On Monday June 13, Chris Abani, author of The Face: Cartography of the Void, will appear in the House of SpeakEasy series at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in New York. The evening's theme will be "When Strangers Meet."

Named for Public Theater founder Joe Papp, Joe's Pub at The Public opened in 1998 and plays a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting young artists while providing established artists with an intimate space and superior acoustics to perform and develop new work. Joe's Pub consistently presents the best in live music and performance nightly, continuing its commitment to diversity, production values, community and artistic freedom. In addition, Joe’s Pub features seasonal dinner and bar menus from acclaimed Chef Andrew Carmellini. As part of The Public's programming downtown at its Astor Place home, Joe's Pub showcases talent from all over the world, hosting approximately 800 shows and serving over 100,000 audience members annually. Joe’s Pub also offers unique opportunities like New York Voices, an artist commissioning program that provides musicians (Allen Toussaint, Ethan Lipton, Toshi Reagon, Bridget Everett and more) resources and collaborators to develop new theatrical works; and PUB CLUB, the venue’s new artist development program.

The House of SpeakEasy is a home for close encounters of a literary kind: a place where authors and their audiences come together in innovative and sustaining ways. Founded in 2013 by the biographer and historian Amanda Foreman and the editor Lucas Wittmann, SpeakEasy is dedicated to the idea that literature matters, and that the essence of literary culture is the relationship between writers and their readers. To foster that relationship SpeakEasy seeks to:

• Bring authors out from behind the book, lectern, or screen into direct contact with audiences
• Ensure that writers are compensated for their work and their time
• Stimulate the audiences (and authors) of tomorrow by exposing them to the best writing of today

When: Monday, June 13, 2016

Where: Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003