Past Events

These events have come and gone!

Moby Dick

Saturday, July 26, 6:30pm NEW LOCATION: NOBLE MARITIME COLLECTION ON THE GROUNDS OF SNUG HARBOR. Staten Island OutLOUD’s annual celebration of Moby Dick in the historic rooms of the Noble Maritime Collection, 1000 Richmond Terrace, SINY 10301 (on the grounds of Snug Harbor)

Staten Island OutLOUD reads Moby Dick in a charming indoor setting: the historic Noble Maritime Collection, a site that Melville visited often. As you listen to Melville’s haunting tale, you’ll share the story of Ishmael, Ahab and the crew of the Pequod as they begin their mystical journey. Please plan to explore the beautiful exhibits on display at the Museum.

Maritime music by the Staten Island Philharmonic Orchestra.

Park in any of the Snug Harbor lots, or park on the street, then follow the paths to the Noble Museum, Building D, facing Richmond Terrace & the Kill van Kull. If you have a permit for special-needs parking, ask any guard to direct you to the reserved parking areas closest to the Noble Maritime Collection.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

This event is perfect for all ages; often three generations of families join us. Free and open to the public.

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A Blind Hero of the French Resistance

Sunday, July 13 at 3pm, Historic Richmond Town, 441 Clarke Ave, SINY 10306.

And There Was Light – The story of a blind hero of the French Resistance.

We’ll read & discuss the story of Jacques Lusseyran, who joined the French Resistance as a teenager. He wanted to fight the Nazis, but he could not join the Allied forces because he was blinded as a child. But as a member of the Resistance, his talent for “reading” people were invaluable during that dangerous time. Lusseyran’s autobiography, And There Was Light, is his compelling personal account of that work, and of the dangers faced by French Resistance members every day. Lusseyran book jacket

Hosted by two Islanders: Filmmaker Dean Thompson and poet Victoria Hallerman. Island artist Helen Levin will perform a beautiful Rimbaud poem set to music.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Paws & Read OutLOUD – For Kidz!

Friday, July 11, 2pm: Paws & Read OutLOUD. Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Ave, SINY 10314.

Staten Island OutLOUD invites kids ages 5-10 to read aloud to a gentle licensed therapy dog. Sweetie Pie is a kindly boxer; she loves kids, and she loves it when they read to her! This is a great way for youngsters to build their reading skills and increase confidence. Bring your favorite book from home, or borrow one of our books to read aloud to Sweetie Pie. Free.

Hosted by Doris Nielsen licensed therapy dog trainter.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Declaration of Independence

Friday, July 4, 2pm at the historic Conference House, 7455 Hylan Blvd, SINY 10307 (@Satterlee St). BRING A LAWNCHAIR!

When’s the last time you read our nation’s founding document? Join us as we read the Declaration together, plus a few surprises. The Conference House is a perfect setting for this event. It was the site of a 1776 peace conference with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge and Lord Howe, in an ill-fated effort to end the Revolutionary War. The rest is history.

This event is perfect for all ages. Bring a lawnchair! Rain or shine; if it rains, we’ll gather inside the cozy kitchen of the Conference House.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A NEIGHBORLY, NON-PARTISAN EVENT. As a nonprofit cultural organization, we cannot engage in any campaign-related activities, nor can we promote or present political candidates.. Thanks.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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City Slickers on the Farm

Saturday, June 28, 2pm. At Gericke Farm, 2876 Arthur Kill Rd, SINY 10309 (between Bloomingdale Rd & Sharrotts Rd). Free! Watch for the large white sign on Arthur Kill Road, for “Gericke Farm” (about 3 blocks west of Bloomingdale Rd). Plenty of free parking on Arthur Kill Road.

BRING A LAWNCHAIR!!!!

Here’s a link to Google Maps & driving directions (copy & paste into your browser): https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2876+Arthur+Kill+Rd,+SINY+10309&hnear=2876+Arthur+Kill+Rd,+Staten+Island,+New+York+10309&gl=us&t=m&z=16

Have you ever dreamed about owning your own farm, getting “back to the land”, growing your own food & living independently? The “small farm” movement is a growing phenomenon. Across the country, independent farmers (rural & urban) are raising awareness & renewing respect for the important work that farmers do. Join us to read & talk about the stories of some folks who learned how to do it, from the ground up!

Does your family have a link to farming? If so, please share your stories & family photos!

Gericke Farm, part of the NY State Clay Pit Ponds campus, is one of NYC’s last working farms. We’ll have age-appropriate readings for kids about farming & farm animals. Bring a lawnchair!

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Bloomsday OutLOUD

Monday, June 16, 7:30pm. 139 Bay Street Gallery, 139 Bay St, SINY 10301. Bloomsday OutLOUD: Global celebration of James Joyce’s comic epic, Ulysses.

Every year on June 16, all over the world – from Boston to Beijing, from Sidney to Seattle, Joyceans gather to read & celebrate Ulysses. Considered by many to be the first modern novel, traces the peregrinations, the encounters, the thoughts and the interior monologues of three Dubliners (and everyone they meet or pass by), from sunrise on June 16, 1904, til dawn the following morning.

Staten Island OutLOUD invites you to join us, and to be part of this global celebration, which we present every year on June 16. OutLOUD’s amiable host: the inimitable James Hill, a Staten Islander & a proud son of Erin.

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

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Poetry & Music Workshops: Coltrane to WuTang

Saturday afternoon, June 21 at 2pm, at the Stapleton Branch Library, 132 Canal St, SINY 10304.

