Coming Up Monday, August 24, 2009

Monday was killer hot during the day, but by 7 pm the sun had dipped below treeline, and a nice breeze had kicked up--making Schoolhouse Green the perfect place to be! Our first modified Open Read was a great success-- in between our 3 featured readers, a total of 14 poets stepped lively to the mic and treated the crowd to an eclectic sampling of fine poetry. Their participation served as a wonderful backdrop for three of Long Island's finest and most acclaimed poets: J R Turek, with poems both funny (dogs rule!) and touching; Max Wheat, with excerpts from Young Voices, the collection of winning poems from the student contest run while he was Poet Laureate; and Gayl Teller, the present Nassau County Poet Laureate, whose delicate and often humerous poetry (read by flashlight) brought the evening to a stylish conclusion.

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 sent, or ready to send, to over 30 of our troops--with more shipments ready to go!

This week we bring back 5 favorites from prior years-- prose and poetry sure to delight!

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 24, 2009, we feature:

Tom Phelan

Tom Phelan, who was born and raised on a farm in County Laois, Ireland, is the author of the novels In the Season of the Daisies, Iscariot, Derrycloney, and The Canal Bridge. His next novel, Nailer, about a man determined to get revenge, is set against the backdrop of Ireland's abusive industrial schools and the collusion between church and state that allowed them to flourish.

To date, Tom Phelan has seen his works published in four countries and three languages. His first novel, In the Season of the Daisies, was chosen by Barnes and Noble for its Discover Great New Writers series. His most recent novel, The Canal Bridge, was praised by the Irish Independent as a "First World War masterpiece...ambitious, accomplished, and deeply moving." And Books Ireland called it "powerful and deeply affecting."

In 2008,Tom was selected as a Christopher Isherwood Foundation Fellow, one of only five individuals chosen from among several hundred novelists.

Herb Siegel

Herb Siegel is a great friend of the Gazebo- he is almost always present in our crowd, supporting and enjoying our programs. Herb was a CEO of major public companies, and the recipient of many professional certifications, awards, and articles. He holds a Ph.D. in International Law from Columbia. In between, he assembled a collection of poems titled, “Life Through My Glasses,” an eclectic collection of some personal experiences and many universal observations that educate, challenge, and entertain and usually end with a touch of sardonic humor.

Joan Dupre

Joan Dupre earned a Ph.D. in English from the City University of New York Graduate Center and teaches at Queensborough Community College (QCC). She is faculty advisor to the QCC Poetry Slam Team, which competes in the NYC College Poetry Slam Series and won the first ever NYC College Slam Finals and Championship title. Joan writes poetry and short fiction and has read at the Bowery Poetry Club, Smalls Jazz Club and other venues in and around the city. When she is not teaching, writing, reading her poetry or striking a yoga pose, Joan can often be found belting out the blues at karaoke.

Christine Timm

Christine Timm is a NYC performance poet. She produces and co-hosts the NYC College Slam, Love Poetry Hate Racism events, and the Bowery Kids entertainment series at the Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan and co-produces and co-hosts the Smalls Lit Series at Smalls Jazz Club in the West Village. Her most recent publications can be found in Polarity, Arabesques Review, and The Long Island Quarterly. She has a collection of poetry forthcoming on Small Books Press. She has a Ph.D. in English Lit from the Graduate Center at City University of New York with dissertation on the Beats and spoken word. She is Associate Professor of English at Westchester Community College where she teaches modern American poetry, creative writing, and composition. www.myspace.com/christine_timm

Barbara Hoffman

Barbara Hoffman's poetry has appeared in her chapbook Lilacs from the Truck, and published in the Minnesota Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Blue Mesa Review, Gryphon, Poets On, Slipstream, Long Island Quarterly, Aura/Literary Arts Journal, Inkwell, The Long Islander, Ekphrasis, The Seventh Quarry (Wales), Out of Line, Margie, Fulva Flava, City of Sea and Light Anthology, Passaic County Community College Poetry Anthology 1989 and 1991, Each in Her Own Way, Fan, Sightings - Live Poets Society Anthology, The North Sea Poetry Scene Anthologies, Performance Poets Association Anthology, Karamu, and Italian Americana.

Barbara was 1st runner-up in the 2008 Bordhighera Poetry Prize Contest.
In addition, Ms. Hoffman has had articles published in The New York Times and Newsday.

Her short fiction can be found in Catholic Girls, published by Penguin.

She was the subject of WLIW's Channel 21 show – Originals – Arts on Long Island series, and the subject of Riverhead Cablevision's Channel 27 show – Ideas and Images.

Ms. Hoffman has been awarded a Fellowship to Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweetbriar, Virginia and a Fellowship to National Writing Project at SUNY Stony Brook. She was the winner of the American Pen Women award.

She has attended workshops with Galway Kinnell, June Jordan, William Stafford, Pattiann Rogers, Jorie Graham, Marvin Bell, Helen Cooper, Alfred Corn, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Ludwig.

Ms. Hoffman has been the featured poet at readings in New York City and throughout Long Island. (Bio courtesy of poetryvlog.com)

The Summer Gazebo Readings are sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside and are held each Monday evening in June, July and August, featuring 4-5 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

8/24/2009 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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