From the New York Public Library’s website:
A Tribute to NUALA O’FAOLAIN
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
at 7:00 PM
Celeste Bartos Forum
Humanities and Social Sciences Library
5th Avenue and 42nd Street (directions)
THIS EVENT IS FREE but reservations are required. Make reservations.
Friends and fellow Irish writers of Nuala O’Faolain, who died in Dublin on May 9, will gather to pay tribute to one of Ireland’s best-loved writers.
Internationally known for her searing memoir, Are You Somebody, as well as her acclaimed first novel, My Dream of You, O’Faolain was widely respected in Ireland as an award-winning television producer, journalist, and columnist for The Irish Times before her memoir caused a sensation on its publication in 1999. Her unblinking, unsentimental description of an impoverished Irish childhood that struck a chord with readers world-wide became a New York Times bestseller.
Frank McCourt, Paul Muldoon, Fintan O’Toole, Polly Devlin, Julie Grau, Sheridan Hay, John Low-Beer, and others will honor Nuala O’Faolain’s life with reminiscence, traditional music, and readings from her work.
Special live musical performance by vocalist Susan McKeown, guitarist Eamon O’Leary, fiddler Dana Lyn, and piper Ivan Goff. During March 2005, McKeown appeared with O’Faolain at LIVE from the NYPL.

Martin Schneider writes:

I was just riffling through my inbox (such a tactile metaphor), and the following event at the 92nd Street Y jumped out at me. From the Y’s latest press release:
Tuesday, June 10, 8:15 pm, $26
The Lamentations of Ian Frazier
Whether flat-out funny in his Shouts and Murmurs columns in The New Yorker (most recently, the column about the man who bought and is renovating Wyoming), thoughtful and moving in books like On the Rez or far-ranging and perceptive in essay collections like the upcoming Lamentations of the Father, Ian Frazier is an American original. A mix of journalist and comedian, heir to Mark Twain and James Thurber, Frazier brings a sharp but loving eye to the vagaries of American life. He talks with WNYC’s Leonard Lopate.
I’ve never seen Frazier speak, I bet he’s very entertaining. I wish I were in NYC for this but—ain’t.
Plus, don’t overlook this event at the same venue:
Monday, June 2, 8:15 pm, $26
Bill McKibben on the Environment
When, in the 1980s, Bill McKibben started writing about climate change and the environment in The New Yorker, he was one of the first mainstream writers to draw attention to the subject. His writing profoundly affected Al Gore, among others. McKibben’s books include The End of Nature, The Age of Missing Information and Enough; this spring, Times Books has published a collection of his essays, The Bill McKibben Reader, and he is the editor of American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau (Library of America).

Martin Schneider writes:
The details for the New Yorker Conference are here—everything that’s scheduled for the two days of events on May 7 and 8. The dedicated website also lists bios of the participants, and more. As always, Emdashes is proud to be able to provide comprehensive coverage of the event, so stay tuned!
Here’s the schedule:
Thursday, May 8
7:30 a.m.-8:55 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m.-9:10 a.m.
Welcome by David Remnick
9:10 a.m.-9:40 a.m.
“Reinventing Invention”
Keynote Address by Malcolm Gladwell
9:45 a.m.-10:05 a.m.
“The Green City”
Dana Goodyear talks with Gavin Newsom
10:10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
“A More Perfect Union”
James Surowiecki talks with Andy Stern
10:35 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
“23 and You”
Michael Specter talks with Linda Avey and Anne Wojicki
11:05 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
BREAK
11:40 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
“Creative Intelligence”
Jane Mayer talks with Eric Haseltine
12:10 p.m.-12:30 p.m.
“Neurobiotics: Where Humans and Robots Connect”
Presentation by Yoky Matsuoka
12:35 p.m.-1:05 p.m.
“Making Musicals Rock”
Susan Morrison talks with Duncan Sheik
1:10 p.m.-2:40 p.m.
LUNCH
2:50 p.m.-3:10 p.m.
“The Centre for Massive Change”
Presentation by Bruce Mau
3:15 p.m.-3:35 p.m.
“Constructing Culture”
Thelma Golden talks with David Adjaye
3:40 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
“Playing with Fire”
Bill Buford talks with David Chang, Daniel Humm, and Marc Taxiera
4:15 p.m.-4:35 p.m.
“How Bad Is It?: A Global View”
Nick Paumgarten talks with Michael Novogratz
4:40 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
BREAK
5:20 p.m.-5:40 p.m.
“Humanitarian Engineering”
Rebecca Mead talks with Amy Smith
5:45 p.m.-6:05 p.m.
“The Politics of Glamour”
Michael Specter talks with Francesco Vezzoli
6:10 p.m.-6:55 p.m.
COCKTAIL RECEPTION
7:15 p.m.-9:15 p.m.
DINNER at Eyebeam
Friday, May 9
7:45 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
BREAKFAST
8:40 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
“The Past, Present, and Future of Humor”
Presentation by Robert Mankoff
9:05 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
“Deconstructing the Airport”
Malcolm Gladwell talks with Paco Underhill
9:35 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
“Saving the World Through Game Design”
Daniel Zalewski talks with Jane McGonigal
10:00 a.m.-10:20 a.m.
“The Forever Campaign”
Ryan Lizza talks with Rahm Emanuel
10:25 a.m.-10:55 a.m.
BREAK
11:05 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
“The Tanning of America”
Kelefa Sanneh talks with Steve Stoute
11:30 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
“Securing the City”
William Finnegan talks with Raymond W. Kelly
11:55 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
“The Knockoff Economy”
James Surowiecki talks with Scott Hemphill and Kal Raustiala
12:20 p.m.-12:40 p.m.
“True Stories”
Jeffrey Toobin talks with Sheila Nevins
12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
LUNCH
2:10 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
“Opera: Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You”
Alex Ross talks with Peter Gelb
2:35 p.m.-2:55 p.m.
“The Post-American World”
David Remnick talks with Fareed Zakaria

