Author Archives: beth

Saturday, April 20th, 8pm at ETG Book Cafe, 208 Bay St, SINY 10301. Special thanks to Katie & Steve, for their hospitality!

Staten Island OutLOUD hosts a stage reading of Kelly Link’s magical story.
Directed by Vincent Vok. Featuring Margaret Chase, John Bostrom, Melisande Echanique, Jack Freedman, Rona Solomon & Vincent Vok.
A sweet grandmother has a very old handbag. If you open the clasp one way, you’ll look inside her purse and see her grandmotherly handbag things.
But if you open the clasp another way, the handbag opens to reveal an old European village with cobblestone streets, wishing wells, picturesque people, steeples and cats.
Be careful, or you could fall in. And then, you could …
And by the way, is grandma really that sweet? Or is she….
This event is free & open to the public.
Book giveaway, too!

This event is part of our series on Kelly Link’s short story collection, Pretty Monsters, for the National Endowment for the Arts / The Big Read. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute for Museum and Library services, and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. www.neabigread.org

Sunday, April 7th, 2pm. At Huguenot House, 5474 Amboy Road, SINY 10312.

Thanks to Rev. Terry Troia for her hospitality, as Staten Island OutLOUD presents a reading and dialogue at this new, non-denominational community center.

This novel reflects the true story of Dita Kraus, a courageous teenage girl who was imprisoned at Auschwitz during WWII. She bravely carried out a project that brought hope to her fellow prisoners as they lived through hell.
This event is best for ages 12 and up.
FREE.

Saturday, April 6th, 8pm at Every Thing Goes Book Cafe, 208 Bay St, SINY 10301 (between Victory Blvd & Hannah St).

A community performance in collaboration with musicians Rachel Isaacs and Noel Catti, and with poets Thomas Fucaloro and Julie Bentsen.

Join is as we revisit and reimagine John Milton’s classic.

Saturday, March 23rd, 2pm at Nothing New Thrift Shop, 4916 Arthur Kill Road, SINY 10309. Special thanks to Jodi Kenny of Nothing New, for her hospitality!

Staten Island OutLOUD hosts a stage reading of Kelly Link’s magical story.
Directed by Vincent Vok. Featuring Melisande Echanique, Rona Solomon and others TBA.
A sweet grandmother has a very old handbag. If you open the clasp one way, you’ll look inside her purse and see her grandmotherly handbag things.
But if you open the clasp another way, the handbag opens to reveal an old European village with cobblestone streets, wishing wells, picturesque people, steeples and cats.
Be careful, or you could fall in. And then, you could …
This event is free & open to the public.
Book giveaway, too!

This event is part of our series on Kelly Link’s short story collection, Pretty Monsters, for the National Endowment for the Arts / The Big Read. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute for Museum and Library services, and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. www.neabigread.org

Saturday, March 2nd, 2019, 8pm. At Everythong Goes Book Cafe & Neighborhood Stage, 208 Bay St, SINY 10301.

A spoken word performance with music, inspired by Jacob Riss’ pioneering journalism.

We are proud to collaborate with Island musicians Elle La Forge, Rob Landsman, and Rich Barbera.

A spoken word performance with music, exploring Jacob Riis’ groundbreaking journalism “How the Other Half Lives”.
Presented by Staten Island OutLOUD with music by Ellen La Forge, Rob Landsman, and Rich Barbera.
Riis’ book broke new ground in combining photography with a compelling narrative about the brutal challenges that working people, especially new Americans, overcame to survive in New York City.
“How the Other Half Lives” helped raise awareness of 19th century urban housing and public health issues. It’s publication helped bring about reforms in fire safety, fair housing, and child labor laws, among other issues.

Sunday, Feb 17th, 2pm at Duzer’s Local Cafe & Market, 387 Van Duzer St, SINY 10304

This is the second poetry workshop that Staten Island poet Thomas Fucaloro is presenting for the NEA/The Big Read with Staten Island OutLOUD. In his previous workshop session, Tom led a discussion on the writing process, using text from Kelly Link’s “The Wrong Grave” – and taking as a jumping-off point the predicament of Miles, the young poet in that story. Everyone who participated in that workshop received a writing prompt, so in this session we’ll workshop the poetry that each person has written.
If you’re joining us for the first time on Feb 17th, please feel free to bring any of your writing and Tom will be happy to workshop that, too.
If you wrote a poem based on “The Wrong Grave” or if you want to bring in other work, that’s fine. But please don’t bring anything longer than 1 page, please. Also, please bring in at least 5 copies to share with the group. If you email your work to sioutloud@yahoo.com by Feb 15th, we’ll be happy to make copies for you.

Saturday,Jan 26th, 2pm at Every Thing Goes Book Cafe, 208 Bay St, SINY 10301 (between Victory Blvd & Hannah St).

Island poet Marguerite Maria Rivas hosts this gathering, focused on “Goblin Market”, a fantastical and erotic tale by Christina Rossetti. This event concludes Staten Island OutLOUD’s series for The Big Read/National Endowment for the Arts on Kelly Link’s story story collection Pretty Monsters.

Kelly Link’s stories are fantastical Gothic tales, and she has said that she draws inspiration earlier works by such writers as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti. As we explore “Goblin Market”, Prof. Rivas will underscore some of the fascinating connections between the works of Christina Rossetti, Dante Rossetti and Kelly Link.

8pm on Saturday, January 12, 2019. Limited Space – Reservations essential! This event takes place in a private Victorian home.

Please RSVP by Jan 12th, via email to sioutloud@yahoo.com
Address information provided when you RSVP.
Sorry, we cannot take phone reservations.

A spoken word performance based on Kelly Link’s whimsical short story, “The Specialist’s Hat.” Directed by Vincent Vok, featuring performances by Julie Bentsen, Melisande Echanique, Hannah Jay, Julia Simoniello, and others TBA.

Two young sisters live in a big Victorian house with their father, a lonely widower. The girls learn to entertain themselves because their father leaves the house for long stretches of time. Then a babysitter arrives. She is amazing. And not just because she might be a zombie…

Sunday, Jan 6th, 2pm at Duzer’s Local Cafe, 387 Van Duzer Street, SINY 10304 (near the corner of Beach St & Van Duzer).
Plenty of free parking on surrounding streets.

This event is part of Staten Island OutLOUD’s series of events for The Big Read/National Endowment for the Arts. FREE! Book giveaway!

Join Staten Island OutLOUD and Island poet Victoria Hallerman for this lively reading and community conversation. Vicki will explore the gap (or is it a connection?) between poetry and our daily lives.

Is there a disconnect between poetry and daily life? For some of us, poetry is a familiar friend. Others may find it a struggle to understand what we read. Do you agree? If not, what are your thoughts?

What’s the life of poetry in the digital age? What’s the life of poetry in contemporary American life? What is poetry in your own life?

Join us, share your ideas and explore some fresh viewpoints!

Saturday, Dec 15th 2pm at the Tottenville Library, 7430 Amboy Road, SINY 10307

Join our librarian pal Colin and the staff of the Tottenville Library for another fun gathering and community conversation. Free books too!