LOST & FOUND Launch at Grad. Ctr.

May 3, 2012, 5:00pm | Martin E. Segal Theatre Lost & Found Launch with Joanne Kyger and Michael Rumaker Come celebrate the publication of Series III of Lost & Found: The CUNY Poetics Document Initiative, & hear the editors present their projects: Anne Donlon’s work on "Langston Hughes, Nancy Cunard & Louise Thompson: Poetry, Politics & Friendship in the Spanish Civil War" John Harkey’s facsimile edition of Lorine Niedecker’s "Homemade Poems" Seth Stewart's recovery of the John Wieners / Charles Olson Correspondence Ana Božičević’s presentation of a Diane di Prima Lecture on Charles Olson Lindsey Freer’s transcription and annotation of lectures by Ed Dorn Megan Paslawski’s edition of Michael Rumaker’s "Selected Letters" Ammiel Alcalay’s edition of "Letters To & From Joanne Kyger" Join poet Joanne Kyger for a rare East Coast appearance, as she reads with her old friend, prose writer and former Black Mountain College student Michael Rumaker, Ammiel Alcalay and the Lost & Found editors. *Series III will be available for purchase, along with two free broadsides printed especially for the event.* At The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Ave and 34th St New York, NY 10016 Venue fully accessible http://centerforthehumanities.org/lost-and-found/events/Lost-Found-Launch

Thomas and Beulah

THE POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA announces it's inaugural installment of Poets in the Playhouse on Friday, May 4th, 7pm at Queens College. This year’s program will be a theatrical adaptation, staged by Queens College students, of the Pulitzer-prize winning collection, Thomas & Beulah by Rita Dove. The performance will include music and movement (dance). Ms. Dove will be in attendance and participate in a moderated Q&A with cast and crew after the show.

Thomas and Beulah tells the semi-fictionalized chronological story of Rita Dove’s maternal grandparents in the form of a two-part book of narrative poems set during the period of the Great Migration - the movement of 6 million African Americans out of the south from 1910 to 1970. Her grandfather Thomas is featured in “Mandolin,” the book’s first part, and his wife, Beulah is the focus of “Canary in Bloom,” the second part. The two sections are meant to offer the male and female perspectives on some seventy years of American history. “This isn’t simply a reading of Rita Dove’s poems, but our attempt to invent a new form,” explains playwright and QC professor Richard Schotter. “Tyler Rivenbark, an MFA student, has shaped the poems through the use of music, movement, slides, etc. A director/choreographer will further dramatize the material. As far as I know, this is a first for Thomas and Beulah.” Friday, May 4, 7 pm Free and open to the public Queens College—The Little Theater, King Hall, Room 115 Map/directions: http://www.qc.cuny.edu/ABOUT/DIRECTIONS/Pages/default.aspx Rita Dove’s Thomas and Beulah Adapted for the stage by Tyler Rivenbark Directed and choreographed by Nicco Annan Music by Barry Mitterhoff

MFA Student Plays at THE FLEA

Four rehearsed readings of MFA student plays at The Flea Theater in May. Note that readings take place during the day at the following times below: Tuesday May 8: Plays by Nancy Ramos and Sean O'Connor 11:30am and 2pm Wednesday May 9: Plays by Jonathan Kravetz and Brian Blader, 11:30am and 2pm The Flea is at 41 White Street in Tribeca: http://www.theflea.org/

STILLSPOTTING in Queens ...

The series, put on by the Guggenheim, is like any other day walking around Jackson Heights or sitting with friends in their apartment, except, well... you don’t know these people and at each location there’s an author or actor waiting with a story in mind to tell you. Stillspotting NYC is a two-year-long project that takes museum-goers with a map in hand to city streets. They will hear stories from writers including poets, professors, a chaplain and a pair of rappers. For this edition of Stillspotting NYC: Queens, called Transhistoria, the architects at New York-based Solid Objectives–Idenburg Liu — that found locations and writers for the event — bring visitors to Jackson Heights. Ticket holders take two-hour self-guided tours starting from the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Ave. transit hub on 75th Street and Broadway. Guests choose four of six locations to visit on their tour. A family program will be offered May 5 from 12 to 3p.m. with a story written for the little ones and adults alike. Visit the project’s website for more information. Stillspotting participant Roger Sedarat said writers were prompted by the questions: “How do New Yorkers escape the intensity of the city? We are interested in a story about transition and making a place in one’s home through language,” and “What connection does this story have to the ideas of stillness and quiet?” A “stillspot” was different for each author, but in his or her own way it’s a place in which each felt calm with a sense of belonging. And it’s not always easy to find moments of still in a neighborhood with a lack of green space, pointed out poet and participant Maria Terrone. Jackson Heights is also one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in city, according to the Guggenheim. “A place where ‘peace and quiet’ is elusive and ever more precious when it’s found,” as excerpted from Terrone’s piece. Three of the Stillspotting authors — Sedarat, Terrone and Premilla Nadasen — work at Queens College and in some way or another speak about food as an example of culture or a unifier in this diverse neighborhood. ... Stillspotting’ When: April 28–29, and May 5–6, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Where: Walking tours start at Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Ave. transit hub Tickets: $10, cash only stillspotting.guggenheim.org

LAST TURNSTYLE OF THE YEAR

Please come and hear outstanding graduating MFA students from the four CUNY MFA Programs (Brookyn, City, Hunter & Queens) and two faculty members ...
April 16th: Skylight Theater (which is on the 9th floor)

6:30-8:30 @ the CUNY Graduate Center @ 365 5th Avenue, 34th Street
Skylight theater
MFA Candidate Readers:
Keisha-Gaye Anderson, Jordan Schauer, Jess Lacher, Kaci Hamilton, Mark Sitko, Halimah Marcus, Brian Blader, Sachiko Clayton

With:
Jan Heller Levi, Lyn Di Iorio

Free and open to the public!