…the Hulk would win, according to a charming and confident young man of ten I met yesterday in a brief tour of the Comic Con, where I focused on book publishers and sightings, as with a bird book, of Gothic Lolitas, hipster dads, and redheaded gentlemen. I was hoping to get a chance to see Caroline Kelly (animator, artist, and daughter of Walt), whom the Fantagraphics folks said was nearby, but I had to skedaddle.
Back to the contest above. I’m very far from being an expert in this field, but as I asked the young man in question, why would Superman bother with the Hulk in the first place? And would the Hulk be smart enough to bring Kryptonite?
Which leads me to the next point, which is, don’t miss Nancy Franklin’s recent piece on The Hills and other dwelling places of muscular but dim specimens of easily enraged, tightly clothed, questionably gifted, and sometimes amusing humankind.

I had to go buy two pristine copies of the magazine this morning for something I’m working on, and at the newsstand around the corner (on Madison and 30th, should you be stalking me), there were two copies left. “You’re lucky I have two!” said the proprietor of the small magazine shop. (Not to be confused with the little-magazine shop, Niko’s on Sixth Ave. at Eleventh St., where, years ago, a young Russian employee responded to the news that I was leaving The Nation for Newsday with the booming review, “From the socialists to the technocrats!”)
Are people buying magazines and newspapers these days? Yes, he said, but not as many, and definitely fewer newspapers. “Even the porn magazines, the foreign magazines, the tattoo magazines?” I asked, looking around the inventory. Yep, he’s selling fewer of all of the above. “But The New Yorker sells out?” “Every week, every copy.” So, you see, the news isn’t all bleak.

It’s curious—or a sign that we’re all getting out more and thinking about things—that we have so many On the Spot and Looked Into items lately, but we’ll get around to the other stuff in good time. I happen to know Benjamin is plotting a new Katharine Wheel column as we speak, although he has plenty else going on; he’s a busy man.
Not to say that he’s “exhausted”—I’m adding “exhausted” to my crotchety list of Banned Words and Phrases. You’ve just given birth, you work in a coal mine, you edited your first feature film in the nick of time: You’re probably exhausted. Otherwise, the thesaurus, Shakespeare, Damon Runyon, Rabelais, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mary Worth, etc., are full of apt phrases for whatever it is you are. Next time you find your mouth about to form the word “exhausted” after a long day of protein shakes and Scrabulous, see if you can come up with something a little more apropos. But on to the events! These are both at the 92nd Street Y, a reliable source of stuff worth the Emdashes seal of approval:

Thu, May 15, 8:15 pm, $26
STEVE COLL WITH DAVID REMNICK: THE BIN LADENS
As Steve Coll explains in The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (Penguin Press, 2008), Osama bin Laden is one of 54 children born to Mohamed bin Laden, who started as an illiterate bricklayer and became a wealthy and powerful businessman. Learn about the extensive bin Laden family, their international and American connections, their ties to the royal house of Saud and how all these factors affected Osama. Coll is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden. He talks with New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick.

Speaking of Remnick, he and a few other editors recently answered the Observer‘s question “Where Will Magazines Be Ten Years From Now?” Quick excerpt: “‘I don’t pretend to be alone in the world in running long pieces, which are things that require long periods of reporting and very considered writing,’ said Mr. Remnick. ‘As long as I’ll be here, and long after that, it’ll be central to our understanding of ourselves. That’s a promise.’”
Speaking of Andy Borowitz, who’ll appear in the following event, last night I finally went to see The Moth, and what took me so long? I loved it. A friend from the lindy scene, birdwatching soothsayer Tom Weiser (whom I’ve lost track of, so I’m counting on your having a live Google Alert, Tom!), told stories there for years and is probably still telling them, and when he’d invite me I always had other things to do (because I was so exhausted), and years later, here I am. So thanks, Jeff Simmermon, for helping make it happen at long last.
On to Andy and Trillin’s evening:

Wed, May 13, 8 pm, $26
COUNTDOWN TO THE ELECTION: ANDY BOROWITZ, JONATHAN ALTER, SUSIE ESSMAN, CALVIN TRILLIN
If you missed Andy Borowitz’s sold-out event at the 92nd Street Y last fall, dry your tears; he’s coming back to the Y with his wry, absurd perspective on this year’s wild political scene. Borowitz is an award-winning satirist who writes for The New Yorker and on his blog, The Borowitz Report. Joining him are the acid-tongued and hilarious Susie Essman, incisive Newsweek columnist and Huffington Post blogger Jonathan Alter and Calvin Trillin, who mixes earnest concern for American politics and liberties with a strong sense of the absurd – see his Obliviously on He Sails: The Bush Administration in Rhyme. Take a break from the intensity of the presidential campaign and remind yourself that there’s humor to be found everywhere in the political landscape.

