Greil Marcus: No Time for the Frye

There's a whole lot to see at the Frye's worthwhile new exhibition "The Old Weird America: Folk Themes in Contemporary Art." The traveling show takes its name from the book by cultural scholar and critic Greil Marcus, who, coincidentally, is coming to town next week. Perfect! Get the guy to do a lecture or something, right? He's a nationally famous writer, though sometimes difficult to unpack in print, but surely he could offer some intelligent, off-the-cuff impressions on the Frye exhibit. (See our take from David Stoesz.)

Unfortunately, the Frye confirms, no such arrangements were made with the visiting author, which really seems a wasted opportunity. Did they not know he was coming? Or is he more intent on flogging his fat new anthology, A New Literary History of America (Harvard Univ. Press, $49.95)? He'll be discussing that volume, which he co-edited, as follows:

Seattle Central Library 1000 Fourth Ave., 386-4636, spl.org. Free. 7 p.m. Thurs., Oct. 29.