New York Insight’s Artist Salon Presents
In-Person and Online: Writers’ Voices – An Evening of Literary Readings
with Josh Wexler, John Madera, and Kyle Thomas Smith
Sunday, March 16th, 2025 | 2:00pm – 4:00pm ET
In-Person Location: New York Insight at 115 West 29th Street, 12th Floor
Join us for a literary afternoon featuring two of New York Insight’s community members reading from (and in conversation about) their recently published books! This event is hosted by the NYI Artist Salon.
John Madera will read from Nervosities, a timely, sharp, lyrical short story collection artfully depicting ways through the disorder of things, the overwhelm of now, of (im)possible worlds to come. And Kyle Thomas Smith will read from François: A Memoir, a powerful slice-of-life meditation on how tightly we cling to our prospects when the real gold is buried deep inside the life we already have.
The first part of the program will feature other members of New York Insight’s community reading from their writing. Following all the readings, community member Josh Wexler will interview Madera and Smith about their new books.
Suggested donation is $15, but any amount you can offer would be greatly appreciated. All proceeds go towards supporting NYI’s Community Programs.
In-Person Registration:
If you are registering via a mobile device such as a phone or tablet, you can scroll right and left and up and down within the below form if it is partially obscured or cut off.
CLICK HERE to open the registration form in a new browser window.
Online Registration:
If you are registering via a mobile device such as a phone or tablet, you can scroll right and left and up and down within the below form if it is partially obscured or cut off.
CLICK HERE to open the registration form in a new browser window.
Volunteering
All of our programs rely on volunteers to support our teachers and staff with various tasks and responsibilities. Volunteering allows you to participate in our programs at no cost. To inquire about volunteering opportunities, please fill out our inquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Teacher(s)
John Madera
John Madera is the author of Nervosities (Anti-Oedipus Press, 2024). His other fiction is published in Conjunctions, Salt Hill, Hobart, The &Now Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing, and many other journals. His poetry is published in elimae, Sixth Finch, Contrapuntos, and elsewhere. His criticism is published in American Book Review, Bookforum, The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Rain Taxi: Review of Books, The Believer, The Brooklyn Rail, and many other venues. A recipient of an M.F.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University and a two-time New York State Council on the Arts awardee, John lives in New York City, where he runs Rhizomatic and manages and edits Big Other.
Kyle Thomas Smith
Kyle Thomas Smith is the author of the novel 85A (2010, Bascom Hill), which won twelve awards and was an official selection of the American Library Association’s Over the Rainbow Roundtable. His cross-genre humor memoir, Cockloft: Scenes from a Gay Marriage (Gatekeeper, 2018) also won twelve awards, including the International Book Award in LGBTQ+ literature. Publishers Weekly hailed Cockloft as an “unexpected masterpiece.” His newest book, François: A Memoir (StreetLegal Press), has been nominated for the American Library Association’s Israel Fishman Award in LGBTQ+ Nonfiction. Kyle lives in Brooklyn with his husband and two cats and is a practice leader in New York Insight’s Brooklyn sangha. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from CUNY—Queens College.
Josh Wexler
Josh Wexler is a native New Yorker. As a bookseller, he won an important First Amendment case (Wexler vs. New Orleans) helping secure the right to distribute published materials. He wrote for the website NoMaas, and spent most of his adult life as a gigging and recording musician. He still teaches piano in Greenwich Village (GVPianoLessons.com), and currently runs New York City’s Suicide Hotline as Director of Crisis Services for Samaritans NYC.