New York City is packed with amazing culture and inspiring art, and now that so much of it is online for free, there’s never been a better time to experience it first-hand. “Where Art Thou” is a weekly guide to interesting and notable lectures, events, and performances for the literary/musically/theatrically-inclined.

Performances + Events:

• On May 4 at 6:30 pm in the James Room in Barnard Hall, poet Deborah Paredez will be speaking about her career as a performance scholar and author, highlighting her upcoming book American Diva.
• Barnard’s MeMoSa series will continue on May 5 at 7 pm in the Movement Lab with “We Don’t Own the Rights to Any of This,” a performance mash-up of “stolen sound bites, moves, and lyrics” by Miranda Brown and Noa Weiss.
• The Columbia Departments of Religion and of African American and African Diaspora Studies will be combining to present “Say it Loud: Poets, Preachers, and the Politics of Black Faith” featuring a discussion with Professor Josef Sorett, author and professor Joshua Bennett, and musician, poet, and actor Saul Williams.

This pen means poetry via Pixabay