(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, May 31, 2012 ) New York City, NY -- Two nights of prose and poetry readings, music performances and short film and video screenings by the cream of Russia’s young cultural ambassadors will take place during Read Russia Roof, a special event occurring June 5 and 6 at the AVA Lounge terrace bar in Midtown Manhattan’s Dream New York hotel.
The occasion is a part of Read Russia 2012, a week-long festival of Russian literary and book arts sponsored by Russia’s Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication, held in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America (BEA) trade show at the Javits Center. BEA has invited Russia as its guest of honor and the focus of BEAʼs Global Market Forum.
Among the Russian literary lions who will participate at Read Russia Roof is prominent young Russian poet Vera Polozkova, who is also an actress and musician and will recite poetry and poetic translations. The acclaimed journalist/novelist Sergey Kuznetsov and journalist/screenwriter/fiction writer Anna Starobinets will together discuss the history of the last 20 years in Moscow, and the versatile writer Dmitry Bykov, who is the co-founder of the Citizen Poet project and winner of Russia’s prestigious Big Book and National Bestseller Awards, will read his lyrics.
Additionally, the Russian National Bestseller Award winner and Bunin Prize silver medalist Zahar Prilepin will read from his short story collection Sin, and award-winning science fiction writer Sergey Lukyanenko will be honored by Moscow video artist Patrick K.-H. with a video set based on the internationally successful film adaptations of his novels Night Watch and Day Watch.
Meanwhile, journalist Dmitry Kosyrev, who writes historical spy novels using the pseudonym Master Chen, will host a wine tasting featuring wines described in his new novel, The Taster, which relates the misadventures of a wine taster. There will also be a screening of Russian animation, to include the Oscar-nominated Lavatory-Lovestory, along with a special exhibit of Russian photographer Anton Lange’s amazing photos of Russia, Russia Through The Train Window, which were taken during his trip throughout Russia by train from 2006 to 2009.
The music part of the Read Russia Roof program will feature a special acoustic performance from Ukrainian-born Eugene Hütz, who is best known as the founder of New York’s acclaimed gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello. Russian singer-songwriter Psoi Korolenko will accompany himself on keyboard and sing songs in several languages, including originals and songs by Russian poet Shish Bryanskiy. Brooklyn’s celebrated band Chicha Libre, which is made up of French, American, Venezuelan and Mexican musicians, will play original compositions in French, Spanish, English and Russian, together with covers of Peruvian chicha rock music and 1970s pop classics.
Other Read Russia 2012 programs are scheduled for the New York Public Library, the Russian Consulate and other New York clubs and art venues besides Dream New York, and will afford the general public outside of the book trade a chance to meet the new generation of Russian culture representatives.
About Read Russia 2012:
In association with BookExpo America (BEA) and sponsored by Russia’s Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication, Read Russia 2012, a new initiative celebrating contemporary Russian literature and book culture, offers American audiences opportunities to meet and engage with a new generation of Russia’s literary leaders and newsmakers.