From our friend (that’s the implied author-reader we) Kevin Fitzpatrick at the Dorothy Parker Society, the usual good news of high-spirited gatherings and mixed drinks, or, chiastically, a gathering of spirits. From the club’s April newsletter (some links are mine):

Wednesday, April 30 — How much do you love the cartoons in The New Yorker? Want to meet the cartoonists? The Dorothy Parker Society is hosting an event at the Algonquin Hotel that will draw seven notable cartoonists to celebrate the publication of Sex and Sensibility: Ten Women Examine the Lunacy of Modern Love…in 200 Cartoons. Liza Donnelly, who has been a cartoonist at The New Yorker since 1982, edits the book. The party is Wednesday, April 30, 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the second floor of the hotel. In addition to Donnelly, the other cartoonists who will be in attendance are Barbara Smaller, Carolita Johnson, Victoria Roberts, Marisa Acocella Marchetto, Signe Wilkinson, and Julia Suits. Most of them have appeared in the pages of The New Yorker. To attend, please RSVP to kevin@dorothyparker.com by April 25. There will be a cash bar (and bring cash, the hotel does not take credit cards). The book will be available for purchase ($23). This is a perfect place for the party, as the magazine was cooked up in the same place we will be celebrating, and the wallpaper of the hallways is all classic New Yorker cartoons. If you can’t make the party, the book will be in stores this week. Info here.

Last week I made my first trip to San Francisco’s fine Cartoon Art Museum, which was featuring a stylish exhibition of cartoons from Donnelly’s book alongside plenty of artwork from the museum’s permanent collection; standing that close to original drawings by Walt Kelly, Otto Soglow, William Steig, Winsor McCay, and other geniuses is a thrill, and I’m not even a Comics Person. (I think I might be turning into one.)

A few days later, I went to Donnelly’s book party at the Museum of Sex here in New York, and many of the cartoonists (as well as other New Yorker, cartoonland, and publishing folks) were present, including all these people. It was a genuinely hot (and warm), thoroughly fun party, and I don’t know if it was the climate or the cartoons, but everyone was in extra-attractive mode. I stayed until the very end talking about drawing, podcasting (Victoria Roberts is awesomely tech-savvy), the shiny, rainbow-colored sex toys on display, and New Yorker history with all and sundry. You haven’t lived till you’ve discussed personal massager design with great political minds, believe me.

Also, from The Comics Journal‘s Journalista!, a further Sex and Sensibility event:

April 13 (Red Hook, NY): Cartoonist Liza Donnelly, editor of the new collection Sex and Sensibility: Ten Women Examine the Lunacy of Modern Love… in 200 Cartoons, will discuss the book at Merritt Bookstores on Broadway, beginning at 11AM. Details here.

Martin Schneider writes:
You’ve read the original article “Betrayed,” you’ve listened to the New Yorker podcast, you’ve kept up with the blog, you’ve read my awkwardly titled, very positive review of the play, now it’s time to listen to the author’s sure-to-be-thoughtful presentation—and finally, see the play itself.
Saturday, April 5, at 1pm, see George Packer talk about reporting in Iraq, his book The Assassins’ Gate, and the difficult process of creating a play, Betrayed, from real experiences, at McNally Robinson, at 52 Prince Street. Then catch the 3pm matinee of the play, only a short walk away—I’m told discount tickets are still available.
This event sounds so terrific, I wish I weren’t six time zones away.

Martin Schneider writes:
In October, reporting on the first annual New Yorker Debate, I wrote:

If the Member from Gopnik and the Member from Gladwell (as the convention required they call each other) don’t collectively become a 100 percent Canadian staple of the Festival, then the world just doesn’t make sense. Attention, programmers! I want to see these two debate a year from now! Got it? Good.

Over at the Millions, I see that my appeal has apparently stirred the imagination of someone at Maclean’s, only Canada’s most prominent newsweekly magazine, because Gladwell and Gopnik are taking their act on the road—to Toronto!
The subject is “Canada: Nation or Notion?” The debate is taking place this Sunday, March 30, at 4 p.m. at Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, 31 King’s College Circle.
Tickets are still available! I’m supposed to use the ticket price of $30 Canadian ($15 for Maclean’s subscribers) as an excuse to make fun of Canada’s currency, but China will sell us to Canada before that joke becomes fashionable again. (Speaking of which, A.G., feel free to use M.G.’s suggestion that the United States purchase Canada against him in the debate—I’m sure the audience will have no problem with that idea!)
Unless I’m mistaken, Gladwell and Gopnik are rapidly gaining ground on such unforgettable duos as Stadler and Waldorf, The Captain & Tennille, and Sodom and Gomorrah.