Lit Boston: What's Happening in June?
In the June 2019 edition of "Best of Boston," we bring you our top Boston lit events this month, curated from the Boston Literary District's event calendar, an essential source of literary happenings.
Transnational Series Presents: Abbigail N. Rosewood in conversation with Mira T. Lee
When: Tuesday, June 4th, 7pm; 279 Harvard St, Brookline
This reading is part of Brookline Booksmith’s Transnational Literature Series which focuses on migration, exile and displacement and works in translation.
Blair Hurley and Christopher Castellani at the Harvard Bookstore
When: Tuesday, June 4th, 7pm; 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet welcome Pushcart Prize–winning novelist Blair Hurley and former Guggenheim Fellow and novelist Christopher Castellani for a discussion of their respective books, The Devoted and Leading Men.
Russ Lopez Presents the History of LGBTQ Presence in MA
When: Thursday, June 6th, 6pm; 700 Boylston St, Boston
Boston-based writer Russ Lopez will discuss his recently released history of the LGBTQ presence in Massachusetts, from the Pilgrims’ landing in Provincetown in 1620 through the defeat of the anti-trans referendum on the ballot in November 2018. Mr. Lopez illustrates how LGBTQ people have been a distinctive element in the life of the Commonwealth since the 17th century, challenging gender, sexual, and social norms even in colonial days.
Novel Generator Open House & Info Session
When: Thursday, June 6th, 6pm; 162 Boylston St #5, Boston
Thinking of applying to the Novel Generator? GrubStreet will host an informal Q&A session with instructor Annie Hartnett on Thursday, June 6th, 6:00-7:30 p.m., here at GrubStreet HQ, to answer any questions you have about the Generator, including the workload, the application process, what the program does and doesn’t entail, the schedule, the philosophy behind our approach, and anything else you have on your mind.
When: Thursday, June 6th, 6pm; Back Bay Neighborhood
Lit Crawl Boston is set to return for Year 3 on Thursday, June 6, 2019. Come celebrate the city’s literary past, present, and future on a night of irreverent literary programming in Boston’s Back Bay. Over three evening sessions, intrepid readers will choose from a variety of unique literary events including games, performances, provocations and other oddities, all in surprising venues ranging from cafes and art galleries to barbershops and furniture stores. This moveable feast in one of the most walkable cities on the planet is FREE, and many of the events will offer free beer and wine.
The Great American Poetry Challenge
When: Thursday, June 6th, 7pm; 338 Newbury Street, Boston
Mass Poetry is excited to host The Great American Poetry Challenge at Lit Crawl Boston. Get ready to flex your poetry muscles in this competitive creative challenge! Attendees will be grouped into five teams, and each team will be appointed an established poet — Anna V.Q. Ross, Febo, Ben Berman, Enzo Silon Surin, or Colleen Michaels — as their team cheerleader.
When: Monday, June 10th, 6:30pm; 279 Harvard St, Brookline
The Transnational Series welcomes two prominent Japanese translators to discuss their work and their most recent translations. Allison Markin Powell is a literary translator, editor, and publishing consultant. Sawako Nakayasu is an artist working with language, performance, and translation – separately and in various combinations.
In Search of Stonewall, a Panel on LGBTQ Writing
When: Monday, June 10th, 7pm; 700 Boylston St, Boston
In collaboration with the Boston Public Library and the Boston Pride Committee the Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Review will host a Stonewall 50-themed panel discussion during Boston Pride week. The Review began publishing as the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review in 1994, the year of Stonewall 25. It changed its name in 2000 as it went “worldwide.” The magazine marks its 25th anniversary amidst Stonewall 50 with a collection of its best all-time essays on the Stonewall Riots: In Search of Stonewall.
FREE Brown Bag Lunch Writing Series
Wednesday, June 12th, 12:30pm; 162 Boylston St #5, Boston
Do you work downtown and want to fit some writing into your day? Or do you have a schedule that gives you free afternoons instead of evenings? Join our FREE Brown Bag Lunch Writing Series. Bring your lunch and come on over to GrubStreet on Wednesday, June 12 from 12:30pm-1:15pm. For 45 minutes, you’ll meet fellow writers and get your creative juices flowing with some cool writing exercises. Led by one of our award-winning instructors or ambassadors.
8th Annual Nantucket Book Festival
When: Thursday, June 13th-Sunday, June 16th; Downtown Nantucket
Nantucket Book Festival has established itself as a major summer destination for booklovers with impressive and eclectic line-ups of award-winning authors. The four-day Festival, June 13-16, will offer author readings, panel discussions and social events in an informal atmosphere that encourages conversations between writers and readers. Most of the events are hosted in town, within easy walking distance of the ferries.
Why Bother? The Importance Of Literary Citizenship In The Creative Writing Workshop
When: Saturday, June 15th, 2pm; 162 Boylston St #5, Boston
In this free session—designed to bring together GrubStreet instructors and students—we will use Grub’s own What Makes a Good Workshop Citizen podcast as a springboard for a larger conversation. We will discuss ways in which we can help each other make writing workshops more inclusive and productive spaces.
