The Largehearted Lit Reading Series: A History and Playlist

plus music by Ladytron and books by Gabrielle Bates & Angela Woodward

Wesley Stace at Largehearted Lit (photo courtesy of WORD Bookstores)

The Largehearted Lit reading series started with an e-mail. In 2009

Jami Attenberg

messaged me about a possible reading series. The series would feature authors reading from their work and sharing musical anecdotes, and musicians playing music and discussing books. A couple of e-mails and a phone call later, Largehearted Lit was born. Jami was integral to the series’ early days as originator, host, and co-curator, and remains a huge inspiration to me for building literary community.

The first installment was held at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn in November of 2009, and featured Lev Grossman, Libba Bray, and MC Chris. When I moved to NYC in 2011, the series relocated to Brooklyn’s WORD Bookstore, with occasional events held in clubs, at Housing Works Bookstore in SoHo, as well as in Austin and elsewhere.

Libba Bray at Largehearted Lit

The convergence of books & music was alive at these events. Authors often became musicians. Libba Bray covered the Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner,” and a couple of Tom Petty songs at separate events. On a night dedicated to authors who make music and musicians who write, both Alina Simone and Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding) filled WORD’s event space with their prose and music. Other evenings featured authors Dylan Hicks and Carey Wallace sharing both their words and music.

Amanda Palmer at Largehearted Lit (photo courtesy of WORD Bookstores)

By 2014 I was hosting three monthly reading series: Largehearted Lit, Literary BFFs, and DISH (more of a food series), and had been for several years. Booking the three series along with publishing Largehearted Boy and my freelance projects was too much. I put the Largehearted Lit monthly series on hiatus, but still have found time to put on the occasional book & music event.

2023 is a big year for Largehearted Boy projects. Next month I will launch a literary podcast, and once again start hosting events. Stay tuned to both Largehearted Boy and the newsletter for the coming announcements.

This week’s subscriber playlist shares music by a selection of artists who have performed at Largehearted Lit events: