Category: Blog Post 6 (Page 1 of 2)

The walk from the 6-train wasn’t far, yet the unseasonably cold October air did me no favors. I could not help but spectacle the thought process of those who walked around without coats, but then again on Halloween comfort isn’t always the first thought. The streets were filled with monsters, ghouls, witches, and surprising amount politicians. I witnessed Einstein and Obama walk into an Irish pub, the infinite possibilities of a potential joke distracted me the entire way to 36 Bowery street. Arriving inside, I was greeted by the warm welcome of fellow Macaulay peers and better yet central heating.  As I took my seat, I wondered what was in store for me on this festive Halloween evening by New York City’s latest emerging artists.

The venue was quaint and cozy, dimly lit and carpets everywhere. The pleasantly comfortable ambiance,  distracted me from being offended by the exuberant of Persian carpets  in the room. When did it become exotic and Avant Garde to decorate the room with my culture?

Event organizer

“Folks, you are all in store for a lovely evening tonight. We have three artists for you tonight. Without further ado, The Dixon Place present the artists Guerilla Lit Reading Series”  

The most memorable readings came from Laura Catherine Brown, reading from her self-published book Made by Mary. I recall Brown’s clothing, it fit the room well. The brown walls complemented her floral patterns. Her costume was obvious, an American Hippie. As Mary introduced the title of her novel, she spoke in a soft voice that pulled the audience in and had them hold their breaths to catch her next word. Brown’s tone of voice and characteristics to me was reminiscent of mother. She looked like a mother, as if she had put her children to bed, right before arriving to The Dixon Place. This image of a mother that I had conjured, made her story seem all the more surprising.

The narrator of the novel was young lesbian women struggling with her partner about surgency. The first tale account allowed the audience to understand the dilemmas and ordeals the narrator faces. The excerpt begins in a doctor’s office, the narrators mind wonders dully around the room. She eventually arrives at the understanding that the gynecologist has just informed her that she is unable to carry child. the narrator turns to her lesbian partner, instead of finding the comfort one would hope for she is meet with emotionally abuse. Arriving back to her apartment, she engages in substance abuse to cope with the emotion distress and toils around trying to find some higher meaning. The story concludes with a memory of the partner pressuring the narrator into mulling illicit drugs into her cervix cavity.

Although the story’s premise is very intriguing, the delivery of Brown fell short. It was difficult to understand the emotional weight of her thoughts due to her raspy poor enunciation. This might be due to lack of practice, Brown did mention it was her first time reciting this excerpt. As a member of an audience, I could not absorb the full content of her reading. Perhaps there is a gap of understanding between reading the words yourself compared to hearing them aloud. Upon reflecting on her excerpt, I noticed that how one says a word is just as impactful as what one is saying. Had Brown just enunciated her reading with more intensity or used hand gestures to convey the narrator’s mental turmoil, the experience of the audience  would be significantly different.

As I walked out of The Dixon Place on Halloween night, I chuckled to myself. So, four Macaulay students walk into a poetry reading-

It was a warm but windy Halloween night on the Lower East Side. The streets were bustling with people just getting out of work and the clothing stores were starting to fill up. The doors of clubs and bars were beginning to be guarded by a velvet rope accompanied by a large man, waiting to permit patrons to enter. But on Chrystie Street across from Roosevelt Park, stood a small coffee shop: Dixon Place. It was calm, quiet, and inviting. It didn’t have a single piece of Halloween decor and instead, it was Broadway themed. There was a stage with curtains on the wall to give the feeling of a Broadway stage and there were abstract paintings along the walls.

Inside were about 6-10 people, all dressed in a range from casual to semi-formal. I saw my friends Teona and Rushab waiting for me with an empty seat for me to sit in, and shortly after, Yussef showed up. Our chairs were set up to face the stage and free water was being served  during the readings. There was a pile of advertisements for Dixon Place that showed the Fall Guerilla Lit Reading events. On October 31st, there were three readers: Laura Catherine Brown, Brian Leung, and Jacob M. Appel. One particular reader, Jacob M. Appel, caught my attention the most.

Jacob was the first author to read. He was dressed in a blue shirt, blue jeans, and a black hoody. He had long, dark, curly hair. He started his reading by describing a time when he and his girlfriend wanted to have a pet. Jacob wanted a dog, preferably a Doberman Pincher and his girlfriend wanted a baby. He comically then said “so we compromised and got a hedgehog”. He was very calm and laid back when he gave his reading. He was slouching, had one hand in the pocket of his jeans with the other hand keeping the book open with his thumb in the binding so he could see both pages. He shifted the book a bit when he went from the left page to the right page, giving me the idea that maybe one of his eyes are stronger than the other when he read. He fluctuated the first syllable whenever he said his girlfriend’s name, Adeline. He did not change his tone for any other word except his girlfriend’s name. He went on to talk about how Adeline did not believe the hedgehog was happy where it was and that they should hire a pet therapist to see if it was anything serious. Jacob described that he was not as eager as his girlfriend to hire this therapist and in a heated argument, he finally gave in. When they met with the therapist, Jacob realized that he treated both humans and animals in the same office and found this very peculiar. This is when Jacob said “I will stop here. Thank you very much” and I remembered that I wasn’t watching him and his girlfriend fight about their hedgehog in New York City, but in-fact I was still sitting with everyone in Dixon Place and began clapping along with the small crowd attending. I was entranced by his use of syntax and laid back tone that I forgot I was in a coffee shop at 7:30 on Halloween night. I thoroughly enjoyed his reading.

