Ellington

Christopher Hayes writes for Alternet: "[T]his crowd, which formed a line that snaked around Astor place onto Lafayette, was garbed in American Apparel t-shirts, thrift store blazers, and the hyper pointy-toed shoes that are currently standard issue for women south of 14th Street. ...

"The packed crowd of over 900 had paid a minimum of $50 a head ($25 for students) to listen to readings from some of America's finest writers, including Salman Rushdie, Susan Sontag and Jhumpa Lahiri. The event raised $75,000 towards D4D's ultimate target of $3 million, attracting the politically and literarily-minded alike. 'When we saw this combination of writers and the cause, it's what we're into right now,' said Libby McGuinness who lives in Chelsea and works in publishing.'"I actually ran into someone I work with, a much younger person than we are, and you know she works two jobs to get by and ... I can't believe she got together $50 bucks to come here. To feel so strongly for her to give 50 dollars is great.'"

"Though most of the writers read from non-political works in progress, nearly every one of them had something to say about Bush. 'I want to speak at this moment sans hyperbole' said Michael Cunningham, author of the The Hours. 'I've never known of an election that mattered this much and darlings, I have lived through Nixon, Reagan and Bush #1!'"

The event, which featured a voter registration table right next to a table hawking sleek D4D tee shirts, exhibited D4D's novel approach to political activism, a combination of edgy creativity and hard-nosed politicking -- Lou Reed meets James Carville.