Chang-Rae Lee

Identity Crisis
"For me the act of writing is (an) unsolvable puzzle with constantly shifting rules, pieces, everything -- including the player, the writer," says Chang-Rae Lee, author of three sublime novels and a professor of writing at Princeton University.

Lee, 40, was born in Seoul, Korea, the son of a doctor. The family moved to America when he was 3, a fact that inevitably plays a large role in his writing. His first two novels, the highly-praised Native Speaker (1995) and equally-propped A Gesture Life (1999), feature Asian-American protagonists struggling with identity despite seemingly successful careers in their adoptive land.

"I can't think of the relationship between self and the world in any other way than a state of dissonance," he says. "It's how I see the realm and what catalyzes and shapes my work."

His most recent novel, Aloft (2004), was a change-up of sorts. Its central figure, Jerry Battle, is a 59-year-old Italian-American and longtime widower, a guy who only feels alive when flying his plane over the suburban Long Island neighborhood he calls home. But some things remain the same: The richly detailed, affecting Aloft is yet another exploration of one's place in an ever-evolving society, specifically the subtle, peculiar milieu of suburban America.

Justin McKinney

"Identity is so central to our lives and perceptions and yet it constantly shifts and changes, often without our even realizing it," Lee says. "It's the deepest mystery of man, for me."

How does he go about crafting his penetrating tales? It's all about language.

"To me, voice is the necessary song of the prose -- it's how I come to understand not just the character but the rhythms and tones of the narrative, of the fictive world. Without it, writing would be mostly empty. I don't write to tell stories; the stories are incidental to what I'm trying to unmask."

Lee appears 7 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday at the University of Cincinnati and 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mercantile Library. For more information, call 513-621-0717 or 513-556-0924. (See Literary.) -- JASON GARGANO

Don Giovanni

THURSDAY 11 FRIDAY 12 SATURDAY 13 SUNDAY 14
He doesn't focus on it much these days, but Maine native JUSTIN MCKINNEY used to be a cop before becoming a stand-up comic. "I moved down to Boston," he recalls, "and I'd drive up and do weekend shifts up in Maine. I'd be telling jokes in Boston, then I'd go up and put on the uniform and do like a couple shifts a month." These days McKinney talks about other things, including his new bride. "My wife is great," he says, "I knew she was the one for me immediately after the ultimatum. She wants to have kids. She wants to have two, and she hopes they're twins so she only has to have sex with me one more time." So far success hasn't brought a huge monetary return for McKinney, and he knows many Americans are in the same boat. "I don't want you to think I'm white trash," he states. "I'm white clutter. You go into a (fancy hotel room) and they have that bottle of water there, and it's like $6.50. There's no way I'm opening that water. I don't care of my room is on fire -- I'm not breaking that seal!" McKinney performs Thursday-Sunday at The Funny Bone at Newport on the Levee. 859-957-2000. (See Onstage.) -- P.F. WILSON

FRIDAY 12
Mozart's DON GIOVANNI is one hell of an opera -- the title character's bad behavior sends him to the lower depths for ravishing women and ruining men. That's exactly what expert Charles Parsons will talk about before Friday's performance of this not-quite-comic, not-quite-tragic opera, presented Thursday-Saturday at UC's College-Conservatory of Music. On Friday evening you can hear Parsons' insights into the colorful cast of Don Giovanni's irredeemable characters, have dinner at Mick & Mack's Contemporary Café in Tangeman University Center (dinner reservations: 513-556-4553) and then head to CCM's Corbett Auditorium for the performance. This year is Mozart's 250th birthday -- have you celebrated yet? Some people think the composer identified with the amoral playboy; you can judge for yourself in this story of wit, tenderness and justice told with melodic mastery. 513-556-4183. (See Onstage.) -- RICK PENDER

FRIDAY 12
We all know the old saying, "You are what you eat." Artist PAM KRAVETZ has taken the old adage to heart with her latest exhibition of work, Beautiful Cupcakes, opening tonight at THE PHYLLIS J. WESTON-ANNIE BOLLING GALLERIES. Kravetz's work delves into her love life, her fixation with lipstick and even expresses her feelings toward different relationships in her life. Kravetz's love of food has given her the liberty to focus on new ceramic works, embellish her drawings and create narrative quilts containing added detail and a multitude of layers playing on the idea of being defined by what you eat. The opening reception is 5-8 p.m., so don't miss the sultry live Jazz, great art and, naturally, cupcakes. Continues through June 10. 513-871-2100. (See Art.) -- JACQUELYN VAUGHN

Clifton House Tour

FRIDAY 12 SATURDAY 13
The ingredients for a cutting-edge performance art cocktail: unpredictable artists, '80s toys, loop pedals, paintings and a theremin. Sound exciting? Maybe even experimental? That's because it is! It's the PTA's (PERFORMANCE AND TIME ARTS', not the Parent Teacher Association's) 11th season finale, featuring Todd Juengling, a musician and performance artist who will work with his collection of Simons, his guitar and his loop pedal; Rebecca Parker, a musician and yoga specialist who will combine her voice, flute, guitar, loop pedal and theremin; Carrie Rohman with Kristin Garbarino, who will present a new dance duet; the unpredictable performance artist Bill Donnelly; and painter Charles Phillips. A creative feast for the senses, this is one PTA meeting that has nothing to do with school reform. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at College Hill Town Hall. $8-$12. 513-591-1222. (See Onstage.) -- MAIJA ZUMMO

FRIDAY 12 SUNDAY 14
Calling all snoopers, busybodies and curiosity-seekers: It's time to traipse through other people's really cool homes at the CLIFTON HOUSE TOUR Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Held only every three years, the tour offers a guided exhibition (via shuttle bus) of 10 historic homes in Clifton, including several that have never been open to the public. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of event. On Friday at 7:30 p.m., historian, author and longtime Clifton resident Walter E. Langsam presents a pre-tour lecture, "Cottages and Castles: Clifton Homes and Their Architects," at the Scarlet Oaks Chapel, 440 Lafayette Ave. Admission $5 per person at the door. Information on both events: 513-588-6958. (See Events.) -- JOHN FOX

SATURDAY 13
"Shoegazer," the term used to broadly describe any band with gushing walls of cascading guitars, ethereal vocals and wide, trippy song structures (think Ride, My Bloody Valentine, etc.), is such a limiting genre tag. Instead of a name that conjures images of lazy, stoned guys staring at the stage floor the whole set, how about something like "Skykiss" or "Dreamalicious." Many are saying Portland quartet THE HIGH VIOLETS are the Shoeg ... uh, Dreamalicious genre's great white hope. The band's latest CD, To Where You Are, certainly makes the case. Led by the sky-kissing vocal glaze of singer Kaitlyn ni Donavan, a Francophile, animal rights activist and distant relative of Abe Lincoln's wife, The High Violets offer drifting melodies (think Lush without the harmonies), colorful splashes of luxuriant sound and a versatility that sets them apart from all of the bands to which they are so often compared. They gracefully walk between celestial guitar rumbles, danceable Electro undertones and gentler Pop, often successfully combining all three components under one song's roof. It's 4AD etherealism with an artisan's eye and a Rock & Roll heart. Dreamalicious at its finest. 513-541-8900. (See Music.) -- MIKE BREEN