Well, it's finally here--the start of our Second Annual Summer Gazebo Readings!!!
We were overwhelmed with authors and poets wanting a chance to climb up onto our little gazebo and read for us--over 150 requested a spot--unfortunately we can only accommodate 48 Readers. We truly appreciate the enthusiasm and generosity of time these fine and talented people have shown--and hope that anyone we couldn't squeeze into this summer's schedule will come on down and join us--and hopefully we can make it work next year!
We are starting our summer with an outstanding group. Bring your lawn chair-- enjoy the coffee, desserts and, of course, the readings-- all free.
The Readings start at 7pm at Schoolhouse Green, located on Foxhurst Road, just east of Long Beach Road, Oceanside NY. For more information, www.schoolhousegreen.org.
This Monday, June 2 we will feature:
Max Wheat
We are extraordinarily pleased to host Max Wheat, named last year by his fellow poets as Nassau County Poet Laureate. Max is extensively published, and is beloved by the Long Island poetry community.For his teaching and writing work Maxwell Corydon Wheat Jr. received in 1980 the first Herman Melville Annual Award from the New York State Marine Education Association whose journal, "Ripples," he edited for many years. In November he was given the Art and Literary Award of the New York State Outdoor Education Association, whose former journal, "The Communicator," he co-edited. He is a teacher for Taproot Workshops, Inc., writing for people 55 and older. Spring and fall he teaches a Continuing Education course Monday nights for the Farmingdale schools, "You Can Write Poetry!"
Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr. has taken his seventh and eighth grade students in the Farmingdale Public Schools on writing field trips to Long Island's salt marshes in Fire Island National Seashore and Robert Moses and Caumset State Parks. For three years he has conducted an October salt marsh (when the marsh's Spartina grasses turn golden) round-robin participatory poetry reading program at Cedarmere, Roslyn Harbor, home of the 19th Century poet, William Cullen Bryant, where he volunteers in programming. People take turns reading stanzas, particularly those of America's great 19th century work about the East Coast's salt marshes, Sidney Lanier's "Hymns of the Marshes." Wheat has learned much about salt marshes in Nassau County's Cow Meadow Preserve, five blocks from his home in Freeport, where he and his wife, Virginia, enjoy walking. The idea for the grandfather character in the poem he is reading, "Grandfather Loved the Salt Marshes," comes from Alonzo Gibbs' septuagenarian character, Orrie Shadbolt, exploring and adventuring with two teenage friends in the South Shore Long Island salt marshes in his novel, "By a Sea-Coal Fire" (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, Inc., New York - 1968). (Thanks to poetryvlog.com for this bio!)
Paula Curcio
Paula is a poet in her own right, as well as the host of Caliope's Corner, her poetry show on Hofstra's radio station WRHU. She showcases Long Island's talent in a friendly, comfortable setting each week. A friend of our Series, both as a spectator and as an interviewer. We are looking forward to her presentation.Lara Tupper
Lara Tupper is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. A former lounge singer, she has performed at sea in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, and on land in Thailand, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. Harcourt published her debut novel, A Thousand and One Nights, in 2007. Lara teaches fiction writing at Rutgers University and is hard at work on book #2, a fictional account of Paul Gauguin's marriage. She is a proud member of the Authors Guild, the Writers Room (NYC), the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and the BMIFC (Barry Manilow International Fan Club)
Steve Kriss
Steve is the soon-to-be-retired beloved principal of School #5 here in Oceanside. He was our first Reader last year, so we have invited him back as our resident good luck charm. He is a recipient of the 2007 Heart of Gold Award from the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside for his tremendous dedication to the children of our town. Steve is a reknown scholar and a gentleman; his leadership will be missed by our schools, though happily it will leave him more time to spend with us on Schoolhouse Green.
The Readings start at 7pm at Schoolhouse Green, located on Foxhurst Road, just east of Long Beach Road.
The Summer Gazebo Readings are sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside, in support of the Oceanside Education Foundation. The Gazebo Readings will be held each Monday evening in June, July and August, and will feature 4 readers each evening. Scheduled readers include some of Long Island's most prestigious poets, published authors, comedians, fiction and non-fiction writers, and local community members sharing some of their favorite literature. The Summer Gazebo Readings will be held outdoors; seating is limited, so bring a lawn chair, a blanket, a picnic table. The grounds are open, and the public is encouraged to come early and have a quiet summer's picnic on the grounds. Admission is free.
Sponsors include:
Home & Hearth Realty
Tower's Funeral Home
Oceanville Mason Supply
Westron's Light Bulb Warehouse
NY Municipal Credit Union
Childs, Murphy Kuehle & Cesiro Insurance
Bondi & Iovino, Attorneys at Law
Dr. Aaron Rappaport, DDS & Dr. David Rappaport, DMD
Marsh Hawk Press
LI Pulse Magazine
Councilman Anthony J. Santino
M. Schamroth & Sons
E. Fine
C. Scarlata & Family
Kaufman Family
For more information:
Tony Iovino
68 Yorktown Street
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
H 516 763-1667
C 516 459-3262
W 516 741-8585
www.schoolhousegreen.org
