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Follow on Google News | ![]() Friday 11/18: Poets Friedman, La Prade, Held, Lisella and Torrence-Thompson at Left Bank BooksOn Friday, November 18, Left Bank Books invites book collectors and poetry lovers to celebrate the birthdays of poets Stephen Crane, Marianne Moore, William Blake and more with a poetry reading by five noted local poets hosted by Poets Wear Prada.
By: Roxanne Hoffman Poets Wear Prada's founder and managing editor, Roxanne Hoffman, will host the poetry reading at the West Village bookstore. Special guest, the prose poet David Joel Friedman, author of "The Welcome" (University of Illinois Press. 2006) will introduce Erik La Prade (Chelsea), George Held (Greenwich Village), Maria Lisella (Astoria), and Juanita Torrence-Thompson (Flushing). Each poet will each read work by a favorite November birthday poet, as well as from their own recent books and new work. The reading will start at promptly at 8 p.m. and will be followed by a brief Q&A. Ms. Hoffman who lived in Greenwich Village for several years while attending NYU, says she was literally walking north west down her "memory lane" -- Bleecker Street, which ends at 8th Avenue -- and found herself browsing the shelves and stalls inside Left Bank Books. She purchased a used 2nd edition of "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Dog" a collection of autobiographical stories by Dylan Thomas and inquired if the store would entertain a poetry reading. The store has in fact hosted several previous literary events including a recent poetry reading, featuring Barry Wallenstein and Eve Packer, and an annual Bloomsday Celebration. During her conversation with Zeke Finkelstein, the store manager, she learned that one of the poets she has published, Erik La Prade, frequents the store on almost a daily basis. Mr. La Prade has recently completed a memoir regarding his time as an employee of the now closed Gotham Bookstore and will be reading an excerpt from this memoir, as well as his own poetry and a poem by Stephen Crane, on November 18th. Left Bank Books is located in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan between Bank and West 12th Streets at No. 17 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10014. Directions: By subway, take the A, C, E, L trains to 14th Street at 8th Avenue and walks south on the west side of 8th Avenue. (Note: The L train connects with the N, R, Q, F, D trains at 14th Street.) Or take the 1, 2 or 3 to 14th Street at 7th Avenue, exit at West 12th Street and head west. The event is free and open to the public. About the Readers: David Joel Friedman, a native of Washington, D.C, is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University and currenty lives and teaches in New York City. Friedman won the 2004 National Poetry Series open competition, selected by Pulitzer Prizewinner Stephen Dunn; his book of prose poems, "The Welcome," was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2006 and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. Dunn describes Friedman's book The Welcome as "full of pleasures, both linguistic and ideational ... David Friedman blends surreal hijinks with gestures toward the serious. [These poems] give you, if you let them, one of literature's underrated virtues: a good time." The book's title poem has been featured on "Poetry Daily." Erik La Prade has a B.A and an M.A. from City College. His most recent poetry collection, a chapbook titled "False Confessions," George Held, a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, will be reading from his new sonnet collection, "After Shakespeare" Maria Lisella's Pushcart Poetry Prize-nominated work appears in "Amore on Hope Street" (Finishing Line Press) and "Two Naked Feet" (Poets Wear Prada). Her poetry has appeared in "The New York Quarterly," "Skidrow Penthouse," "Paterson Literary Review," and "New Verse News," among others; her latest short story appears in "Sweet Lemons 2, Writing with a Sicilian Accent" (Legas Press). She co-curates the Italian American Writers Association monthly literary readings at Cornelia St. Cafe on the second Saturday of each month. She is a travel writer by profession. Juanita Torrence-Thompson is the owner, Editor-in-Chief and publisher of the 29-year old international literary magazine, "Möbius, The Poetry Magazine "-- named one the best magazines of 2007, 2008. 2009 and 2010 by "Small Magazine Review." Poems from her 6th poetry book, "Breath-Life," About the Host: A graduate of NYU Stern School of Business, and a retired Wall Street banker, Roxanne Hoffman has run the small independent literary press Poets Wear Prada, since 2006. Described as "a publisher who is one miracle short of sainthood," by Angelo Verga, Poetry Curator of The Cornelia Street Cafe, she personally and meticulously designs and lays out each book, occasionally providing cover art and illustrations. Nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize by "House of Horror Magazine," her work appears in several anthologies including "The Bandana Republic: A Literary Anthology by Gang Members and Their Affiliates" (Soft Skull Press), "Love After 70" (Wising Up Press), and "It All Changed In An Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure" (Harper Perennial). Her vampire poetry can be heard during the 2005 indie flick "Love and the Vampire," directed and produced by Dave Gold. Born in Manhattan, where she stills spends much of her time, she now resides across the Hudson River in Hoboken, NJ. About the Bookstore: Left Bank Books specializes in literary first editions (especially fiction, poetry, drama, and literary non-fiction) For more information visit the store's website, http://www.leftbankbooksny.com/ # # # PWP is a small literary press based in Hoboken, New Jersey, devoted to introducing new authors through high-quality chapbooks primarily of poetry, since October 2006. Please visit us at: http://pwpbooks.blogspot.com/ End
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