Whether a film fanatic, aspiring poet, lounge lyricist or comic book junkie, the HOWL! Festival feeds downtowners’ fancies with five days of panels, concerts, exhibits, and variety shows at nearly 40 venues. The big draws include the epic reading of “Howl” by poets like Taylor Mead and Bob Holman, performances by DJ Spooky and the opening night art auction at Bowery Poetry Club. (The full lineup is at howlfestival.com.) Following is a small smattering of the seemingly endless options:
WEDNESDAY
What could be more old-school Lower East Side than nice Jewish girls … taking off their bras. Little Brooklyn, Rose Wood, Old Ma Femme, Tula LaGams, and the Schlep Sisters make up the burlesque group, the Kosher ChiXXX. MO PITKINS, 34 Avenue A at E. 3rd St., 212-777-5660, mopitkins.com, 9 p.m., $10.
THURSDAY
The 50th Anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road actually fell on Wednesday, but the Bowery Poetry Club is celebrating it tonight with a reading from the brand-new memoir, “You’ll Be Okay: My Life with Jack Kerouac,” by Kerouac’s first wife Edie Kerouac-Parker. David Amram’s Trio accompanies, and John Ventimiglia (Artie Bucco on “The Sopranos”) reads from “On the Road,” as well. Earlier that night at 6 p.m., Roselee Goldberg and others discuss the early days of L.E.S. performance art. BOWERY POETRY CLUB, 308 Bowery at Bleecker St., 212-614-0505, bowerypoetry.com, 10 p.m., free.
FRIDAY
Take a break from carbon-copy action flicks at Loews to check out the Experimental Film Showcase curated by Black Robb, featuring “Me Meat We War” by Theresa Byrnes, “Inside Tats Cru Inc.” by Cristina Esteras-Ortiz, and films from M. Henry Jones and Justin Ambrosino. PIONEER THEATRE, 155 East 3rd Street at Avenue A, 212-591-0434, twoboots.com/pioneer, 8 p.m. –10 p.m., $10.
SATURDAY
Divided by gender, united by rock and roll anarchy, PUNK PANELS featuring the ladies of vinyl like Judy Nylon of Snatch, Becky Wreck from the Lunachicks, Cynthia Sley of Tetras, Elda Stilletto, Gabby Glaser, Honeychild Coleman. (Moderated by Marguerite Van Cook.) Meanwhile, their badboy counterparts include rock photographer Leee Black Childers, ex-Heartbreaker Walter Lure, Alan Vega of Suicide, C.J., and Arturo Vega. (Moderated by Danny Fields.) CRASH MANSION, 199 Bowery, at Spring St., 212 982 0740, crashmansion.com, 7 p.m. doors, price TBD.
SUNDAY
You always knew you had the great American novel trapped somewhere inside you. Meet the literary self-starters who set it free with small-press and micro-press titles at the Carl Soloman Book Expo. View comics, graphic novels, literature, and poetry, named for the Beat legend who helped William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac ascend to literary fame. TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK, all day Saturday and Sunday, free.
Whether you are feeling off-key, off-color, or off-your-rocker, join burlesque star Howling Vic (aka Victorial Libertore) and her guests for a night of naughty vaudeville at Crones, Ducks and Babes: a Howling Vic Revue. DIXON PLACE, 258 Bowery (2nd floor), near Stanton St., 212-219-0736, 8 p.m., $10-12.
