Coming Up Monday, August 10, 2009

What an incredible evening!!! Monday we had 5 amazingly strong, talented readers--and this week promises to be every bit its equal!

We heard Deborah Hauser's evocative poetry; Florence Gatto's tender reflections of old Brooklyn; Bruce Grossberg's very funny essays on the Mets and Broadway; Harriet Slaughter's insightful and entertaining poetry; then we finished it off with the delightful Christina Rau--her instructions on the proper editing of a "Dear John" letter had everyone in the (very large) crowd laughing. A great end to a beautiful, dry, evening!

(This week is the last week to sign up for the 8/17 open read-- only those whom have signed up in person, in advance, will be invited to come up to the Gazebo and read!)

We also collected more books for our troops--please bring down your gently used paperbacks (try to steer clear of romance, childrens, how-to manuals, etc.)--Kiwanis of Oceanside will box and ship them out, in coordination with Operation Paperback. So far we have sent boxes of books to 12 of our troops--with more shipments ready to go!

This week we have a reader from our first season who is, quite simply, a blast; an author with an acclaimed new novel; two strong poets, both good friends of the Gazebo; and an esteemed star Long Island chef who is the author of a new laugh-out-loud book on the trials and tribulations of dealing with us customers! It should be one of the best evenings in our three year history (no pressure, guys!)

The Readings start at 7pm at Schoolhouse Green, located on Foxhurst Road, just east of Long Beach Road, Oceanside NY. For more information, directions, etc. go to http://summergazeboreadings.blogspot.com/

This Monday, August 10, 2009, we feature:

Tom Schaudel

Born in Queens, NY and raised on Long Island, Tom Schaudel began his career as a dishwasher at the age of fifteen, and continued to cook in various restaurants throughout high school. That fall, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1973, and after six years of working insane hours, in numerous restaurants, under various chefs, Tom landed his first head position in 1979.

Four years later, with the help of two friends, he opened his first restaurant, Panama Hatties. Tom has been the driving force behind numerous restaurants on Long Island, such as 107 Forest Ave, Lemongrass, Downtown Grille and Wine Bar, Tease, Starfish, PassionFish, Spring Close House, Thom Thom, and Maxwell’s. His current lineup includes CoolFish, The Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Gabrielle’s, and A Mano.

Tom's new book, Playing With Fire: Whining & Dining on the Gold Coast is a voyeur’s peek into the crazy world of the restaurant culture. Filled with vignettes of difficult customers, stressed-out cooks, harried wait staff, and the truly disturbed, this book takes an affectionate romp through Tom Schaudel’s restaurants to introduce you to the most memorable cast of characters he’s experienced in his forty years in the business. You’ll meet a ninety-year old-woman who happens to be a serial “bird-flipper,” a woman trying to drag a twenty-foot Christmas tree out the front door undetected, an elderly gentleman walking out with an 8.5" x 15" metal clipboard menu holder stuffed down his pants, and a woman who got drunk, passed out, got revived, and aced an intervention, all in under twenty minutes. An absolute must read for “foodies,” these stories and the many others will provide pure entertainment and lots of laughs for a long, long time to come.

Adriana DiGennaro

Adriana read two years ago to glowing praise-- a truly exceptional young poet! A member of the Academy of American Poets and the Italian American Writers Association (IAWA), Adriana DiGennaro is a graduate of Bennington College in Vermont where she studied literature and creative writing. A native New Yorker, her second book of poetry, Acts of Contrition, was published in Spring 2007 by Windstorm Creative. Peripheral Vision, her first book published in 2001 by Writers Ink Press, debuted when she was just 17. That same year she was on Red River Review's list of nominees for a Pushcart Prize.

Ms. DiGennaro's poetry has been featured in Edifice Wrecked, The Abrabesque Review, BigCityLit, Red River Review, PoetryBay, Merge, The Aurora Review, Poetz, Boston Literary Review, The Tipton Poetry Journal, Tryst, Ancient Heart (United Kingdom), Eclectica, City Writers Review (NYC), Poetry Midwest, Esopian, Adagio Verse Quarterly, Falling Star Magazine, Flutter, Wonder Writings, Long Island Quarterly, Triplopia, Ward6Review, Clean Sheets, Sidereality, Southern Ocean Review (New Zealand), Perigee, Sage of Consciousness and The Improper Hamptonian. She is the youngest poet whose work is featured in The Light of City and Sea (Street Press 2006), an anthology of Suffolk County poetry edited by Suffolk County Poet Laureate Daniel Thomas Moran.