I spoke with Jacob after all the authors finished reading and asked how long it took to write his book and if he’d written anything else. He told me that it took him about six months to a year to write his book and he gave me an answer to my second question but I can’t remember the titles. But I know he had written more books. He told me that he was a chef in a small restaurant but to my surprise, he did not want me to come by because he said they still needed to get some things figured out. Nonetheless, he enjoyed talking with me, as did I, and he gave me a copy of the book that he read. He reached into a large sack of books and pulled one out that had “Einstein’s Beach House Stories” written by him. I really liked Jacob’s reading and intend on reading his full book.

My niece having her first willing interaction with another child at a children’s reading and music event.

First, I chose this picture because and to capture it because this is my niece and she is very cute but also, she usually on most occasions refuses to interact with other children but, this was the first time she willingly interacted with another child her age. I thought this was much more important to capture than myself.

I attend this small library event with my niece, it was a reading of children’s literature after which followed a small music session with plastic kid instruments. This event in my local Staten Island library features the neighborhood children and their moms, dads, grandmothers, basically anyone that is willing to take their energetic toddler outside to the library. Many families are regulars and take part organizing each weekends event. Many moms take turns reading the book to the children and leading the session. Usually, the moms will read Dr. Seuss or a Sesame Street book or something very popular among the toddler audience but, this time was very different. This time the local Staten Island mom chose to read “What Do You Do With A Problem?” by Kobi Yamada. When I heard this title, it didn’t seem like a book that would be popular amongst a 2-4 year old audience, on a Saturday morning in the library. However, it was much different than I thought it would be. When she started to read, all the children were suddenly quiet, still, and very attentive, a state that I have not seen my niece in before. When she was reading, she would quickly read over the text at the bottom of each page, but that is not what kept the children so focused. It was her description of the images. She would specifically hold up the book and point to each image, showing the children what they should be focused on. She would point out small things in the illustrations rather than having the children focus on the whole image. She would point out the boy’s spike hair and how his umbrella matched his hair in the spikes and the color. She would point out that the boy in the illustrations was always caring a backpack. With her words she would always point to what she was describing helping to engage the children. She would even have the children come up and point to things like the boys backpack or his umbrella or his backpack. The colors in the illustrations were not particularly noticeable they were closer to dark tones and earth tones which I thought would be a problem for toddlers but her description of the purple sky and the boys characteristics and the continuities within the illustrations seemed to keep the children engaged. With each page, some children would point out saying “oh there is his backpack” or “there is his umbrella”, the reader gave the children something to look for in each page which kept them engaged. Personally, hearing something being so dramatized forced me to come out of my head and forced me to think beyond my own reading voice. It was different to see someone reading at me instead of my own reading voice reading at myself. It sort of took an inside experience and made it an outside experience. The gestures that the reader made changed my visualization of images and changed the way I see images now and the way I read imaginative words. When I read Open City, I imagined Teju Cole pointing to all the places he went which emphasized those images in my head and helped me remember them. Also, going to a public reading helped me realize that there is a whole sphere of reading beyond my head which made me fell kind of small, but really fascinated me at the same time, showing me that there is another whole way to understand readings and visualize them for this matter. All in all, definitely an enlightening experiencing and a good way to see how children in my area are engaged and being exposed to a new sphere of understanding, while seeing my niece come out of her shell!

On the night of November 3rd, I traveled downtown near Battery Park and the World Trade Center as I made myself down to the Poet’s House. At this particular reading, there were six successful poets from diverse backgrounds and primary languages. Although the reading was held at the Poet’s House, this reading was hosted by the Iowa International Writing Program.

Tehila Hakimi reading her work

The first poet, Tehila Hakimi, hails from Israel. Because her primary language is Hebrew, she first read her poems in her native tongue then she passed the microphone to her trusted translator. The first two poems were published in her poetry volume, We’ll Work Tomorrow, and the last poem was an exclusive reading of an unpublished poem. All three poems were about the vastness of life, freedom and her people. She emphasized how hardworking the Jewish people are as she  made a point of their freedom from slavery and the massive success many Jewish people have experienced today, all while emphasizing the hope for a better future for all people. I also noticed how she read from right to left, something I only realized is how Hebrew is read. Her participation was made possible by the United States-Israel Educational Foundation.

