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Arts
We are creatures of habit that need signals — the closing of a door, the word “goodbye,” the train leaving the station — to tell us when something's coming to an end. And when that end decidedly comes, we use it as cause for reflection, transition and ultimately a new beginning. In her new book Exit: The Endings That Set Us Free, renowned scholar Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot examines the role of endings in our lives, studying the patterns we rely on to let us know when something is over.
A storyteller by nature and a sociologist by training, Lawrence-Lightfoot has achieved the kind of cultural theory writing that is both complex and accessible. Known mainly for her work on the sociology of education, her book The Good High School: Portraits of Character and Culture earned her an Outstanding Book Award from the American Educational Research Association, one of countless prestigious awards she's received over the course of her career. Her tenth book, Exit, aptly marks her own kind of transition, away from education theory and toward a broader study of cultural phenomena. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Free Library (1901 Vine St.), guests can get the opportunity to hear excerpts from the book and share in a conversation with one of the foremost cultural thinkers of our generation. Free.
To sleep: perchance to read. The Dead Bards of Philadelphia welcome all ye with a penchant for poetry (or an old-fashioned love affair with a rivaling family) to come read your words or those of a favorite author. Join them tonight at their Open Poetry Night as they awaken Shakespeare’s ghost at The Spiral Bookcase (112 Cotton St.) at 8 p.m.
What a Phillies game is to a ball fan, a Story Slam is to a storyteller. But even though bookish types are often pinned as glasses-wearing, cat-loving, indoors-huddling nerds, don't think they can't hoot and holler with the passion of a true phan. Story slams are a place to don your best thinking cap and spin a killer tale that will win the ears of the crowd. The competition gets fierce: Aside from relaying an exciting series of events, good storytelling requires confidence, conviction and delivery.
Every month at World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.), the First Person Arts Story Slam embodies this spirit of creative competition, providing a platform for some of Philly's finest tale-spinners. The rundown is the same each time: Ten names are drawn from a bucket of brave volunteers who are each given five minutes to tell their story on a given theme. Audience members score each performance on a ten-point scale, and the highest-scoring competitor wins an invite to compete in the prestigious Grand Slam. A winning story could land you the title of Best Storyteller in Philadelphia, and a bad story? Well, screwing up could be just the inspiration you need for tonight's story theme, “My Favorite Mistake.” Starts at 8:30 p.m., $10.
Artists are starving. Art collectors are billionaires. In an effort to reverse this age-old inequality, Inliquid presents the 13th installment of Art for the Cash Poor — a weekend block party dedicated to affordable art. Held at the Crane Arts Building (1400 N. American St.), the event features over 100 artists with offerings priced well under $100. From the clothing of Orgotton (yes, that's chic talk for “organic cotton”) to the dreamy etchings of Sheila Burstein, the event is the perfect place to track down a one-of-a-kind gift and support up-and-coming local artists — all without breaking the bank.
An all-star music lineup will provide the tunes, featuring local favorites The Downtown Club, New Brunswick rapper Wali Lundy and ambient/Mariachi/surf rockers Gringo Motel, just to name a few. If you need to catch some grub after all the jamming and art-collecting, a wide selection of Philly food trucks will be dishing out their delicacies. The whole shebang kicks off with a special opening party on Fri., June 8 at 8 p.m. and continues Sat., June 9 and Sun., June 10 from noon to 6 p.m.
When you send an email to a friend, where does it go? If you answered “to my friend,” you are very smart, but can you tell me how it physically got there? Among its many revolutionizing facets, the Internet does away with physical space: An email sent to someone in the next room takes roughly the same amount of travel time as an email sent to a relative in China. Thousands of miles are traversed in a matter of seconds and space ceases to exist. Yet, space does exist, even in the strange realm of the Internet.
In his new book Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, Andrew Blum uncovers the mystery of the web, giving nuts-and-bolts explanations for the seemingly magical powers of online communication. From the room in Los Angeles where the Internet first sparked to the 10,000-mile underwater cable connecting Europe to Africa, Blum provides the blueprint for the physical web behind the virtual web. Hear him speak for free at the Free Library (1901 Vine St.) tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and discover exactly how it is that you — and your cousin in Venezuela and her friend in France — are reading these words that I never sent to you.
Now in the midst of Beer Week, Philadelphians have the chance to satiate their ears as well as their throats. The craft beer craze sweeping this hops-happy city finds its roots in George Hummel’s Sansom Street store, Home Sweet Homebrew, which he opened in 1986 with his wife Nancy. The shop offers beer- and wine-making supplies for customers of all levels of expertise looking to join the vibrant brewing community.
In The Complete Homebrew Beer Book Hummel shares the his knowledge about the essentials of beer-making that won him the silver medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. He'll be joined by brewing historian Rich Wagner, who will assist in elaborating on Philadelphia’s important place in the history of the homebrew, this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Philadelphia Free Library’s Central Branch (1901 Vine St.).
