CONTACT US   SUBSCRIBE   PREMIUM   ADVERTISING

75F Hi 81F
Lo 68F

Recent Blog Posts

Poetry Comes Home to Battery Park City

by Amanda Gordon
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 at 3:11 PM

Print Send RSS Share:    

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

Out and About Homepage

Fall Education
A New York Sun Advertorial Section

NEW YORK ›

A Surge of Support for the Sun Voiced by Leaders in the City

19 Columbia Freshmen Jump to the Ivy League From the Armed Forces

2 Arrested for Running Prostitution Ring

Community Organizers 'Appalled' by Their Portrayal

City Teacher Charged With Section 8 Fraud

More School Construction Is Urged for Manhattan

NATIONAL ›

Detroit Mayor To Step Down: 'I Lied Under Oath'

Hurricane Ike Strengthens to Category 4

Palin Speech Draws More Than 40 Million Viewers

Abortion Rights Group Sees 'Discrepancy' in Palin Stance

Bush To Announce Troop Levels in Iraq Next Week

Abramoff Sentenced to Four Years in Corruption Scandal

ARTS+ ›

This Old House: Godfrey Cheshire's Family History

Alan Ball Is Looking for Trouble

Latinbeart 2008: The Heart of Latin America Is Strong

'Mister Foe': The Boy Who Cried Mother

'Everybody Wants To Be Italian': Love Is Never Saying ... Anything

'August Evening': A Repressed Family in the Land of the Free