The Raconteur & The Metuchen Public Library Present
7 – 8:30, July 14, 20, 27
WRITE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE!
Writing Workshop(Ages 10 and up)
Taking inspiration from both modern and classic YA books and from the lives of the men and women who wrote them, Raconteur proprietor/award winning author Alex Dawson (The Rapscallion Club) provides suggestions that will spark the imaginations of both children and teens, prompting them to pen their own rollicking yarns. Find out how Robert Louis Stevenson found inspiration for Treasure Island in his bowl of porridge, or how J. R. R. Tolkien's amazing fantasy world began with a childhood game of making up words, or how Dawson himself got the idea for his high spirited swashbuckler while visiting his archeologist brother at The South American Explorer's Club in Peru. Whether you have an idea you'd like to draft, have a draft you'd like to revise, or think, as many wrongly do, that your life is too ordinary and you have nothing exciting to say, this workshop is for you. Unfortunately, the workshop is fully booked, but if you'd like to be put on the waiting list or if you're interested in future workshops, contact raconteurbooks@gmail.com.
8 PM, Thurs. July 14
NEON TROTSKY
W/Special Guest Vincent Saulys
Live Music
More soon…
9 pm, Fri, July 15
FANTASTIC PLANET
W/Live DJ Soundtrack by CIRCUIT BORED
Outdoor Film Screening/Live Music
René Laloux's mesmerizing psychedelic sci-fi animated feature, Fantastic Planet, won the Special Jury Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and is a landmark of European animation. Based on Stefan Wul's novel Oms en Série (Oms by the Dozen), Laloux's breathtaking vision was released in France as La Planète Sauvage, and immediately drew comparisons to Gulliver's Travels and Planet of the Apes. Today, the film can be seen to prefigure much of the work of Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) due to its palpable political and social concerns, cultivated imagination, and memorable animation techniques. The subtitled film will be screened outdoors on the back terrace of The Raconteur and will be accompanied by a live-mixed soundtrack courtesy of Circuit Bored, a DJ known for his minimal sci-fi inspired electronica. Folding chairs are available, but if you prefer something more comfortable (e.g. lawn lounger), bring it with you. FREE!
9 PM, Thurs. July 21
THE BLACK ANGEL REVUE
Novelist Steven Hart & Poet John Marron
Reading/Signing
WE ALL FALL DOWN & BLIPS
Hart, a Highland Park resident already noted as a historian for his nonfiction book The Last Three Miles: Politics, Murder, and the Construction of America's First Superhighway (2007), will read from his new crime novel We All Fall Down, which has been praised by novelists J.D. Rhoades and Kristy Kiernan as a compelling, twisty tale of murder and conspiracy in a small New Jersey town. Marron, a Highland Park resident, will read haiku, free verse, and unclassifiable poetic japes from his collection Blips. The book has already been hailed by Anne Waldman and a small army of poetic luminaries for its freshness and wit. Both Blips and We All Fall Down are published by the newly minted, small-press imprint Black Angel Press. FREE! Books on sale at event.
8:30 PM, Fri. July 22
OUTDOOR VIDEO GAME TOURNAMENT
W/Live Mixed Music by Circuit Bored.
Nintendo 64 projected on a ten foot wall under the stars. Our terrace screening of FANTASTIC PLANET was such a success, we've decided to continue our outdoor programming with a video game tournament similarly accompanied by Circuit Bored, a DJ known for his minimal sci-fi inspired electronica. Bring your lucky controller (we only have two). Bring a chair and any game you wish to play. Event presented in conjunction with People Under the Stereo, vintage clothes & vinyl under The Raconteur. FREE! Refreshments.
8 PM, Mon. July 25
THE BACKPOCKETS
Live Music
The Back Pockets is three girls, two boys, and one old geezer who looks like a cross between Dusty Hill and the guy with ripped flannel elbows drinking brekkie shots of Ten High who just stole your smokes. They play banjos and bongos, fiddles and flutes. Sometimes they lay electric guitars across their laps and saw on them with a violin bows. The girls dress like flappers, acrobats, or, on occasion, the Daryl Hannah android from Bladerunner. The boys wear Mexican wrestling masks and fencing helmets. They like sidewalks at night, homemade things, and carnies. They frequently rig and engage tightropes and trapezes during their shows, and have played whole songs hanging from their knees. The sound is folk, but the experience is Stomp. They're painters as well as musicians. They hail from Atlanta, GA. They sometimes describe themselves as Jefferson Airplane meets Blue Man Group. FREE! Complimentary wine. CDs on sale at the event (you remember their CDs, they come in little canvas pockets embroidered with doodles with flaps fastened by Velcro).
8 PM, Weds. July 27,
KOSHA DILLZ
Live Music
In 2009, Kosha Dillz won an MC battle at Giants Stadium and released his first solo album, Beverly Dillz. Dillz has since toured all over the world, most regularly with Flex Mathews and Matisyahu, and is the featured rapper on RZA’s new release Operation. RZA, widely considered one of the most influential and landmark hip-hop producers of all time, calls Kosha “one of the rawest Jewish kids I know.” FREE! CDs on sale at event.
