WHO? Get Ready NYC! For the Love of Literature: Literary Society No. 8

Cartoon/Wit by Anthony Haden Guest

05-08-2013 Each generation has something to say. And each generation has it’s own New York City novel. When people talk of generational fiction, they are often referring to the coming of age novel. For our purposes this evening at the debut of Literary Society No. 8 — at Amy Sacco’s No. 8 lounge in Chelsea– we’ll traverse modern interpretations on the theme.

The time line of this shaky yet vital period is illustrated by the  teen angst and exploration once portrayed by Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s Cather in the Rye, to young twenties making a mark post war, as Jay Gatsby did in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby. Jay McInerney’s unnamed protagonist in Bright Lights, Big City,  in his own 80’s way, discovers like Gatsby, that all that glitters is not gold. Bret Easton Ellis cast a dark shadow of yuppie Manhattan high life with his twenty-something serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (now about to become a musical!) And Warhol muse, Tama Janowitz added a uniquely female perspective to downtown NYC living in Slaves of New York.

What I have noticed is the time line of pivotal coming of age literature seems to ignite every three decades. F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Roaring 20’s (Post World War I); J.D. Salinger in the 50’s (post World War II); and Janowitz, Easton Ellis, and most poignantly McInerney in (post Vietnam) 80’s.

And now post “9-11” we are at that pivotal juncture once again.

Tonight, I’ll be reading from Who Town, my novel of five NYC ‘it kids’ whose private lives are vastly different than how they portray themselves to the media. And I’m especially pleased and excited to share the stage with talented peers who will debut both fiction and non fiction  tales of confusion and awakening: author/journalist Bob Morris, playwright Nathaniel Kressen; Enclave Reading Series Co-founder Jason Napoli Brooks; Witty scribe/award winning travel writer Paula Froelich; Bohemian force of nature Arden Wohl; and writer/cartoonist/art critic/survivor of Studio 54, Anthony Haden Guest. (See link below for his latest animation at Standard  Culture!) PLUS! We’ll have some surprise guests.

GET READY NYC! We’re about to bring thinking back, commune around stories, approach literature and each other in a whole new way. (**Here’s a fun little ditty by Anthony Haden Guest: Standard Culture Blog/Anthony Haden Guest)

**UPDATES ON THE EVENING’S PROGRAM WILL BE POSTED @whotown

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