Music @ World Voices

As you may have heard, and as I mentioned last week, the full World Voices schedule is now available. (I recommend Garth Hallberg's list of highlights over at the Millions; among other happenings, he singled out the first event to be curated by the editors of the journal, an event connected with our upcoming issue.) You should also check out Words Without Borders, which currently features writing by and interviews with many of this year's participants.

For now, I'll just highlight the music at this year's festival. The biggest names on that front are Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, who are headlining the PEN Cabaret, along with some terrific writers and actors (including James Franco, currently portraying Allen Ginsberg; by the way, a documentary about Ginsberg will also be shown during the festival).

Music lovers should also check out "Jazz: The Revolution of Beat," at which Gary Giddins, Jayne Cortez, Bill Zavatsky, and others will discuss jazz and the written word, with musical accompaniment by the Diane Moser Quintet -- as well as a "night of musical exploration" with the composer Daniel Felsenfeld, and the writers Mark Z. Danielewski, Rick Moody, and Wesley Stace.

World Voices always features a wonderfully diverse array of participants, but this year seems especially eclectic, in the best sense. Stay tuned.