THIS WEEK: A SELECTIVE GUIDE

POETRY, SEDUCTION AND BEATBOXING | APRIL 15th 2008

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Greenwich Photography/flickr

Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE

Our guide to what's on around the world, compiled by Ariel Ramchandani.

SPRING BREAK

Take a trip, imagined or otherwise, with August Kleinzahler's new book "Sleeping It Off in Rapid City". In this collection of new and selected poems, the works are as densely packed and varied as passengers in a crowded train car. At times short and staccato, and then waving and languorous, the poetry is always musical and transporting. Klenzahler's rhythmic wanderings are like the romantic Tartars in "The Tartar Swept": "for whom the back of a horse/ is their only country/ for whom a roof and four walls is like unto a grave."

SLEEPING IT OFF IN RAPID CITY April 8th, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

REVENGE IS BEST SERVED ON BROADWAY

This production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" stars Academy Award-winner Laura Linney and Ben Daniels as the bored French aristocrats in a ruthless game of power and seduction. Slimy and timeless, the play proves that sex never goes out of style. Linney, an accomplished stage actress as well as a film star, transforms that seemingly all-American porcelain face of hers into that of a cunning temptress. It is thrilling to see so much flesh and blood up close.

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, April 12th to July 6th, New York, American Airlines Theatre

BRUISING LAUGHTER

Sometimes a joke will set you free. Disinhibition: Black Art and Blue Humor at the alternative Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago showcases artists that use humour as a reprieve from political correctness. The chuckles end up exploring prejudices and taboos, and some hurt a little. Carefully curated by Blake Bradford, the centre's director of education, the show ranges from the confrontational to cheeky, and is uninhibited at every turn.

DISINHIBITION: BLACK ART AND BLUE HUMOR April 13th to June 22, Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center

SMORGASBORD, IN GERMAN

An entire day of browsing will still cover little ground at ART Cologne. This huge fair of contemporary art snares plenty of gallery hoppers and art market big-shots, with work from more than 260 galleries from 20 countries. Be sure to check out the New Contemporaries section, where 29 galleries spotlight work by young and rising stars. There is also "Global EurAsia" a special exhibition examining the effect of globalisation and new technology on the relationship between Asian and Western art. Guided tours are offered in the afternoons.

ART COLOGNE 42nd International Fair for Modern and Contemporary Art, April 16th to 20th, Koelnmesse, Cologne

LIGHTER THAN ETHER

Kicking off on Friday at the Southbank Centre is the London Ether Festival 08, an annual event that fuses music, art and technology. Highlights include Goldfrapp, opening the festival with the midsummer-night's-dreaminess of their new album Seventh Tree, and Harmonia's buzzing electro-rock. The International Beatbox Convention encourages amateurs to join in with professionals. There's much more, including a host of free shows and "China Incidental", a sound installation that's up for the whole festival. It's sensory overload at its best--bring an open mind.

ETHER 08, April 18th to 28th, Southbank Centre, London