READINGS

VERSE APPEAL An associate editor and book critic for The New York Sun, Adam Kirsch, left, celebrates the publication of his two latest books: a collection of verse, “Invasions” (Ivan R. Dee), and a collection of criticism, “The Modern Element: Essays on Contemporary Poetry” (W.W. Norton). Mr. Kirsch has also written for Slate, the New Yorker, and Nextbook. Tonight, 6 p.m., the Corner Bookstore, 1313 Madison Ave. at 93rd Street, 212-831-3554, free.

DANCE

BRAZILIAN BEATS A Brazil-based dance company, Grupo Corpo, returns to the Brooklyn Academy of Music to dance “Benguelê and Breu,” a pair of pieces choreographed by its artistic director, Rodrigo Pederneiras. Set to music by Brazilian composers, each piece reflects the company’s mission of exploring Brazil’s national culture. “Benguelê” is an expression of the country’s recognition of its African roots, while “Breu” is the tale of a society deprived of the ability to communicate. Tonight and Thursday–Saturday, 7:30 p.m., BAM, Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, $20–$60.

FILM

LOVE, FRENCH STYLE James Ivory’s “Le Divorce,” the film adaptation of the best-selling novel by Diane Johnson, follows two American sisters, played by Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts, who are coping with affairs of the heart in the City of Lights. The French Institute Alliance Française hosts a screening of the movie, which is followed by a conversation with Mr. Ivory. A founder of film company Merchant Ivory Productions (Ismail Merchant died in 2005), Mr. Ivory discusses the film and his enduring Francophilia, and answers audience questions. Tonight, 7 p.m., French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St. at Madison Avenue, 212-307-4100, $10.

ESCAPE INTO NOWHERE Li Yang’s dramatic film “Blind Mountain” (2007) is set amid the modern Chinese slave trade, as a woman, who believes she is leaving her mountainous province for a promised job, is instead kidnapped, drugged, and sold as a bride. As the woman, played by Huang Lu, makes multiple attempts to escape, she finds that the community she has been taken to is controlled by government enablers, worsening her chances for freedom and survival. Mr. Li is also known for exposing abuses in the Chinese mining industry in his 2003 film, “Blind Shaft.” Through tonight, 1:30, 3:30, 5, 8, and 10 p.m., Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-727-8110, $10.50 general, $5.50 seniors, members, and children.

WONDER BREAD The exhibit “Bread/Lechem: Photographs by Margalit Mannor” focuses on a recycling tradition in Israel in which stale bread is collected from bakeries and turned into cattle fodder on some contemporary Israeli farms. A Jewish man who had fled a Polish ghetto is said to have started the practice in 1943. The Hebrew words beit and lechem — reminiscent of the word “Bethlehem” — together mean “Home of Bread,” and the title of the exhibit evokes the phrase. Through Sunday, April 27, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Yeshiva University Museum, 15 W. 16th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-294-8330, $8 general, $6 students and seniors, free for children and members.

MUSIC

WHAT ABOUT BRIAN Tenor Brian Cheney has his recital debut at Carnegie Hall. Pianist Catherine Venable accompanies Mr. Cheney, who performs works by Liszt, Vaughan Williams, Romberg, Blitzstein, and Youmans, among others. The rising tenor’s eclectic repertoire includes opera, Viennese and American operetta, musical theater, and American popular song. Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, 881 Seventh Ave. at 55th Street, 212-247-7800, $50.

READINGS

NEW YORK FILES Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mike Wallace, who wrote “Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898,” (Oxford), also created the Gotham Center for New York City History at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. The Gotham Center publishes the Gotham History Blotter on its Web site, showcasing nonfiction essays about the city’s history. Recent topics have included the rise and decline of the elevated Third Avenue subway line, and a 19th-century murder trial. Contributors Morton Zucker, Harold Schechter, and Benjamin Feldman read and discuss their work. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., CUNY Graduate Center, Gotham Center, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34th Street, 212-817-8474, free.

TALKS

GET UP, STAND UP In recognition of Women’s History Month, the National Council of Jewish Women presents a program on the life of Ernestine Rose, a 19th-century Polish immigrant who is now recognized as one of the founding mothers of the first wave of feminism. Celebrated as “Queen of the Platform,” she was one of the first women to petition for and speak publicly on behalf of women’s rights. The talk focuses on the importance of women as a voting bloc in this year’s presidential election. A resident scholar of the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, Paula Doress-Worters, is a guest speaker and discusses her new book, “Mistress of Herself: Speeches and Letters of Ernestine L. Rose, Early Women’s Rights Leader” (The Feminist Press at CUNY). Today, noon, National Council of Jewish Women — New York Section, 820 Second Ave. at 44th Street, 212-687-5030, $25 general, $20 members.

MUSEUMS

RENAISSANCE MEN Before the Italian masters painted the ceilings of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, there were sketches and planning to be done. “Michelangelo, Vasari, and Their Contemporaries: Drawings from the Uffizi” gathers drawings by Ponteromo, Andrea del Sarto, and Bronzino. They were involved in creating the artworks that decorated the various apartments at the Florentine palace, which served as the home of the Medici dukes in the 16th century. Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned artist Georgio Vasari to create and preside over much of the artistic expansion and direction at the palace. The show comprises nearly 80 sketches — including four by Vasari. “[N]ot since the Met’s Leonardo drawing show have so many remarkable and illuminating Florentine drawings been available in New York under one roof,” Lance Esplund wrote in the January 24 New York Sun. Through Sunday, April 20, Tuesday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave. at 36th Street, 212-685-0008, $12.

LIFE OF JAZZ Saxophonist Sonny Rollins, a modern-day jazz icon, has played music with a veritable list of jazz masters, including Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Max Roach. Reflecting on a career that began at the age of 11, Mr. Rollins discusses music history, jazz, and ideas with a critic for The New York Sun, Gary Giddins, who is also the author of nine books, including “Visions of Jazz: The First Century,” winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., CUNY Graduate Center, Harold M. Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34th Street, 212-817-2005, free.

DRAWINGS

ROMANCE AND NONSENSE

Zurich-based artist Anna Sommer presents “Drawing Collages,” an exhibit at Adam Baumgold Gallery. The title of the exhibit refers to the way Ms. Sommer creates her pictures, using cut-paper methods combined with drawing techniques. Much of her work is provocative but humorous, commenting on sexuality and relationships with a critical eye. Selections from the exhibit include a collage from the series “Honigmond” (1998), meaning “Honeymoon.”

Through Saturday, April 26, Tuesday–Saturday,11a.m.–5:30 p.m., Adam Baumgold Gallery, 74 E. 79th St., between Madison and Park avenues, 212-861-7338, free.

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