A free inter-generational workshop, exploring creative writing & poetry performance. Led by Island writer, teacher Coltraine & musician Gary Moore. Great for all ages.

Gary invites you to explore what makes a poem a poem, ballads to blues, and a Staten Island anthology. You can be the star of your own poetry slam!

For directions via public transportation, visit www.hopstop.com.

This series was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. through public fund from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the New York City Council.

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Shakespeare OutLOUD with Noodles at Noon!

Saturday, April 26, Noon. Bay St Noodle Shop, 228 Bay St, SINY 10301 (at Tompkinsville Park & just a few doors from ETG Book Café). Part of ETG’s annual St George Day Festival.

Staten Island OutLOUD kicks off the annual St George Day festival, with a whimsical celebration of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday: “Shakespeare OutLOUD with Noodles!”
We’ll feature readings of original work on Shakespearean themes by writers from OutLOUD’s creative writing studio – Together with participatory readings of Shakespeare’s sonnets – for National Poetry Month. If you’d like to read one of your favorite soliloquies & scenes, that’s great. We welcome readings of Shakespeare by anyone who wants to join us!

We’ll meet in the awesome new Bay St Noodle Shop (228 Bay St, overlooking Tompkinsville Park & just a few doors from ETG Book Cafe). Our reading is free – BUT WE ASK YOU TO SUPPORT THE NOODLE SHOP by ordering something from their delicious menu: Starts as low as $4 for a huge bowl of noodles, plus other tasty selections.

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A Tibetan Romeo & Juliet

Friday, April 25, at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, 338 Lighthouse Ave, Staten Island NY 10306. Two performances: 7pm & 8pm.

Space Limited! Reservation essential! RSVP today! To reserve, email sioutloud@yahoo.com – Please specify 7pm or 8pm performance. Each performance lasts about 30 minutes.

Staten Island OutLOUD celebrates the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth with a unique performance at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art. The museum features Tibetan-style structures, pond & garden on a hill overlooking Lower New York Bay.

Staten Island OutLOUD’s spoken word performances – with music and dance – will explore scenes from the Bard’s Romeo and Juliet, paired with Tibetan poetry echoing Shakespeare’s themes. Our cast of readers will include: Margaret Chase, Evan Cucciniello, Megan Jardine,Ted Lockwyn, and Vincent Vok.

Music by WaFoo, a Japanese-Jazz fusion ensemble (www.wafoo.info), featuring Yuuki Koike on flute and Kazuo Nakamura on bass. Site-specific Butoh dance by Florence Poulain & Deep Tanks Butoh (www.deeptanks.com). .

Parking VERY limited; please take public transportation or carpool. Some parking on nearby streets: Edinboro Place (1 block uphill from museum), or Lighthouse & St Andrews Road (2 blocks downhill from museum, near Richmond Road). Link to map of surrounding streets: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5758905,-74.1399965,16z

For directions via public transportation, please visit www.hopstop.com

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What Women Carry

Saturday, April 5, 2pm at the Richmondtown Branch Library, 200 Clarke Ave, SINY 10306

Staten Island OutLOUD kicks off National Poetry month with What Women Carry, a slide show of innovative collages by Island artist Everet, accompanied by readings of global poetry. Together, Everet’s collages and our poetry selections will explore women’s work in the world, to invite reflection and conversation.

Here are Everet’s comments on her collages, composed of found objects and images, textiles and paper, that will be featured in OutLOUD’s event: “Women carrying things on their heads… strong women whose balance, posture and stamina are impressive… vendors and shoppers selling and buying … laborers and servants hauling, harvesting and gleaning … immigrants, refugees and nomads moving and transporting… fruits, vegetables, spices, bread, sugarcane, gain, tea, water, milk, wine, livestock, fish, flowers, birds …. beds, clothes, pots, pans, cups, bowls, platters, baskets, buckets, trays, cages, boxes, barrels, bags and coffins…. cement, stones, mud, bricks, sand, wood, dung… by way of riverbeds, hills, fields, highways, paths and streets of sand, gravel, clay, dirt, asphalt, cobblestone… throughout history, throughout the world.”

Everet is a self-taught artist/designer based on Staten Island; her work is included in public and private collections in many countries. Her current work as a textile artist represents her commitment to use remnants and recycled materials as often as possible. She utilizes an appliquéd fabric technique that she calls “Lamina” to produce nature-themed wall hangings; she also includes the patterns of the layered fabrics themselves in her designs of clothing and sculpture.

“Women Carrying Things on Their Heads” is a theme that Everet has used in a variety of media for the past thirty years. The collages in her visual presentation portray strong women around the world and throughout history, whose balance, posture and stamina are impressive.

Global poetry selections will be curated by Island writer Victoria Hallerman (www.victoriahallerman.com) Women carrying water jugs .

Ms. Hallerman has published several chapbooks of poetry and a collection, The Aerialist, which won the Bright Hill Prize in 2005. For over 20 years, she worked as a poet and literacy teacher in classrooms throughout NYC, including 27 schools on Staten Island. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Poetry, The Nation and The Pushcart Prize.

As a prose writer, Ms. Hallerman wrote and published How We Survived Prostate Cancer: What we did and what we should have done (William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins, 2009). Ms. Hallerman recently completed the manuscript of Starts Wednesday: Coming of Age In a Movie Palace, a memoir of how she and her husband struggled to save Staten Island’s St. George Theatre in 1976.

Free & family-friendly. Best for ages 8 & up.

For directions via public transportation, please visit www.hopstop.com

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