Transnational Series Presents: Aleksandar Hemon in Conversation with Claire Messud
When: Thursday, June 20th, 7pm; 279 Harvard St, Brookline
Two books in one in a flip dos-à-dos format: The story of Aleksandar Hemon’s parents’ immigration from Sarajevo to Canada and a book of short memories of the author’s family, friends, and childhood in Sarajevo. In the words of Colum McCann, “Aleksandar Hemon is, quite frankly, the greatest writer of our generation.” Hemon has never been better than here in these pages. And the moment has never been more ready for his voice, nor has the world ever been more in need of it.
When: Friday, June 21st, 5:30pm; 162 Boylston St #5, Boston
What's more satisfying than leaving work behind on a Friday afternoon? Rounding out the week with a free writing session, of course! Maximize that Friday feeling and kick off your writing weekend. Leave work behind on Friday, June 21st, from 5:30pm-6:30pm and come on over to Grub HQ. In 60 jam-packed minutes, you’ll meet fellow writers and get your creative juices flowing with some great writing exercises. Free drinks (beer, wine, coffee, water) and snacks provided.
Ocean Vuong at the Harvard Bookstore
When: Sunday, June 23rd, 7pm; 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet welcome critically acclaimed writer Ocean Vuong—author of the award-winning poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds—for a discussion of his highly anticipated debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. He will be joined in conversation by writer and performer Melissa Lozada-Olivia, author of Peluda.
John Manuel Andriote presents Stonewall Strong
When: Tuesday, June 25th, 6pm; 700 Boylston St, Boston
Public health advocate John Manuel Andriotte finds in LGBTQ history patterns of resiliency, mutual support, and community that suggest to him heroism, seldom acknowledged but enormously instructive. His book, Stonewall Strong, being released in paperback in the spring of 2019, canvasses past triumphs like the Stonewall Riots in 1969, the delisting of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, and the emergence of ACT UP in response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980’s.
Are You Jungle Curious? Reading, Talk and Slideshow: Into the Jungle, Erica Ferencik
When: Tuesday, June 25th, 7pm; 685 Tremont St, Boston
Join Erica Ferencik for a brief reading from her new novel, Into the Jungle, which Publisher’s Weekly calls “[A] ferocious fever dream of a thriller,” as well as a talk and slide show on the Peruvian rainforest where she spent a month researching the book. She says, “The jungle is an iconic place, yet it’s so distant from most of our realities that it’s often reduced to mindless metaphors: it’s a jungle out there, the jungle of the mind, the heart and so on. But what about the real jungle, a place few of us have been? What makes it so terrifying, unique, inspiring, otherworldly?”
Countertop Chants June Poetry Session
When: Thursday, June 27th, 8pm; Canopy Room, 1 Bow Market, Somerville
Countertop Chants is proud to host Poetry Sessions that celebrate our craft, art of all mediums, community, and local businesses. This is a place to share your work, meet new artist friends, explore the Boston area, and have fun. Boston has a strong community of artists and writers and they deserve an inclusive space to connect and enjoy their art while still making it a party. We are here to celebrate life, arts, and our community. This is not a competition! There will be no winners, and there is no expected format. Tell us your dreams through acrostic poems, give us just a taste of your despair with a haiku. Whatever form you take, we celebrate it.
Portrait of an Artist & Poet: Deborah Ogden and Melissa Silva
When: Saturday, June 29th, 2pm; 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville
Deborah Ogden, Artist, and Melissa Silva, Poet will discuss the effect of Sound in Art and Poetry. Deborah Ogden is an Artist, Decorative Painter, and Bhakta Yogini, who specializes in creating Sacred Art for Sacred Spaces. Melissa Silva is a Poet living in the Boston area. She has studied Asian, Experimental, and Sound Poetry, as well as Fiction Writing, and Storytelling. She is a co-founder of the Poetry Sisters Collective, and was a member of the performing collective Storytellers in Concert.
Hannah Levinson
Hannah Levinson (she/her) serves as the Senior Development Associate at GrubStreet. She serves as the primary point of contact for the GrubStreet membership program, and supports the Associate Director of Development in donor stewardship. She is a graduate of Northeastern University with a BA in English and Theatre, minor in Writing. Previously, Hannah worked at Actor's Shakespeare Project as their Social Media Coordinator and at the National Women's Theatre Festival as the Artistic & Administrative Apprentice. As an artist & writer, Hannah strives to bring an ethic of care and justice into whatever project she's working on. She wears a variety of hats, including playwright, researcher, stage manager, dramaturg, director, avid baker, and devoted plant parent. When she's not at GrubStreet, she's probably cooking up something tasty in her cozy home in Jamaica Plain, or supporting new play development in Boston at Fresh Ink Theatre.
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