I feel like there should be some clever play on words here I could make involving May flowers, but I can’t quite …
Oh well. Anyway: Happy May, everyone! This month, in addition to our usual group outing, we have a few extras for you. But first, our main event, which is free:
What: Eastern European Playwrights: Women Write the New.
When: Thursday, May 24 at 7 p.m.
Where: The Romanian Cultural Institute, 200 East 38^th Street
I’m super excited about this evening, which features staged readings of new plays by Vera Ion and Mihaela Michailov. I’ll be leading a panel discussion following the readings, with these two Romanian playwrights as well as Katrin Hilbe, who is directing Michailov’s Family Offline, and Marcy Arlin, who is serving as a directing consultant for  youshine.youarebeautiful, which will be performed by Ion.
It was just about a year ago that I traveled to Romania for the first time, visiting Bucharest and Cluj. I didn’t meet Vera, but Mihaela served as my unofficial guide, introducing me to a slew of artists, writers and teachers in the two cities. It was a treat getting to know such a smart, funny cultural observer from my generation (we were born the same year, in fact). I’m so excited to see her and Vera’s work, and to talk to both of them about the context(s) in which they write.

So, that’s the official May event. I hope to see many of you there.
For those of you who can’t make the 24th, or just can’t get enough of the Performance Club, here are three unofficial happenings:
1. On Wednesday May 2 (tomorrow!), I will be reading some of my poetry at Pianos (158 Ludlow Street), as part of Freerange Nonfiction‘s First Wednesdays series. Doors open at 7, and there’s an $8 entry fee. I’m thinking of reading poems that are explicitly tied to my criticism, a connection I discussed a little bit here, when Marissa Perel interviewed me for Critical Correspondence.
2 & 3. As some of you know, Performance Space 122 is currently homeless-ish, as its East Village home is being renovated. Instead of going on hiatus, the theater has been programming around the city. This month, PS is heading waaay uptown with two terrific productions: Palissimo’s Strange Cargo, and Post Plastica by Carmelita Tropicana and Ela Troyano. Even better, the theater has offered the P Club a $5 discount to both. If you’re on the P Club mailing list you will shortly receive an email with the link to purchase your $15 tickets. If you aren’t … get on the list!
See y’all around….