Hi everyone,
We’ve got a José Andrés talk, poetry from Billy Collins, and a new series about the DC sniper attacks.
Here’s what you should check out this week:
Local star: Humanitarian chef José Andres will sit down for a conversation about faith, religion, and service with National Cathedral Dean Randolph Marshall Hollerith and Canon Missioner Leonard Hamlin. The virtual event is part of the cathedral’s “Honest to God” talk series which focuses on how leaders are motivated by their faiths. Tuesday 5/11 at 7 PM; Free, register here.
Hear a verse: Former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins will be reading in the Folger Shakespeare Library’s virtual poetry series. Collins has been popular in poetry circles for decades, but he gained even more attention in the pandemic when he started regularly reading his work—like “Going for a Walk as the Drugs Kick In”—on Facebook Live. Hear his funny takes from his new book, The Rain in Portugal, and his other poetry collections tonight. Monday 5/10 at 7:30 PM; Free, register here.
Cinephiles only: If you’re not ready to go to the movies, but you’re nostalgic for the theater, tune into the virtual talk “Moviegoing in America: Nickelodeons to Movie Palaces to IMAX to Streaming.” What will our movie watching look like in the next year? How have theaters changed in the past year and throughout history? Will Uptown Theater ever return? Get some of those questions answered at this Smithsonian Associates event. Wednesday 5/12 at noon; $20-$25, buy tickets here.
Add to the watch list: Tonight, Vice TV premieres its new docuseries about the 2002 DC sniper shootings, I, Sniper. The show will feature interviews with Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the gunmen. Learn more here.
Want to see it, I do: The Star Wars X-wing Starfighter is an exciting new addition to the Air and Space Museum. There’s so much hype that it’s actually a bit challenging to make a reservation to visit the museum. Here’s what we recommend trying to find a slot.
Vibe check:
There’s two stories that I read recently that really had me thinking more about our culture’s relationship to mental health and how we are all feeling right now in this foggy, nearing post-pandemic moment. In The Atlantic’s “Bring Back the Nervous Breakdown,” Jerry Useem looks at mental breakdowns in American society, from their history as socially and professionally acceptable to the current stigma around taking a career break. The other I’d recommend is the New York Times’ piece on languishing, which explains that uncertain feeling that many of us might be experiencing right now. Adam Grant defines that state of mind as “the neglected middle child of mental health. It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being. You don’t have symptoms of mental illness, but you’re not the picture of mental health either.” (For me, that’s an understatement.) Does that sound like you?
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you’re up to at home by dropping me a line at rcartagena@washingtonian.com.
Rosa is a senior editor at Bitch Magazine. She’s written for Washingtonian and Smithsonian magazine.
