Poetry Comes Home to Battery Park City

It was a night words and music triumphed over rain. Poets and poetry fans convened Wednesday for a picnic in Battery Park City organized by Poets House.

Songwriter Jill Sobule sang melodious ballads, engaging some of the poets in her performance. For example, Hettie Jones took the stage and began reading her poem "Home."� Ms. Sobule and her band then joined in transforming the poem into a rock song.

Poets Matthea Harvy, Cornelius Eady, Li-Young Lee, and Kay Ryan read their work without musical embellishment.

"Poetry is about trying to figure out who you are. It is an expression of our own experiences, and in such great city as this one, that is of vital importance,"� Mr. Eady told me.

The gathering was in anticipation of the opening of new home of Poets House in Battery Park City in late 2008.

"The convenience of Poets House is great. It can accommodate more books, and overall there is just more availability,"� Ms. Jones said.

The new Poets House will include a poetry library; a Programming Hall for poetry-related performances; a children's room, and an expansive reading room with views of the Hudson River.

--KATHERINE BALLAINE