As the crisp air of October settles in, the staff at Literary Hub is finding themselves drawn to a distinctly time-bound artistic diet—one that encourages stepping away from the traditional bookshelves and into the warm embrace of a cozy theater seat, a cinema screening room, or the lively playback of a celebratory holiday track. While the digital landscape and library stacks offer endless exploration, this week the team is celebrating the kind of art that unfolds in real time, shared collectively with fellow enthusiasts or savored through the vibrant lens of contemporary culture.
For James Folta, the week’s artistic highlights have centered firmly on the live stage. Last night, he caught a performance of ANON: A Tempest at Our Kitchen Table, a brand-new theatrical production from Anne Washburn, widely recognized as one of the wisest and most eccentric dramatists writing for the stage today. The play centers on two households in Texas that find themselves suddenly thrust onto opposite sides of an escalating culture war. While the premise might sound like standard ripped-from-the-headlines fare, Folta noted that the official logline fails to capture the brilliant dialogue and uncanny spectacle that Washburn’s work is uniquely known for.
“I was skeptical of something so ripped from the recent headlines,” Folta admitted. “But it was excellent, and a very interesting dramatization of the moment.” He also offered special praise for the inventive staging, courtesy of director Anne Kauffman, alongside standout performances from the cast, singling out Crystal Finn and Izabel Mar in particular. For those wishing to catch the production firsthand, ANON is currently running off-Broadway at MCC Theater through November 1.
Folta is not the only member of the Lit Hub team making a pilgrimage to the theater this weekend. Dan Sheehan is also heading out for a major dramatic event, joining his father to celebrate the renowned Dublin Theatre Festival with a ticket to Eugene O’Neill’s classic masterpiece, A Moon for the Misbegotten. The heavy-hitting drama, which follows an immigrant Irish family attempting to carve out a life in rural Connecticut, notoriously clocks in at over three hours in runtime. As a result, the notoriously under-slept editor confessed to feeling a slight twinge of anxiety about the possibility of “disgracing” himself with an accidental mid-performance snore.
Fortunately, the production benefits from the direction of Garry Hynes, artistic director of Ireland’s celebrated Druid Theatre, whose widely praised stewardship of the material promises to keep the pacing sharp and the audience thoroughly engaged. Still, the team has playfully offered up their best stay-awake prayers to ensure Sheehan makes it through the final curtain call without incident.
While some staffers are fighting off the urge to nod off during classic American dramas, Molly Odintz is experiencing entirely different acoustic energies. Inspired by the approach of the high holiday of Simchat Torah, Odintz has spent the week jamming out to a familiar Klezmatics song that has proven just as exhilarating as she remembered from her teenage years. The track, “Simkhes-Toyre,” has provided an energetic soundtrack to her week, proving that certain celebratory anthems retain their power to captivate across the decades.
Speaking of celebrations, Brittany Allen has spent the week riding the coattails of a generous member friend to attend a series of high-profile screenings at the New York Film Festival. The electric atmosphere surrounding the annual Lincoln Center gathering serves as an attraction in itself. Within the grand halls and crowded lobbies, hundreds of assembled film enthusiasts can be overheard passionately debating everything from the film criticism of Richard Brody to the contents of the coveted Criterion Closet or the latest movements in Korean New Wave cinema. According to Allen, the eavesdropping alone is worth the price of admission.
The standout cinematic experiences of the festival so far have shared a common thread, functioning essentially as warm-hearted odes to human intimacy, intelligence, and grace. Among them is the documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem, which immerses viewers directly into the midst of a vibrant salon filled with cultural luminaries. Also making a strong impression is Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, a film that quietly elevates small acts of care within families, friendships, and institutional settings. Rounding out the highlights is Lee Chang-Dong’s Possible Love, which grounds a bracing social critique in two electrically charged human lead performances. Film fans can look forward to seeing all of these titles receive wider theatrical releases later in the year.
Bringing the discussion back to the printed page, podcasts editor Drew Broussard has weighed in to ground the team’s eclectic cultural tour. Much like Lit Hub columnist Maris Kreizman, Broussard has found himself genuinely excited by this year’s crop of literary prize longlists and shortlists, brushing aside the customary grumbling often heard from media circles during awards season.
In particular, the Cercador Prize list and the Booker Prize shortlist have been a source of immense joy for Broussard. He expressed particular delight at seeing acclaimed works like Mike Harrison’s The End of Everything and Rebecca Perry’s May We Feed the King receiving well-deserved recognition from award committees. “I just feel like it’s a fun time to be reading, ya know?” Broussard remarked, capturing a sentiment that seems to resonate across the entire office.
With vibrant offerings flourishing across theater rows, festival screening rooms, holiday playlists, and literary shortlists, the week serves as a reminder of the richness currently available across the cultural landscape. Whether through live performance, cinema, music, or literature, the team’s experiences suggest that art continues to offer ample space for connection and discovery.
