No virus is going to stop the Hamptons fund-raising. You may have to stare at a computer screen to experience it, but, at least when it comes to Authors Night, some gripping content and a good cause -- in this case the support of the East Hampton Library -- remain.
Robert Caro interviewed by Douglas Brinkley? The historical heavyweights will go tete-a-tete for this year’s “virtual” gatherings of writers on Aug. 8, a Saturday, starting at 6 and running for about an hour, the subject being Mr. Caro’s recent memoir, “Working.” The cost is $50 at authorsnight.org.
That’s just one highlight as the readings and discussions stretch from Aug. 6 (The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker interviewed at 8 p.m. by the TV veteran Lynn Sherr about his Trump book, “A Very Stable Genius”) to Friday, Aug. 7 (Neal Gabler, also at 8, on his forthcoming “Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975”), to the comedian Mike Birbiglia talking about his book “The New One: Painfully True Stories From a Reluctant Dad” with Alec Baldwin on Aug. 8, and wrapping up on Sunday the 9th with Dr. Ruth Westheimer and a couple of her books focusing on improving intimacy.
There’s Poetry, Too
In the meantime, the still-busy library is offering poetry fans a chance to catch up with half a dozen local practitioners over a mini reading series by way of Zoom and across two Sundays. It starts this week at 6 p.m. with Carole Stone, a professor emerita of English who has turned out numerous volumes over the years, and a couple of artist-poets, Rosalind Brenner and Pauline Yeats. On Aug. 9, also at 6 p.m., it’ll be Dee Slavutin, of late the organizer of the Poetry Marathon at the Marine Museum in Amagansett, along with Dan Hays and Carolyn Bistrian.
The place to sign up is Eventbrite, and a “Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees 15 minutes before the start of the event,” the library said in a release.