a history of film disasters and a talk by Politico's chief political columnist.

Thursday, March 8

Los Lonely Boys

It's rare that a poet shares the inner-workings of his process. We'd like to think bursts of genius just befall him mid-sleep, urging him to grab a bedside pen and nearest scrap of paper before the moment passes. In Philly-based poet CA Conrad's newest book, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon, he uncovers some of the mystery and offers a kind of blueprint for aspiring poets. The book contains 27 off-the-wall literary prompts, each accompanied by Conrad's own creative answer. With a refreshing blend of poetry, textbook and conversation, Conrad delivers helpful guidance without losing any poetic authority. Tonight he joins writer Lonely Christopher, whose debut collection The Mechanics of Sexual Intercourse follows several relatable protagonists as they navigate the oceans of love and suffering.

5:30 p.m., free, Giovanni's Room, 345 S. 12th St., giovannisroom.com.

Friday, March 9

The Need for Speed

Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid makes buildings that look like flying saucers. With angular metallics and reflective curves, her designs seem to defy the rules of architecture, and even the law of gravity. Her designs, which have transformed landscapes from Singapore to Dubai, are not limited to the physical building; she has applied her futuristic aesthetic to shoes, furniture, and vehicles. Tonight, car enthusiast Kenny Schachter will discuss Hadid's Z-Car, which he first commissioned from her in 2006. With the compactness of a sports car and the sleek interior of a leather couch, this adorable three-wheeler looks like the protagonist in an adult version of Cars. For car junkies and art enthusiasts alike, the designs of Zaha Hadid offer a glimpse of outer space without all the fuss of getting in a spaceship.

5:30 p.m., free, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, philamuseum.org.

Saturday, March 10

I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees!

Remember when the Lorax was just a cranky orange guy with an appreciation for trees and rhyming? With the recent release of the movie version and election season beginning, the mustached little guy from Dr. Seuss' imagination now stands for more than the trees—he's been dubbed the mascot for those damn tree-hugging liberals. (This despite the bizarro commercial with a Mazda SUV driving through the Truffula Trees.) Today, the Lorax makes an off-the-campaign-trail appearance at the nonpartisan Philadelphia Zoo. Guests can participate in readings of the Dr. Seuss classic and take pictures with the Lorax himself.

Hourly appearances between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., free with admission, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave., philadelphiazoo.org.

Sunday, March 11

Apocalypse on the Set

Among the lesser-known accomplishments of late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il is his epic, Godzilla-inspired film Pulgasari, with a stranger-than-fiction production backstory involving a budget in the millions, a kidnapped Korean director, and a staff of 700 fed exclusively on pheasants, wild geese and deer. In his book Apocalypse on the Set, Ben Taylor delves into Pulgasari and many other disastrous film productions from Waterworld to Apocalpyse Now to Fitzcarraldo, a movie in which Werner Herzog famously tried to recreate the Sisyphusian ordeal of moving a steamship over a steep hill in the Amazon rainforest by having his crew literally move a 320-ton steamship over a steep hill in the Amazon rainforest.

2 p.m., free, Moonstone Arts Center, 110 S. 13th St., moonstoneartscenter.org.

Monday, March 12

Around the World

It's the second Monday of the month, and that means another First Person Arts Story Slam. More varied than standup and less formal than a poetry reading, the slam is a chance for storytellers all over the city to dig through their past in search of a 5-minute tale that relates to the night's theme. All participants are judged by a panel of audience members, and the winner gets a chance to compete in the annual Grand Slam. We embedded last month's winner, from a night themed "The Social Network," above as an example — dig through your scrapbooks and travel-logs for adventure stories in honor of tonight's theme, “Around the World."

8:30 p.m., $10, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., worldcafelive.com.

Tuesday, March 13

Soy Vay!

While most businesses shut down for Christmas, Chinese restaurants are pretty much guaranteed to be packed. For American Jews, the custom of eating Chinese on Christmas dates almost as far back as the burning of the second temple. The tradition has spawned entire kosher Chinese establishments, one of the more delicious examples of cultural fusion. For Philadelphia Jew Micheal Levy, this happy union was further cemented when the Peace Corps sent him to the city of Guiyang in Southwest China. Aside from working as an English teacher, Levy quickly adopted the additional roles of resident expert on Judaism, basketball champion and romantic advisor. Join him for a discussion of his hilarious new book Kosher Chinese, the cover of which features Levy wearing a Mao Zedong yarmulke. One ticket includes a glatt kosher Chinese meal.

7 p.m., $18-$38, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., gershmany.org.

Wednesday, March 14

Hey Ho Politico!

For the past three decades, current Politico chief politics columnist Roger Simon has stepped up to the challenge posed by the changing faces of politics and journalism, winning such prestigious awards as the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award for commentary (twice). He's focused on the White House, from campaigning to Monica Lewinsky, and with election season already upon us, the Kelly Writers House has invited Simon to share his expertise on the evolution of partisan politics and the presidential race.

12:00 p.m., free, Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk, writing.upenn.edu/wh/.

Have a lit event you'd like to see in an upcoming Bookish? Email the author at nina@citypaper.net.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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