One Night Only: Ryan Adams & Mary-Louise Parker Wax Poetic

Gee, golly, and wow. This week, we really sunk to a world record of cultural nadirs (ugh, ugh, and ugh), didn't we? Well, the weekend is upon us, as is the most opportune moment to redeem our love for the letters. As it turns out, Ryan Adams and Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker are going to have an intimate chat about poetry and fiction. And you're invited to eavesdrop.

Poetry, in case you are of the generation that no longer learns of such bygone forms of expression, is a dying art where creators piece together words and lines with regard to how rhythm, sound, and line breaks impact the overall effect. Really, it’s like painting with words. A few examples of people doing this well and who are also interesting include this lady and this dude. Fiction, however, enjoys more prominence, if only as breaks of sentience punctuating abstract entries at The Awl.

But you may ask, what does the multi-tasking indie rocker have to do with such endangered media? It turns out he’s chucked out a couple volumes of poetry, like Infinity Blues and his most recent collection, HelloSunshine. As for Parker, well she’s honestly just a couple exquisitely penned columns away from joining the literati herself—this, on top of all the versatile roles she’s assayed on stage and screen.

Their conversation takes place, appropriately enough, at the New York Public Library at 6 tonight, right after you get off work and are seeking that final jeté to carry you into the weekend.