Past Events

Sunday Oct 1, 2pm at Alice Austen House Museum, 2 Hylan Blvd, SINY 10305

In his novel True Grit, Charles Portis gives a narrative of female empowerment, the Western Expansion, a girl’s coming of age, and survival in a challenging environment.  Laura Ingalls Wilder explores the same themes, and gives another narrative of survival in Little House on the Prairie and her related novels.

Island writer Eileen Monreale will examine those contrasting narratives of the American experience with Staten Island OutLOUD.  It is fitting that we present this special event at the Alice Austen House Museum, because Alice was a contemporary of Ms. Wilder – and we know that Alice Austen herself was a woman of “true grit”.

We’ll meet in Alice’s bedroom on the second floor of the historic house – It is not often open to the public, and we are pleased that our friends at the Alice Austen House Museum have planned this special visit for us.  Free and open to the public, but we hope you’ll make a contribution to the museum that day.

Sat, Sept 23, 2pm at Blue Heron Pond Park, 222 Poillon Ave, SINY 10312

Thurs, Sept 28th, 4pm at Port Richmond Branch Library, 77 Bennett St, SINY 10302

Join your neighbors for a conversation about Charles Portis’ novella True Grit, and share ideas.

Book giveaway, while supplies last.

Sat, Sept 23, 2pm.  At the Richmondtown Branch Library, 200 Clarke Ave, SINY 10306

True Grit book giveaway. Free bandanas for all (while supplies last).

Country music & free screenings of your favorite spaghetti westerns!

Monday, Sept 18 2017, 4pm.  At Mariners Harbor Library, 206 South Ave, SINY 10303.

Staten Island OutLOUD & the librarians at the Mariners Harbor Branch NYPL invite you to a Wild West party for kids & teens.  Kids can pan for gold, enjoy a horseshoe toss and sing cowboy/cowgirl songs.  Teens can enjoy a free screening of True Grit, and toss a horseshoe or two.

Free cowboy/cowgirl hats for the kids, free bandanas & book giveaway for the teens.

Sunday, Aug 13th, 2pm at the Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Ave, SINY 10314

Staten Island’s Greenbelt owes a lot to self-taught naturalist Matilde Weingartner. Born in Switzerland, she emmigrated to the US with her family in the early 1920s & graduated from Curtis High School. She was a mainstay of the Staten Island Museum, where she taught generations of Islanders to value our environment. Tillie establshed the William T. Davis Wildlife Preserve,and she helped lay the groundwork for the present-day Greenbelt Conservancey, and she helped preserve much of the beautiful wilderness and parkland that distinguishes Staten Island today.

We’ll feature Island writer Eileen Monreale’s biography, “Matilde Weingartner: A Staten Island Naturalist”.

Saturday, Aug 5th, 2pm at the Greenbelt Nature Center. 700 Rockland Ave, SINY 10314

Kids (up to age 10) can have fun & practice their skills by reading aloud to JJ, an adorable licensed therapy dog. This popular program is hosted by Doris Nielsen, a therapy dog trainer & OutLOUD board member. JJ is gentle, and she’s a very good listener!

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Saturday, July 29th, 6pm at the historic Biddle House, 70 Satterlee St, SINY 10307 (2 blocks from Hylan Blvd)

Staten Island OutLOUD’s annual celebration of Melville’s haunting tale of the sea, of Captain Ahab, of the crew of the Pequod, and of the great white whale.

Maritime music by the brass ensemble of the Staten Island Philharmonic Orchestra.

Free. Good for all ages.

The Biddle House is on Sattlerlee St, just 2 short blocks from the Conference House. Plenty of free parking on the surrounding streets (including Shore Rd & Craig Ave) & lots of free parking space in the Conference House Visitors Center parking lot (Hylan Blvd & Satterlee).  The #78 bus stops at the Conference House, then walk 2 blocks down Satterlee to the Biddle House.

Rain or shine – If the weather is fair, we’ll gather on the lawn, overlooking Raritan Bay.  If it rains, we’ll enjoy the performance inside the charming Biddle House – a Staten Island landmark.

Bring a lawnchair.  Good for all ages!

Saturday, July 15, 2pm at Killmeyers Old Bavaria Inn, 4254 Arthur Kill Road, SINY 10309

Staten Island OutLOUD explores Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” – it won the Natl Book Award & was a finalist for the Pulitzer. It is a narrative for his teenage son on the realities of being Black in the US. Toni Morrison says that Coates the intellectual successor to James Baldwin.

Sunday, June 25th, 2pm.  Location info provided when you RSVP (Please RSVPto sioutloud@yahoo.com  by 5pm, Sat June 24th 0 Thanks!)

Staten OutLOUD invites you for champagne & conversation in a lovely hillside Victorian, reminiscent of the San Francisco of Dashiell Hammett’s novels. We’ll explore some of his unpublished short stories – with plot twists like you wouldn’t believe!  FREE!

Location info provided when you RSVP.  Please reserve to sioutloud@yahoo.com by 5pm on Sat June 24th.  Thanks!