FRAN LEBOWITZ

IN STEGI

In a discussion with the Director of Culture of the Onassis Foundation, Aphrodite Panagiotakou

15.03.2022 | CENTRAL STAGE | 20:30

From New York for the first time to Athens and the Onassis Cultural Center, Fran Lebowitz always says exactly what she thinks.

This is a meeting that should not be missed. If NEW YORK were a woman, it would be Fran Lebowitz. Unorthodox and intellectual with a wry sense of humor, a voracious smoker and reader, a writer who – by her own admission – has had writer’s block lasting decades, an associate of Andy Warhol (whom she didn’t like), a figure both provocative and fractious. The limitless Fran Leibowitz, now more widely known in Greece thanks to the Netflix documentary series “Pretend It’s a City” made by her close friend Martin Scorsese, is coming to Onassis Stegi to take part in an unpredictable conversation with the ONASSIS FOUNDATION’s Director of CULTURE, Afroditi Panagiotakou: about the contemporary cultural landscape, life in the world’s metropolises, and the importance of being oneself today. A discussion where the audience will get the most incisive answers to all their questions..

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators.

Her essays and interviews offer her acerbic views on current events and the media – as well as pet peeves including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. The “NEW YORK Times Book Review” calls Lebowitz an “important humorist in the classic tradition.” Purveyor of urban cool, Lebowitz is a cultural satirist whom many call the heir to Dorothy Parker.

Lebowitz on special interest groups: “Special-interest publications should realize that if they are attracting enough advertising and readers to make a profit, the interest is not so special.”

Lebowitz on frankness: “Spilling your guts is exactly as charming as it sounds.” Lebowitz on herself: “Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.”

This is Lebowitz off the cuff. Her writing — pointed, taut and economical — is equally forthright, irascible, and unapologetically opinionated.

Lebowitz worked odd jobs, such as taxi driving, belt peddling, and apartment cleaning (“with a small specialty in Venetian blinds”), before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for “Interview.” That was followed by a stint at “Mademoiselle.” Her first book, a collection of essays titled “Metropolitan Life,” was a bestseller, as was a second collection, “Social Studies.” By turns ironic, facetious, deadpan, sarcastic, wry, wisecracking, and waggish, Lebowitz’s prose is wickedly entertaining. Her two books are collected in “The Fran Lebowitz Reader,” with a new preface by the author. “The Fran Lebowitz Reader” has been published in nine languages including French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Lebowitz is also the author of the children’s book, “Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas.”

Between 2001 to 2007, Lebowitz had a recurring role as Judge Janice Goldberg on the television drama “Law & Order.” She also had a part in the Martin Scorsese-directed film, “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). A raconteur if ever there was one, Lebowitz has long been a regular on various talk shows including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and Bill Maher. In an interview with the “Paris Review,” Lebowitz said “I’m not a nervous person. I’m not afraid to be on TV. I’m only afraid when I write. When I’m at my desk I feel like most PEOPLE would feel if they went on TV.”

She can also be seen in various documentary films including the “American Experience” series on NEW YORK City, as well as “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures” (2016), “Regarding Susan Sontag” (2014), and “Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol” (1990), among others. In 2010 Martin Scorsese directed a documentary about Lebowitz for HBO titled “Public Speaking.” A limited documentary series, “Pretend It’s a City,” also directed by Martin Scorsese, premiered on Netflix in 2021, and was nominated for the 2021 Emmys in the Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series category. In 2021 she was given the Forte dei Marmi Festival della Satira Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lebowitz was named to “Vanity Fair”’s International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 2008. She remains a style icon. Lebowitz lives in NEW YORK City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.

On New York and Athens, urban coolness, and the importance of saying what’s on your mind. When maverick New York writer and critic Fran Lebowitz meets the Onassis Foundation’s Director of Culture, Afroditi Panagiotakou, no one knows what the evening will bring.

Συντελεστές

Fran Lebowitz σε μια συζήτηση με την Αφροδίτη Παναγιωτάκου

Επιμέλεια: Δημήτρης Θεοδωρόπουλος, Πάσκουα Βοργιά

Παραγωγή: Στέγη Ιδρύματος Ωνάση

Η συζήτηση θα πραγματοποιηθεί στα αγγλικά με ταυτόχρονη διερμηνεία στα ελληνικά και στην ελληνική νοηματική γλώσσα

Την ημέρα της εκδήλωσης θα πωλείται στη Στέγη το βιβλίο της The Fran Lebowitz Reader

Στο τέλος της εκδήλωσης η Φραν Λίμποουιτς θα υπογράψει βιβλία

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