How the District Became William Shakespeare’s American Home

Drew Lichtenberg and Deborah C. Payne on Shakespeare in the Theatre: Shakespeare Theatre Company, a new book about STC’s history.

Washington, D.C., has been called many things over the centuries, from swamp to asylum, from the District of Crime to Dream City. While these descriptions are debatable, there’s one adjective so obvious it might come as a surprise: Shakespearean.    “We have per capita more Shakespeare in this city than in any other city in the…

by Chad Dexter Kinsman

Marriage, Love, and Culture Collide in For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus

Varun Gauri’s debut novel follows a young Indian couple, living in small-town America, as they stumble through an arranged marriage.

Arranged marriages are an uncommon concern in American fiction. We belong to a culture ideologically committed to love matches, but the two main characters in Varun Gauri’s debut novel, For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus, don’t. Meena and Avi are a young Indian couple living in small-town America, though neither are profoundly traditional, despite…

by Eve Ottenberg

Crossover Sci-Fi Author Tara Campbell Comes Home With a New Novel

The award-winning writer and former mainstay in D.C.’s literary scene discusses her latest eco-fantasy novel, City of Dancing Gargoyles, ahead of two local events.

Many D.C. readers will recognize the name Tara Campbell: For years, she was a mainstay in our city’s literary scene. Known for what she calls “crossover sci-fi,” Campbell’s work tends to contemplate “what happens when an ordinary person (or creature) faces extraordinary circumstances,” she says on her website. Before she taught creative writing at American…

by Hannah Grieco

Read Me: Thrilling and Spine-Chilling Lit Events For Spooky Season

Say goodbye to the beach reads and hello to eerie campus novels and gothic classics: These book events are perfect for fall.

All book lovers know the sweet bliss that accompanies the first days of fall. Gone are the days of FOMO; it’s time to cancel plans, stay in, and read guilt-free. Say goodbye to the beach reads and hello to eerie campus novels and classic gothics. Luckily, local bookstores are following suit with a swath of…

by Samantha Ostwald

Poetry for the People: Literary Event Recs From a Local Poet

Folger’s Poetry Program Manager Teri Ellen Cross Davis gives a rundown of fall’s best poetry and lit happenings in the DMV…and Harrisonburg.

Poetry has always been Teri Ellen Cross Davis’ “thing”—from forming a poetry club in high school to starting a coffeehouse poetry series in college. A former Cave Canem fellow (now board member), Davis has spent her days leading the poetry program at Folger Shakespeare Library since the early 2000s. But her nights—and seemingly every minute…

by Sarah Marloff

Emma Copley Eisenberg, John Early, and William Gropper Top Our Arts Writers’ Fall Must-See Calendars

Don’t let these arts events fly under your radar: Start at the Takoma Park Folk Festival, stop by book talks with Eisenberg and music producer Joe Boyd, get in a laugh, and take in some unabashedly political art.

City Paper’s contributors have their fingers on the pulse of what’s happening in and around the city. These arts events, however, could be overlooked if you aren’t paying attention. Lucky for you, we are.   Below you’ll find some comedy, a folk fest and craft show, and two book talks—Emma Copley Eisenberg discusses Housemates and Bob Boilen…

by Amelia Roth-Dishy, Christina Smart, Serena Zets, Heidi Perez-Moreno and Alan Zilberman

The 2024 Fall Arts Guide Is Here: New Look, Same Great Recs

This year’s guide has local creators sharing the events they’re attending this fall, while the critics you know and trust recommend unmissable shows, plays, book talks, and more from now through December.

Welcome to City Paper’s 2024 Fall Arts Guide. This year’s roundup of recommended events began the usual way, but it ended up very different.  As we grow more accustomed to being an online-only publication, we’ve learned to do away with (some) print traditions. We no longer put out a weekly issue, so why contain an…

by Sarah Marloff

Marissa Higgins’ Extreme Talent Is on Display in Her Novel A Good Happy Girl

The former Washingtonian’s debut unfolds in a sexually charged, cough syrup-induced haze that spans lesbian romance, childhood trauma, and self-destruction.

Though she no longer calls D.C. home, writer Marissa Higgins knows her way around the District, where she lived in various Northwest neighborhoods from 2014 to 2020. The city even celebrated her work in 2020 with a grant for her nonfiction writing, which has appeared in numerous publications including The Atlantic, Salon, and Slate. Unfortunately,…

by Wayne Catan

Two Decades in the Making: Blue Rice, the Haunting New Novel by Frances Park

The local Korean American author and chocolate shop owner discusses writing, influences, and “epiphany moments.”

“When everyone suffered so much loss, where did you begin?” says author Frances Park, when contemplating her latest novel, Blue Rice, which follows a plucky, sensible hero, while examining the devastation of the Korean War alongside the experience of immigrating to America. Park continues, “Your pain’s only special to you, right?” Park’s indelible tale of…

by Diana Michele Yap

Aguas/Waters Brings a Montevideo Poet to a D.C. Audience

The poetry collection, penned by Uruguay’s Miguel Avero and translated by local poet Jona Colson, will be the first-ever translation released by the Washington Writers’ Publishing House.

Poet Miguel Avero and translator Jona Colson, who collaborated on the Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s upcoming poetry collection Aguas/Waters, have never met in person. They’ve spoken on a couple video calls, but mostly, they message back and forth about their translations over WhatsApp. Through text and voice messages, the writers have resolved translation questions big…

by Ella Feldman

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