Patti Smith strode into Great Hall wearing pink socks, jeans, short boots, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket. "I grew up in the 50s where most people were getting rid of old stuff," she began, talking about finding a first edition of Dickens, having guardianship of Artur Rimbaud's calling card. Author Jonathan Lethem, who recalled going to CBGB's as a teen, asked knowing questions, and the conversation flowed as though these two hadn't just met, Patti complimenting his (Ramones) sneakers. With her hands in play, Smith went on, "I don't think of myself as a musician but more as a writer and performer," recounting not only how Mapplethorpe mentored her when they were at Pratt but also how becoming part of a...
Summery day. Drifts of tree pollen and cherry blossoms in the air. New Yorkers baring arms, legs, tattoos. Mayday protest for workers’ rights in Union Square, cheek by jowlwith fresh arugula and fiddleheads at the greenmarket. Masses of strollers with ice cream...
It's icily cold in Instito Cervantes on 49th Street. Maybe the Spanish institute wants us to forget it's a beautiful night outside. But we can live with this onslaught of air condition since we're going to watch a lot of short films.
And what a feast it is. For two hours we "visit" India, Chile, Israel, and Chicago. We travel through landscapes that touch us to films that are downright pretentious. However, all of them are poetry in motion, so to speak - they explore the relationship between words and image. So we laugh, we smile, we are enlightened and irritated - what more can you ask for, while you freeze to death in beautiful surroundings?
