The New York Public Library 2019 Lunch
Bibliophiles were sated at “Historically Speaking”, The New York Public Library Lunch on the afternoon of Thursday, April 18th. The landmark Manhattan branch, The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street hosted the annual benefit to raise critical funds to support the Library’s mission to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen communities.
The splendid salon celebrated today’s most prolific writers in the literary world: Jennifer Egan, Min Jin Lee and Colm Tóibín. The afternoon began inside the Celeste Bartos Forum with lunch under the lyric glass dome of the Beaux Arts building.
Luminous guests Caroline Kennedy, Susan Cheever, Ciaran Madden, Candice Bergen, Fran Lebowitz, Emily Nemens,Chloe Malle, Tatiana Schlossberg, Sana Sabbagh, Julie Orringer, Angela Flournoy, Ashley C. Ford, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Christy Ferer, Merryl Tisch, Kevin Young, Kathy Rayner, Peter Duchin, Bud Trillin , Jonathan Burnham, Sheila Wolfe and David Costabile were among the sold-out luncheon attendees.
The Gracious Thyme luncheon menu of roasted heirloom tomato and goat cheese tarts, herb crusted breast of chicken with arugula pesto and petit Caesar salad was complimented by a delicate La Vidaubanaise ‘Le Provençal’ Cotes du Provence Rose. An artful tier of miniature desserts and edible flowers followed with coffee and tea.
After dessert, The New York Public Library President & CEO Tony Marx quieted the elegant sociable crowd by quipping in a quiet voice, “Shh… It’s a library.” Marx spoke eloquently about the institution, “one of the powers of the library is that it makes the kind of society we want to live in possible. “ Co-chair Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos was thoughtful about the times we live in, “the library is more important than ever as freedom of thought and access to ideas and knowledge are being challenged all over the world.”
The New Yorker editor David Remnick opened with, “Will all of you put away your PDFs of the Mueller report?” David gave a shoutout for this year’s lunch brilliantly co-chaired by Abgail Baratta, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos, Louise Grunwald, Zibby Owens, Daisy Prince, Deborah Goodrich Royce and Nanar Yoseloff with honorary co-chair Colum McCann.
David moderated a lively conversation focused on the genre of historical fiction with the illustrious storytellers Jennifer Egan, Min Jin Lee and Colm Tóibín. Candid and funny repartee with the authors on writing group, research and high expectations ensued.
Lawyer turned New York Times bestselling author and a National Book Award finalist, Min Jin Lee is a breakout star for her first novel, “Free Food for Millionaires”. Her second novel, “Pachinko” is a historical sweeping epic of a Korean family in Japan. Kudos to Min who is an executive producer on an Apple TV adaptation of her novel “Pachinko” with a lavish budget to rival “The Crown”. Lee who clearly doesn’t suffer fools added, “If they get the history wrong, I will wash my hands from the project”. When probed about the importance of plot, Lee had a blunt response: “Readers have the right to complain when there isn’t plot”.
Colm Tóibín who has been shortlisted three times for the Man Booker Prize and is a winner of The Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His New York Times bestselling novel, “Brooklyn” is a loving homage to immigrants coming to America. His latest novel, “The House of Names” is a contemporary retelling of the Greek tragedy, Clytemnenstra. Colm regaled with tales of visiting location shoots of “Brooklyn” in his hometown County Wexler, Ireland. He described the community’s excitement, “The people looked much better than they did at the Academy Awards” to attend the screening. The novel went on to be the BAFTA Award winner for Best British Film and a three time Oscar nominated feature film starring Saoirse Ronan.
Jennifer Egan’s research for her historical novel, “Manhattan Beach” set on the Brooklyn waterfront involved interviews with old school gangsters. The acclaimed author of several bestsellers and currently President of PEN America, Egan discussed her writing group, which she credits her books’ successes to and admiringly calls her “collaborators”. She shares her group helps and she, “likes to know early whether material feels alive. It’s one of those murky questions but it’s also crucial”. Jennifer’s novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is a treasure trove of outstanding resource materials of over 15 million items, designated research tables and free Wi-Fi. The great librarians and dedicated curators steward the Library’s world-renowned circulating and non-circulating collections. The research rooms and general use rooms are used by scholars, writers, artists and students every day.
The iconic British luxury brand of china, silver, leather goods and jewelry, Asprey generously sponsored the literary affair for the 10th consecutive year. The New Yorker graciously sponsored as Literary Partner. Guests left with armfuls of the latest critically awarded novels that had served as beautiful floral and literary centerpieces.
The New York Public Library consists of 88 branches located in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. The captivating benefit luncheon supports the Library’s mission of providing service for the free use of all the people.
