It’s an Epic Era: Classics’ Readings Can Go All Night

At least one literary reading takes place somewhere in New York City every night of the week. There’s fiction at KBG every Sunday, nonfiction at Half King on Mondays, cheeky recitations from “bad books” at Elmo Lounge on Tuesdays, writers forced to take public risks at Happy Ending on Wednesdays, a grab bag of literature at Brooklyn’s Barbes on Thursdays, poetry at Cornelia Street Cafe on Fridays, and children’s literature at Books of Wonder on Saturdays.Despite the astonishing volume of choices – the above list is but the smallest sampling – almost all of the readings have something in common: The readers are living authors with books they’re trying to sell.Over the next few weeks, though, there will be a spate of readings of some of the mainstays of Western culture: Homer, Dante, and Cervantes. This respite from shilling and selling starts tonight with Dante’s “Inferno” at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.“No publicist has called me to say that Cervantes needs a reading,” said Paul Holdengraber, the director of public programs at the New York Public Library, “but people want to hear ‘Don Quixote.'” The library is collaborating with PEN American Center to stage a reading of sections of Miguel de Cervantes’s novel on April 16.Salman Rushdie will make introductory remarks, and novelists Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, and Claudio Magris are among the scheduled readers.This year marks the 400th anniversary of “Don Quixote,” so the die-hard fan will not want for celebratory readings. The Spanish cultural organization Instituto Cervantes is producing an extensive program of art, films, and lectures. On April 23, it hosts a reading in Spanish and English. (A selection of 42 of Antonio Saura’s India-ink drawings based on the novel, including the drawing at right, is now on display.)An evening of readings from “Don Quixote” on April 4 at the Manhattan Theatre Club will feature actors Mario Cantone, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and others. Edith Grossman, whose critically acclaimed translation will be used in the reading, will introduce the evening. “I think she’s quite tickled” to hear her work read aloud, said producer Steve Lawson.Mr. Lawson has broken the novel into manageable sections, just enough to give a taste of Sancho Panza and a dash of Dulcinea. “We can’t do a full-scale adaptation,” he said. “Everyone would have to bring sandwiches and sleeping bags.”Perhaps Mr. Lawson underestimates the commitment of New York’s literary community. Tonight’s late-night reading of Dante’s “Inferno” takes place in the chilly nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Translators of Dante who will brave the cold to read include Michael Palma and Robert and Jean Hollander. The reading falls on Maundy Thursday, the day on which Dante wakes up in hell at the opening of the poem.An all-night reading of the “Odyssey” presented by the Readers of Homer is even more time-intensive. It will last from dinner on April 1 to breakfast the next morning. Readers can bring their own wine to accompany the catered Greek dinner, and may need to curl up for the long haul. Steven Daitz, a renowned “singer” of ancient Greek, and translator Rodney Merrill will be among the readers.Organizer Kathryn Hohlwein, a retired classics professor at California State University at Sacramento, emphasizes that the event is not just for academics. Her 6- and 8-year-old grand daughters will be among the readers, along with “bankers, lawyers, and poets.” There are only two rules: No apologies for mispronounced words or stumbling, and no extra-textual comments – there’s simply not enough time.According to Ms. Hohlwein, “The fun of this is that you get to carry a little bit of Homer into the world.”Enterprising lovers of literature might even tote a little piece of Homer, Dante, or Cervantes to the next Barnes & Noble reading by the latest literary wunderkind – in 400 years or so, he might be a classic, too.“Inferno”: Tonight, 9 p.m.-midnight, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th Street, 212-316-7540, free.“The Odyssey”: Friday, April 1, 6:30 p.m.-7 a.m., Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk St. at Stanton Street, 917-597-2520, $65, reservations required.“Don Quixote” at Manhattan Theatre Club: Monday, April 4, 8 p.m., Manhattan Theatre Club at City Center, 131 W. 55th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-399-3030, $17.50.“Don Quixote” at the New York Public Library: Saturday, April 16, 7-9 p.m., New York Public Library, Celeste Bartos Forum, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, 212-868-4444, $10.“Don Quixote” at Instituto Cervantes: Saturday, April 23, 11 a.m., free. Exhibit: Through Saturday, April 16, Tuesday-Friday, 12:30-6:30 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Instituto Cervantes, 211-215 E. 49th St. at Third Avenue, 212-308-7720, free.

It’s an Epic Era: Classics’ Readings Can Go All Night

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