The second poet, Chandramohan Sathyananthan, hails from India. He is the only poet who wrote and read his poems in English, as he fluent in English. He organizes English-language poetry readings in Kerala, a southwestern state of India, where he also coordinates a subaltern cultural collective. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.

The third reader, Ausra Kaziliunaite, hails from Lithuania. She read her poems in her native lithuanian. The common theme of her poems were also about her people but also had to do with the metaphor of birds as she compared their ability to fly to the freedom of many different enslaved peoples. She is the author of four volumes of poetry; the poems she read were from The Moon is a Pill, one of her volumes that recently appeared in English. Like the other non-native English speakers, she had two translators read her poems in English. What striked me the most about this author was that she sported a bright pink hair, something I thought was uncommon for successful poets just because it is out of the ordinary. She is a recipient of many national awards, such as the Young Artists Prize from Lithuania’s Ministry of Culture. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

The fourth reader, Umar Timol, hails from Mauritius. Before reading his work, he explained where Mauritius is, as many in the audience did not know. He explained Mauritius as a small island off the coast of India and said that this would be a perfect honeymoon spot! He is the author of four poetry volumes, two novels and two comic books. His poetry collection 52 Fragments pour l’aimee [52 Fragments for the Beloved] (2016) received the Poetry Prize at the Moldova Poetry Festival. He did not use a translator but rather read the translations himself. He read his poems in the language they were written in–French–then he read them in English. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.

The fifth and final reader, Bejan Matur, hails from Turkey. She is the author of nine poetry collections and has worked with many NGOs on conflict resolution. Two of her poems she read in her native Turkish but her last poem she read in Kurdish, which she explained she is also fluent in because of the fact that her mother is Kurdish. Herpresentation was rather powerful as she took the microphone of the stand and began to walk around the stage and made hand motions to emphasize certain words as she spoke. She was the only author to do so. She also read the English translations herself, noting that she isn’t very fluent in English as she apologized to the audience beforehand. Her participation was made possible by an anonymous gift to IWP (Iowa International Writing Program).

Q&A Session with the Authors

After all the poets finished reading their work, the authors took questions from the audience. One of the most intriguing questions was how the authors worked to translate their work. Most of the authors noted that it was difficult to effectively translate their work without losing the essential meaning, so they had to relate their experiences to translators in order to maintain the meaning of their work.

Nightime views outside of the Poet’s House

After attending a poetry reading like this, that featured such a diverse pool of authors with a common theme of a positive outlook on life, I feel like I might find myself at other poetry or even novel readings in the future. It is very interesting seeing how authors showcase their work in the way that they read, because it leaves clarity in the audience as we can see their work for how it is intended to be seen.

On the evening of October 31^st, Andrew, Yusef, Rushabh and I attended a reading on the lower East Side of Manhattan at The Dixon Place. For the Fall 2018 season, the Dixon Place hosted readings by established authors in the “Guerilla Lit Reading Series”. On this night, there were three authors presenting their work, all reading fiction texts, all persuading the audience members to buy their work.

The Dixon Place is very hard to describe, a place that you have to see in person to get a real grasp for. It is a bar, a lounge, and a theatre all in one. The Dixon Place was very warm and cozy, with a plethora of different tables and chairs, all made from assorted materials, all antique. There was a great deal of artwork on the walls. The price and author were noted beneath them. Right at the entrance hung a large LGBTQ+ flag, indicating that this is a safe space.

The first author, Jacob M. Appel, began his reading by telling the audience that he’s written about 215 short stories but he is only known for one entitled Einstein’s Beach House, of which he reads the beginning of. At a first glance, his strong lisp and reserved demeanor gave off the impression that he was shy about his work. However, as he began to read and the intensity of his voice gradually increased as he read the excerpt, I could tell that his work meant a great deal to him. The piece he read, was about a couple who had a pet hedgehog and he becomes ill. The woman in the relationship was very upset that the hedgehog was sick because she had lost some relatives recently, so her partner decided to take him to a veterinary psychiatrist. Before this reading, I had never heard of such a thing. The rhythm and pace at which he read the excerpt sounded as if he was reading a poem, with such cadence and flow to his words. His stance, with his feet planted firmly and his voice projected outward, indicated that he was very confident in his craft. I was very impressed with his piece, as it took a slightly unexpected turn, leaving me wanting more. After all the readings, Andrew and I asked to take a picture with him and he seemed very excited to do so. In fact, he gave us both free copies of his book.

