Robert Hass wins the Pulitzer for poetry two weeks ago and then magically shows up on our doorsteps for a reading. Coincidence? No, just another example of the excellent taste and foresight of Inprint, Houston's gem of a literary organization. Go see him read tonight and find out why he won. Poetry is meant to be read aloud; listen and let Hass's well-chosen words push out the crap accumulated from a full day of......

:: 30TH ANNIVERSARY SUSAN SMITH BLACKBURN PRIZE DRAMATIC READING :: The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize honoring women playwrights from around the world, has decided to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary by hosting a reading and the awards in Houston. Five short works by local women playwrights (a talented bunch) will be presented as dramatic readings by Houston’s acting community (another talented bunch) at the Alley Theatre’s Neuhaus Stage this Sunday, March 9th at 3:00PM. Excerpts......

::Elizabeth Alexander & Taha Muhammad Ali at the Alley:: Well, if the intellects are to take over a day, might as well be Monday. Leave the killing brain cells to us the rest of the week. ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, whose dynamic work penetrates the African American experience, is a poet, essayist, and playwright. Winner of the Jackson Poetry Prize from Poets & Writers (one of the nation’s leading poetry prizes), she is the author of......

Remember when you were a little bitty Houstonist and someone would read to you at night and you could just lose yourself in the story, abandoning all other thoughts of the day? Well you can still do it now, you know. In fact, you might be all the more eager to shed your quotidian annoyances now that you're grown. Here are a few places to hear some stellar writers read from their work: Friday......

::Inprint Brown Reading Series - Richard Powers & Jennifer Egan:: For the 27th year, Inprint presents one of the finest reading series in the country, giving Houstonians a chance to hear from and meet some of the world’s leading writers. From September through April, 14 renowned authors will come to Houston, many for the first time, sharing their work and insights. These authors’ works address pressing contemporary issues, taking us on a journey around the......

Into art? How about dance? You like music? Theater? Have a thing for opera? Or maybe you just (pretend to) like “culture” in general to seem smart and hip and urban? Want to impress a date while not knowing a damn thing about the previously mentioned subjects? Boy, does Houstonist have a shindig for you. Tonight brings us Culture Collision II, hosted by a fleet of Museum and Theatre District young professionals' groups, including the......

Houston's Theater District is having an Open House this Sunday, August 26th from noon to 5PM, while also hosting Taste of Downtown, meaning there's lots to sample for free, free, free! Besides about 40 million performances, there will also be backstage tours, sneak previews of the 2007-2008 Theater District seasons, Q&A's with performers, activities for the kids such as costume trunks and an instrument petting zoo, free refreshments, season ticket information booths and lots......

Some people consider Sunday the beginning of their week, we usually like to look at it as a great lazy way to wrap up a hectic 7 days, and prepare for the next round. We've decided to pull together a list of events that are ending today, so now's your chance to catch these before they are gone for ever. Kinda like last week. Bwah-ha-ha. Thoroughly Modern Millie | Playhouse 1960 The Sound of Music......

A musical about Tammy Faye? Topical. Penned by former Chronicle giant Fernando Dovalina and making its Houston premiere tonight? Even better. The Gospel According to Tammy Faye is a two-act musical based on the life of iconic televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. Dovalina, who spent thirty-two years at the Chron, along with co-writer and former UH classmate JT Buck was granted a long interview with Messner in 2005 in which they discussed her childhood and......

Last Night to check out Murder Mondays Since June 25th, the Alley Theatre and Angelika Film Center have presented Murder Mondays. A film series that complements the Alley Theatre’s ExxonMobil Summer Chills production of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile (July 6–July 29). Screenings are held at the Angelika Film Center and introduced by James Black, director of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. Tonight will be the final film in the series: Death on......

Treasure Island Preview Party One of Houstonist's favorite holidays, "National Talk Like a Pirate Day", may still be three months away, but tonight we are happy to at least be able to dress like one without getting funny looks. Well, no more than usual. Join the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Alley Theatre, and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston tonight for a special pre-show party (with purchase of a $30 discounted ticket) for......

Many of Houston's top theaters and arts venues have announced their 2007-2008 season schedules, and if you get your tix now, you not only get better seats and better prices (5-20% discounts), you get something to look forward to after the summer's imminent heat wave. Each venue offers different deals and packages; follow the links to get the full scoop. The Society for the Performing Arts Highlights: Lily Tomlin, David Sedaris, the Shaolin Warriors,......

You don’t have to be a tortured artist to thoroughly enjoy the fantastic poetry of Mary Oliver or Billy Collins, both of whom are coming to Houston next week. Mary Oliver’s 24 books of poems use imagery from wildlife and the natural world to talk about, well, everything. Her reverence for the seemingly incidental makes you remember why being in nature can be, dare we say, powerful and transcendent. Inprint is bringing her to town......

MFA Film Series: Alfred Hitchcock's Blondes Whoever said Blondes have more fun? If you find yourself the leading lady in a Hitchcock flick, you may want to jump on the latest Hollywood bandwagon and go brunette. Hey, it helped Cameron Diaz avoid a tragic fate. The film series complements the Alley Theatre´s production of Hitchcock Blonde (February 23—March 18), a cinematic mystery that combines theater and film. Created by British playwright Terry Johnson and......

Call us inspired by this week's arrival of the MET's French Masterpieces exhibit at the MFA, but this week we sought out some of the many art & theather events, performances, and exhibitions going on in the city. Hey, we're hip! Monday, Feb 5 MFA's Hitchock's Blondes Film Series: To Catch a Theif This film series complements the Alley Theatre´s production of Hitchcock Blonde (February 23—March 18), a cinematic mystery that combines theater and......

The shot from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor phototainable. Here's a super-cool photo of the Alley Theatre and the Alley garage downtown — but there's something else going on. As the photographer explains: "Experiment to capture the mass of birds 'swarming' downtown Houston, this long exposure creates a rather sinister black mist of birds." It's a totally weird effect, and we love it. If you've got a camera, and you love Houston, consider......

When her debut, White Teeth, was published in 2000, Zadie Smith was hailed as a wunderkind of literature: her characterizations drew comparisons to Dickens and her unique voice was celebrated right and left. This weekend, Smith read from her newest novel, On Beauty, as [part of the 2006-2007 Imprint Brown Reading Series, sponsored by Imprint Houston, a nationally-heralded creative writing organization with roots at U of H. Imprint's reading series, which this year includes writers......

As part of their 25th anniversary of bringing big-name authors to Houston, the Inprint Brown Reading Series presents John Updike (he wrote a bunch of books your teachers should have made you read in high school instead of Great Expectations) tonight at the Alley Theatre. Following a banner year of literary appearances that included Louise Erdrich and Mary Gordon, tonight's event will include a reading from Updike's new book, Terrorist, a brief interview and a......

If you've ever wondered what Mayor Bill and the missus pop in the DVD when they're lounging around Chez White, here's your chance to find out: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is screening the mayor's favorite movie, The Last Picture Show, tonight. The Last Picture Show, based on the novel by Larry McMurtry, chronicles the rites of passage of two teenagers in a one-horse Texas town in the early 1950s. The movie features a......

Like it or not, Thanksgiving has come and gone, so the holidays are officially upon us. Stressed? Us too. Fortunately, there are plenty of holiday distractions — here are a few of the old standbys. Do you know a holiday event Houstonist should note? Drop us a candygram. In the meantime, Merry Christmas/happy Hanukkah/happy Kwanzaa/super Winter Solstice! Sure, there are always a bunch of community theater productions of A Christmas Carol, but only in......