Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Tonight Jean-Michele is performing at THE MOTH at the New York Public Library. In her own words, here's what she'll be talking about:


"I'll be telling a story at the New York Public Library about a trip I took to rural Ukraine to find my grandmother's village. Expect midnight border crossings, boiled chicken hearts, ethnic cleansing, and tiny cars filled to the brim with potatoes and sugar beets."

It's thrilling to be going as a noncombatant tonight, and to get to soak in my wife's performance--if anyone is free and in the city, please come. I hear there's already over 500 people on the books--it should be fantastic.



THE MOTH, LIVE AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

"You think your pains and heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of
the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things
that tormented me were the very things that connected me with all the people
who were alive, or who have ever been alive." --James Baldwin

The Moth, together with “LIVE from the NYPL”, presents

Between the Covers: Stories about Life and Letters

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

In the beginning, there was the Word. . .

For all those who worship at the altar of language; for those whose daily
divinities are measured in chapters, not chants; we invite you to the High
Holy Temple of Text, The New York Public Library, to celebrate the
nourishment of the written word. Join us as five storytellers explore
whether it is we who shape the words, or the words that mystically shape us.

Stories told by:
Jean-Michele Gregory
Joe Lockhart
Calvin Miles
David Rakoff

And other special guests!

Hosted by:
Jonathan Ames

Violin:
Katy Cox

Curated by:
Terri Galvin
Jenifer Hixson
Paul Holdengräber

6:30pm Doors Open
7:30pm Stories Start on Stage

FREE LIQUOR provided by Hendrick's Gin, Glenfiddich & Armadale Vodka!

at the New York Public Library
Celeste Bartos Forum
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue (entrance on 42nd Street)

$10 Tickets (Library prices – come out in droves!) available now at
http://www.smarttix.com/ <http://www.smarttix.com/>
or by calling 212-868-4444.

Artistic Director: Catherine Burns
Associate Producer: Sarah Austin Jenness
Executive and Creative Director: Lea Thau

About the Storytellers:

Jonathan Ames (host), a writer and performer, is the author of I Pass Like
Night, The Extra Man, What’s Not to Love?, My Less Than Secret Life, and
Wake Up, Sir! He is the editor of the recently published Sexual
Metamorphosis: Anthology of Transsexual Memoirs and he is the winner of a
Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a recurring guest on the Late Show with David
Letterman, and his comedic memoir What’s Not to Love? was filmed as a TV
pilot for the Showtime network. Mr. Ames wrote the script and played
himself, which was a stretch but he pulled it off. His novels The Extra Man
and Wake Up Sir! are in development as films with screenplays by Mr. Ames.
Visit his website at
http://www.jonathanames.com
<
http://www.jonathanames.com/>

Jean-Michele Gregory has directed productions Off-Broadway and around the
world, including the Cherry Lane Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the
Spoleto Festival, Intiman Theatre, the Edinburgh Festival and many more. She
specializes in working with solo performers to create theatrical works based
on biographical material, and has been engaged in a longtime collaboration
with Mike Daisey, with whom she's created 21 Dog Years, Wasting Your Breath,
Monopoly!, and the series All Stories Are Fiction. This winter she'll be
teaching a course on storytelling and solo performance at Colby College.
She's a contributor to the New York Sun, and is currently writing a memoir
about her grandmother's life in pre-war Poland and the fantastic series of
events that led her family to Texas.

Joe Lockhart served as White House Press Secretary and Senior Advisor to
President Clinton from 1998-2000, where he conducted daily press conferences
for White House journalists, and briefed the President and senior members of
his Administration on all press matters. From 1991 to 1995 he was Executive
Vice-President at Bozell Sawyer Miller advising clients, including Microsoft
and Coca-Cola. Before joining the White House in 1997, he was National Press
Secretary for the Clinton/Gore '96 re-election campaign. He was the Deputy
Press Secretary for the Dukakis/Bentsen '88 presidential campaign, traveling
with the nominee. In 1984, he was Assistant Press Secretary for the
Mondale/Ferraro campaign and during the 1980 Carter/Mondale campaign he was
a Regional Press Coordinator. Lockhart has also held key positions at SKY
Television News of London, Cable News Network (CNN), and ABC Network News.
He is currently a Partner with The Glover Park Group who specializes in
media relations and political strategy.

Calvin Miles was born in 1942 in Gadsten, North Carolina, where he spent two
decades working as a farmer before moving to New York City. He is on the
Board of Directors of The Grassroots Literacy Coalition (
http://www.glcnyc.org)
where he serves as Co-Chairman and is president of Voice for Literacy United
for Education. Miles has two sons and three grandchildren. He is the author
of the book Calvin's Christmas Wish (Puffin Books).

David Rakoff is the author of the books Fraud and the forthcoming Don’t Get
Too Comfortable (Doubleday, September 2005). A regular contributor to
Public Radio International’s This American Life, GQ, and The New York Times
Magazine, he can be seen this fall in the films Strangers With Candy,
starring Amy Sedaris and Capote, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman.