Author Archives: beth

A Medley of Staten Island OutLOUD Video Features

This short video presents an overview of Staten Island OutLOUD’s work with people of all ages & backgrounds.  It describes our variety of programs featuring poetry, prose, historic texts and other compelling works.  Click on this link: http://youtu.be/fwJUddyiSyk   (To view this video clip, you may have to sign in via your own YouTube account)

And here’s a quick DIY video of two Staten Island OutLOUD guests’ impromptu bilingual reading from The Mountain Poems of Meng Hao-jan, on a sunny afternoon.  Click on this link: http://youtu.be/35co9RN36Fg   (To view this video clip, you may have to sign in via your own YouTube account)

Staten Island OutLOUD is proud to host readings of poetry & prose by Native American writers, in honor of Native American Heritage Month. We’re always pleased to welcome diverse families & individuals to these events. During one such reading, a young Dad was so touched that he spontaneously sang to his kids and to all our guests. To hear his brief but exuberant song, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcPIByijMDU    (In order to view this video clip, you may have to sign in via your own YouTube account)

Staten Island OutLOUD was proud to receive the 2009 Achievement In Arts & Humanities Award from the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island (now known as Staten Island Arts).  Here’s a link to a short video that COAHSI and our friends at Time-Warner created for the awards gala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lURryAcPoI

The Grimmest of the Brothers Grimm

Saturday, Aug 9, 2pm.  Killmeyers Old Bavaria Inn, 4356 Arthur Kill Rd (@Sharrotts Rd), SINY 10309. A macabre new translation, as dark as those Brothers intended.  The Tales of the Brothers Grimm, in a new translation published by our friends at Archipelago Books.  The book is illustrated with 24 paintings by contemporary Haitian artists – beautiful!

We’ll meet in Killmeyers sunny beer garden. Enjoy a delicious lunch of traditional German fare as we explore the world of Grimm, as macabre as the Grimm brothers intended.

This version of Grimm’s tales is not for the little ones!  Sinister, scary, and very grim. You’ll recognize some stories immediately (beheadings, kidnappings, royal weddings).  But there are many tales in this new translation that you’ve never heard before. They’re mysterious, a trip into a mystical German twilight zone.  Plus that fabulous Haitian art –  Voodou meets the Black Forest (or something like that).  

“Even people who have never known hunger, let alone a murderous stepmother, still have a sense – from dreams, books and news broadcasts of utter blackness….  The tales still evoke nature as life’s driving force, and nature is not kind.”  – The New Yorker

This event is free – but OutLOUD participants who order lunch at Killmeyers get a free book (while supplies last), courtesy of Archipelago Books. Killmeyers’ menu of traditional German fare is delicious and reasonably priced.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.   For driving directions, visit www.killmeyers.comGrimm_Red_Riding_Hood

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Moby Dick

Saturday, July 26, 6:30pm NEW LOCATION: NOBLE MARITIME COLLECTION ON THE GROUNDS OF SNUG HARBOR.    Staten Island OutLOUD’s annual celebration of Moby Dick in the historic rooms of the Noble Maritime Collection, 1000 Richmond Terrace, SINY 10301 (on the grounds of Snug Harbor)  

Staten Island OutLOUD reads Moby Dick in a charming indoor setting: the historic Noble Maritime Collection, a site that Melville visited often.  As you listen to Melville’s haunting tale, you’ll share the story of Ishmael, Ahab and the crew of the Pequod as they begin their mystical journey.  Please plan to explore the beautiful exhibits on display at the Museum.

Maritime music by the Staten Island Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Park in any of the Snug Harbor lots, or park on the street, then follow the paths to the  Noble Museum, Building D, facing Richmond Terrace & the Kill van Kull.  If you have a permit for special-needs parking, ask any guard to direct you to the reserved parking areas closest to the Noble Maritime Collection.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

This event is perfect for all ages; often three generations of families join us.  Free and open to the public.

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A Blind Hero of the French Resistance

Sunday, July 13 at 3pm, Historic Richmond Town, 441 Clarke Ave, SINY 10306.

And There Was Light – The story of a blind hero of the French Resistance.

We’ll read & discuss the story of Jacques Lusseyran, who joined the French Resistance as a teenager.  He wanted to fight the Nazis, but he could not join the Allied forces because he was blinded as a child.  But as a member of the Resistance, his talent for “reading” people were invaluable during that dangerous time.  Lusseyran’s autobiography, And There Was Light, is his compelling personal account of that work, and of the dangers faced by French Resistance members every day.Lusseyran book jacket

Hosted by two Islanders: Filmmaker Dean Thompson and poet Victoria Hallerman. Island artist Helen Levin will perform a beautiful Rimbaud poem set to music.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Paws & Read OutLOUD – For Kidz!

Friday, July 11, 2pm: Paws & Read OutLOUD. Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Ave, SINY 10314.

Staten Island OutLOUD invites kids ages 5-10 to read aloud to a gentle licensed therapy dog. Sweetie Pie is a kindly boxer; she loves kids, and she loves it when they read to her!  This is a great way for youngsters to build their reading skills and increase confidence.  Bring your favorite book from home, or borrow one of our books to read aloud to Sweetie Pie.   Free.

Hosted by Doris Nielsen licensed therapy dog trainter.Sweetie Pie listens attentively

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Declaration of Independence

Friday, July 4, 2pm at the historic Conference House, 7455 Hylan Blvd, SINY 10307 (@Satterlee St).  BRING A LAWNCHAIR!

When’s the last time you read our nation’s founding document?  Join us as we read the Declaration together, plus a few surprises.  The Conference House is a perfect setting for this event.  It was the site of a 1776 peace conference with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge and Lord Howe, in an ill-fated effort to end the Revolutionary War.  The rest is history.

This event is perfect for all ages.  Bring a lawnchair!  Rain or shine; if it rains, we’ll gather inside the cozy  Declaration pagekitchen of the Conference House.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A NEIGHBORLY, NON-PARTISAN EVENT.  As a nonprofit cultural organization, we cannot engage in any campaign-related activities, nor can we promote or present political candidates..  Thanks.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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City Slickers on the Farm

Saturday, June 28, 2pm.  At Gericke Farm, 2876 Arthur Kill Rd, SINY 10309 (between Bloomingdale Rd & Sharrotts Rd). Free!    Watch for the large white sign on Arthur Kill Road, for “Gericke Farm” (about 3 blocks west of Bloomingdale Rd).  Plenty of free parking on Arthur Kill Road.

BRING A LAWNCHAIR!!!!

Here’s a link to Google Maps & driving directions (copy & paste into your browser):   https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2876+Arthur+Kill+Rd,+SINY+10309&hnear=2876+Arthur+Kill+Rd,+Staten+Island,+New+York+10309&gl=us&t=m&z=16

Have you ever dreamed about owning your own farm, getting “back to the land”, growing your own food & living independently?  The “small farm” movement is a growing phenomenon.  Across the country, independent farmers (rural & urban) are raising awareness & renewing respect for the important work that farmers do.  Join us to read & talk about the stories of some folks who learned how to do it, from the ground up!

Does your family have a link to farming?  If so, please share your stories & family photos!

Gericke Farm, part of the NY State Clay Pit Ponds campus, is one of NYC’s last working farms. We’ll have age-appropriate readings for kids about farming & farm animals. Bring a lawnchair!

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Bloomsday OutLOUD

Monday, June 16, 7:30pm.  139 Bay Street Gallery, 139 Bay St, SINY 10301.  Bloomsday OutLOUD: Global celebration of James Joyce’s comic epic, Ulysses.

Every year on June 16, all over the world – from Boston to Beijing, from Sidney to Seattle, Joyceans gather to read & celebrate Ulysses.  Considered by many to be the first modern novel, J Joyce magnifying glass traces the peregrinations, the encounters, the thoughts and the interior monologues of three Dubliners (and everyone they meet or pass by), from sunrise on June 16, 1904, til dawn the following morning.

Staten Island OutLOUD invites you to join us, and to be part of this global celebration, which we present every year on June 16.  OutLOUD’s amiable host: the inimitable James Hill, a Staten Islander & a proud son of Erin.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

 

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Poetry & Music Workshops: Coltrane to WuTang

Saturday afternoon, June 21 at 2pm, at the Stapleton Branch Library, 132 Canal St, SINY 10304.

A free inter-generational workshop, exploring creative writing & poetry performance.  Led by Island writer, teacher Coltraine& musician Gary Moore.  Great for all ages.PW Logo-BLK bkgdPW-DCA Logo-WHT bkgd

Gary invites you to explore what makes a poem a poem, ballads to blues, and a Staten Island anthology.  You can be the star of your own poetry slam!

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

This series was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. through public fund from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the New York City Council.

 

 

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Shakespeare OutLOUD with Noodles at Noon!

Shakespeare -party hat-noodle bowlSaturday, April 26, Noon.  Bay St Noodle Shop, 228 Bay St, SINY 10301 (at Tompkinsville Park & just a few doors from ETG Book Café).  Part of ETG’s annual St George Day Festival.

Staten Island OutLOUD kicks off the annual St George Day festival, with a whimsical celebration of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday: “Shakespeare OutLOUD with Noodles!”
We’ll feature readings of original work on Shakespearean themes by writers from OutLOUD’s creative writing studio – Together with participatory readings of Shakespeare’s sonnets – for National Poetry Month.   If you’d like to read one of your favorite soliloquies & scenes, that’s great.  We welcome readings of Shakespeare by anyone who wants to join us!

We’ll meet in the awesome new Bay St Noodle Shop (228 Bay St, overlooking Tompkinsville Park & just a few doors from ETG Book Cafe).  Our reading is free – BUT WE ASK YOU TO SUPPORT THE NOODLE SHOP by ordering something from their delicious menu: Starts as low as $4 for a huge bowl of noodles, plus other tasty selections. 

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