Women of Letters, a monthly literary salon featuring female writers and performers reading the letters they have written to the theme of the evening, announces its lineup for May 13th at Joe's Pub. Women of Letters will welcome renowned guests to read their own 'Letter to the Tap On My Shoulder'featuring Megan Abbott, Anna Holmes, Molly Crabapple, Sigrid Nunez, Beth Hoyt, and Amy Sohn.
Women of Letters is a monthly literary salon in which female writers and performers read the letters they have written to the theme of the evening. WritersMarieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire who met at the National Young Writers' Festival in late 2009 founded it in Melbourne; passionate about women's roles in literature they brainstormed ideas for a monthly Melbourne-based literary salon focused on female writers and performers. The concept of letter writing seemed a natural fit, and in March 2010 the show debuted to a sellout crowd at Melbourne's Trades Hall. Since then, the show has toured Australia and the world, with rave reviews from audiences around the globe, including in Jakarta, Austin, New York, Los Angeles and more. In 2011 Penguin released a copy of letters from the live shows, titled Women of Letters. This was followed by another book in 2012,'Sincerely', and a third in 2013, 'Yours Truly'.
After a highly successful year that has already included an acclaimed tour of the US, UK and Ireland, Women of Letters began a monthly residency at iconic NYC venue Joe's Pub which commenced early November 2014, with an all-star lineup. Following on from the success of their sold out Bell House show in March this year, featuring luminaries such as
Edie Falco,
Molly Ringwald,
Yael Stone, Stoya and JD Sampson, Women of Letters have decided to make New York City their home away from home. "We were so humbled to see 400 New Yorkers line up on a snowy Tuesday night in Gowanas to see a tribute to the lost art of letter writing, and decided that of all the cities in the world, this is where we want to stage shows on a regular basis," says co-curator Michaela McGuire. "By hosting a show each month, just as we do in our hometown of Melbourne, we'll be able to showcase the best and brightest female artists, writers, comediennes, actresses and musicians in New York, in a way that this city has never seen before," says co-curator Marieke Hardy.
Women of Letters began as a very simple concept, which has remained true since its inception in 2010. The most interesting and acclaimed writers, musicians, actors, comedians and politicians in Australia and around the world pen a letter on a given topic before reading it aloud to an audience.
The shows are never recorded or filmed, existing only in the moment if the author of each letter so chooses.
Following on from their successful collaboration earlier this year, Hardy and McGuire have collaborated with producer Trish Nelson and put together an extraordinary program of New York artists. "Trish implicitly understands what makes Women of Letters events such unique evenings, and we can think of no better person to help make the event as successful in New York City as it is back home in Australia," says McGuire. "We're can't wait to reveal the lineups we've curated," says Hardy. "We'll continue to run Women of Letters events back home, and are looking forward to being a pair of incredibly busy co-curators for the foreseeable future."
Photo by Kat Burdick
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