Other anthologies with her work include Southshire Pepper-Pot: A Literary Feast With Culinary Refrains (Windstorm Creative, 2006); Susan B. & Me: An International Collection of Women's Writings & Photographs edited by Patricia Ronsvalle, LCSW (Big Kid Publishing, 2006); In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining Itself edited by Marlow Peerse Weaver (MWE Press, 2005), Whispers of Inspiration: An Anthology of New American Poets edited by Darlene and Steven Manchester (Sunpiper Press, September 2005); Ancient Heart Magazine Poetry Anthology Vol. III edited by Richard van der Draaij (Ancient Heart Press, 2005). To watch a short video of her reading at Good Times Books, Port Jefferson, NY, go to: www.poetryvlog.com.

A born city dweller and dreamer obsessed with all forms of reggae music, she needs lots of sunlight and is happiest when in transit. She is always in search of adventure. She lives and works in New York City.

Teri Coyne

Teri is returning to the Gazebo this summer after appearing last year for the first time. Teri is the author of the novel The Last Bridge, which was released by Ballantine books a few weeks ago, to rave reviews. Writes Publishers Weekly: “Coyne’s prose effortlessly carries the reader through a thorny history into possible redemption.” In addition to fiction, Teri writes a popular blog called The Flip Side which chronicles her life as a writer. Teri is at work on her second novel and hopes to return next year to read from it. Teri divides her time between New York City and the North Fork of Long Island. For more information on Teri visit her website at www.tericoyne.com.

Frank Van Zant

FRANK VAN ZANT is the author of Climbing Daddy Mountain and The Lives of the Two-Headed Baseball Siren which passed a board vote for inclusion at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He has published over 400 individual poems in many magazines including Poet Lore, Yankee, The Prose Poem, English Journal, QAE, Pearl, Negative Capability, Free Lunch and has been featured poet in Potpourri, The Windless Orchard, The Listening Eye, The Chicago Reader, and Chiron Review. Van Zant won awards for poems from C. W. Post University, The Listening Eye, English Journal, Devil’s Millhopper and Live Poets Society, fellowships from Council for Basic Education, Poets & Writers, and the NEH, semifinalist at Discovery/The Nation, and several Pushcart Prize nominations. For his daily bread, he happily directs of one of the oldest alternative schools in the country, The Greenhouse, in Rockville Centre, New York.

Joan Marg

Joan Marg, is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and Assistant Registrar working 21 years at NYIT. She enjoys writing poetry and short stories and is a member of the Farmingdale Creative Writing Group, Farmingdale Poetry Group, Performance Poets Association, and The North Sea Poetry Scene.


The Summer Gazebo Readings are sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside and are held each Monday evening in June, July and August, featuring 4 readers each evening. Scheduled readers include some of Long Island's most prestigious poets, and fiction and non-fiction writers. The Summer Gazebo Readings are 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 Real Estate
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat NC Poet Laureate Comm.
Maryanne Lehrer
Mary Jane McGrath, Attorney
Gary & Sandie Schoell
Philip Reinstein, CLU
Diversion Press
Oceanville Mason Supply
Kiwanettes of Oceanside
21st Century Appraisers
Village BookShoppe
Long Island Pulse
Westron Lite Bulb
Tower’s Funeral Home
Michael Schamroth and Family
Councilman Anthony Santino
Jay R. Myers & Co., Inc.
Childs Murphy Kuehn & Cesiro,
Municipal Credit Union
Bondi & Iovino, Attorneys-at-Law

Upcoming Schedule

8/10/2009 Adriana DiGennaro Teri Coyne Frank Van Zant Joan Marg Tom Schaudel

8/17/2009 Gayl Teller Max Wheat J R Turek Open Read (must sign up in person at a prior evening's readings)

8/24/2009 Barbara Hoffman Herb Siegel Christine Timm Joan Dupre Tom Phelan

8/31/2009 Sonya Russell Yolanda Coulaz Paula Curci Theresa Rosario- Berzner Christine Kehl O'Hagan

For more information:

Tony Iovino
68 Yorktown Street
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
H 516 763-1667
C 516 459-3262
W 516 741-8585
http://summergazeboreadings.blogspot.com/
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