The second author, Laura Catherine Brown (an older white woman with blonde hair who was dressed up as a hippie for Halloween, the only author who was in the holiday spirit), also read an excerpt from a book she’s published called Made By Mary. She stated that she has never read this section aloud before, and she prepped us for any errors she may make while doing so. Nonetheless, she read the excerpt with an assertive, mysterious, and newscaster voice. The excerpt she read was about a lesbian couple who was preparing to get pregnant through surrogacy. She also mentioned how the characters in the book were involved in paganism and drug trafficking, but most of the concepts in her novel went over my head, partly because I am not personally familiar with those topics. I would rather sit down and read her novel myself and be able to go back over the things I don’t understand. She was very animated in her speech. For instance, she patted her chest when she read the word “thumped”, and constantly used her hands for further infliction.

The last author, Brian Leung, commanded the stage as soon as he stepped up, or at least he tried to. He gave off a very arrogant attitude, and yet he was unprepared and could not see his novel because of the lighting. When Laura Brown initially came up to help him with the lighting, he brushed her off and denied her help. Then, when he finally admitted to himself that he couldn’t see, he agreed to her assistance. Before he read, he told the audience that he was going to read without context, and “you will learn nothing about my novel from these excerpts”. From that statement, I was turned off from listening to his text. However, he was very lively whilst reading his text, animating the sounds in the book (i.e.: “zzzz”).

I have never been to a reading like this (or at all for that matter), and it was nothing like I expected, but I am very grateful that I went.

Andrew and I with Laura Catherine Brown

Andrew and I with Jacob M. Appel

Rushabh and I at the Dixon Place

This past Wednesday afternoon, I attended Baruch’s Poetry Revel located on the fourteenth floor of the main building. The room was full with Baruch students and a woman stood up and introduced herself as Professor Kelly. She recited two poems and encouraged everyone to come up and share something they wrote. A hand in the back shot up and a girl, rather enthusiastic came up to the front. She was excited to share her poem as she pulled out her phone and began to recite it. It was titled, “Daddy’s Little Girl” and it starts off with her addressing her father. She asks him if he is proud of her and describes all of her accomplishments. As she goes deeper into the poem, her wording shifts and her accomplishments sound like shortcomings. “I only graduated high school” and “I dress like a disgrace.” As an audience member, I was able to notice as she lost all confidence in herself and placed it in her father. She got extremely emotional and had to pause to catch her breath. No one moved and the room was pitch silent. Her voice cracked as she begged for her father’s approval. “Daddy why aren’t you proud of me?” Her words were accompanied by small tears and I felt my heart break. I looked around. Every single person was engrossed in her poem and moved by her performance. Throughout the poem, she put her hand on her neck and/or rubbed the back of her head, both indicators of stress. She moved around a lot as I could tell it was hard for her, not only to read the poem out loud but to accept the poem as words of truth. She ended her poem “I just want you to be there for me… Daddy are you there for me?”

Everyone was shocked from the amount of emotion held in her performance. Her constant nervousness displayed through body language, cracks in her voice, and crying made the poem so powerful. Had I read this poem to myself it would not have been the same experience because it would have lacked all the emotion that came with the writer of the poem. She bowed and everyone was impressed. It took a couple of minutes for Professor Kelly to get someone else to stand up since she set a high bar.

Eventually many students came up and read. Some read poem they wrote for classes, others read famous poems like “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and “If God is Real” by Bri Mar. One boy stood up and read song lyrics that he wrote for his band. The reading was filled with so many different styles and ideas, it kept me on my feet. Since the reading was on Halloween, many students were dressed up as different characters, many unrelated to their poem. I found it ironic to see Superman stand up and read a poem about being in bed with his lover and a rock musician read a poem about hiking up a mountain. I liked that the costumes forced me to look past the individual but at the same time revealed so much about them. One boy was dressed up as a character from a TV show and wrote a poem about this character.

A poem I loved was titled “Initiation” and a young girl started off “I did not think she was dying she just had a small touch of cancer.” I loved how she read it, rushing through the medical parts and slowing down for the emotional parts. When she described the treatment, she sped through and then she paused and her voice slowed down and she spoke about love and then she sped up again as she described the medical treatments and then stop. She took a long break and finally said “In the beginning it was just a diagnosis”. Everyone sat still until Professor Kelly began clapping. Everyone clapped. Her poem was amazing. I loved this poem because of how perfectly she read it. I could tell she had read it before and was an excellent reader. Unlike the reader of “Daddy’s Little Girl,” she didn’t put so much emotion into it. I felt as though she had stepped out of the picture and read it from a more “removed” place. She had practiced reading it and her emotions weren’t as raw. I liked the professionalism but at the same time I missed the emotional aspect as well.

I enjoyed attending a poetry reading at Baruch because it was filled with a diverse variety of students just like me all reciting their poems. The environment was warm and each poem was a masterpiece within itself. I stayed for approximately fifty minutes and I really enjoyed myself. I plan on returning, hopefully next time as a reader.