Bacteria is bad for you. When food starts smelling, it's time to throw it out. These age-old kitchen rules are generally good ones to live by, except for the hundreds of foods and drinks that actually require the growth of bacteria to make them taste the way we do — we're talking cheese, wine, cured meat and beer. As author Sandor Katz (aka Sandor Kraut) proclaims, “Eating bacteria is one of life's greatest pleasures.”
The unofficial "King of Fermentation," Mr. Kraut preaches the probiotic gospel, bringing ancient secrets of food preservation into contemporary kitchens. More than a food fad, Sandor points to fermented foods as a major contributor in his own continuing battle against HIV/AIDS. His books Wild Fermentation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved are both classics in the world of grassroots and alternative food activism, filling a void in the literature on yummy bacteria. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Central Branch of the Free Library (1901 Vine St.), he'll read from his latest, The Art of Fermentation, providing recipes and ideas for the at-home live-culture foodist.
Have a lit event you'd like featured in an upcoming Bookish? Email the author at nina@citypaper.net.
It is hard for Debora Kodish, founder of the Philadelphia Folklore Project to imagine they are actually celebrating 25 years with a party and their first awards ceremony Saturday night at the Painted Bride.
“We started as a project to honor the centennial of the American Folklore Society.” Kodish recalls that the original folklorists of the 19th century were English literature specialists and anthropology scholars who felt entire ways of life were disappearing and they needed to “save” them. “They were sympathetic outsiders.”
PFP has developed its niche as a support organization, no deus ex machina here wanting to swoop in to the rescue, rather sympathetic outsiders who want to pull back the curtains to reveal resources that are available to communities who know how to ask for them. “We were only supposed to be a [one-off] project.” Then it became apparent that, “The groups that were custodians of the work had visions and needed help to get them funded — it was clear that folklore was underfunded. We started doing grant writing workshops from the beginning. We were trying to change the equation.” The figures she provides sound like success. PFP has expedited grants of “3.2 million dollars over the 25 years, going to over 350 artists.” Kodish notes that PFP has more than 1100 artists in their data base for researchers who need information on folklife of all nature in and around Philly.
The first projects for PFP were artisans in the Italian-American community around their original home at the Fleischer in South Philly. If you’ve ever gone through the main entrances of the old Wanamakers flagship store — now Macy’s — you’ve seen the mosaic art of Salvatore Cernigliaro. Those extravagant renderings of the JW initials were done by him during the building boom in the early days of the last century. Boom turned to bust, Cernigliaro turned to tailoring. His grandkids didn’t even know he’d ever done mosaics. This is the kind of honor and preservation that PFP promotes.
Kodish philosophizes: “We are a really little organization, [at] the place where folk arts and social change cross, both artist and activisits have a part. We want to amplify the voices. It’s been an incredible privilege.” Describing the genesis of a permanent exhibition at the PFP headquarters on 50th Street she continues, “When we were doing field work for the Folk Arts in Social Change we visited activists Bill and Miriam Crawford in their home on Parkside Avenue. Bill had been making a collage of all their rallies and protests on their dining room wall for over 50 years. We were lucky to raise the funds to save the collage when they moved out. The conservators loved the challenge! It has been featured in their journals.”
Plenty of party between the awards celebrations at this fundraiser: Kulu Mele with African dance and drums, Terrance Cameron, steel drumming and Elaine Watts Klezmer with Katt Flagg on accordion.
Sat., June 2, 6:30 p.m., $65, Painted Bride Art Center 230 Vine, PFP for info, 215 726 1106. More info here.
Philly's favorite balls-to-the-wall drag comedy troupe will present their performances through a different medium starting this weekend. The Light Room Gallery (2024 Wallace St.) will host a photographic retrospective of the most memorable performances and antics of the Dumpsta' Players, starting June 3 and running through June 30.
The Players you know and love for their satirical and outrageous acts will be celebrated with the work of five Philadelphia photographers. Gregory Carafelli, Jason Colflesh, John Donges, Tom Sheeder Jr. and Al Wachlin Jr. will all exhibit photos displaying 15 years of the group's standout performances and backstage moments.
For extra credit, check out episodes of their shows on Comcast 66 and Verizon Fios 29/30 on Tue., June 5 at midnight and Fri. - Sat. June-8-9 at 11 p.m.
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View gallery
Whoever said storytelling was for children will have a run for their money tomorrow (Sat., June 7, 7 p.m.) at Musehouse's (7924 Germantown Ave.) free Storytelling Spectacular. Hosted by local story-weaver Hillary Rea, this grownups-only story time features a roster of writers, poets and comedians like TEDx2011 speaker R. Eric Thomas, whose solo show Will You Accept This Friend Request premiered to a sold out audience at the 2011 First Person Festival, and Marjorie Fineberg Winther, who took the title of Best Storyteller in Philadelphia at this year's Grand Slam. If you are an aspiring storyteller or just nostalgic for some bedtime tales, the Storytelling Spectacular will renew your faith in the power of a good story.
Have a lit event you'd like featured in an upcoming Bookish? Email the author at nina@citypaper.net.
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