Staten Island OutLOUD

Sunday, Aug 3rd, 1pm at Historic Fort Wadsworth

Saturday, July 26, 2pm

Greenbelt Nature Center 700 Rockland Ave, SINY 10314 (@Brielle Ave)

Staten Island OutLOUD invites you to this free event on Saturday, July 26 at 2pm, We’ll explore Braiding Sweetgrass, by Dr Robin Wall Kimmerer. This beautiful book interweaves indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. It focuses on a reciprocal relationship with the living world and what we might learn if we understood plants as our teachers. Free.

Friday, July 4th, 2pm. Historic Fort Wadsworth, located at the intersection of Bay St & School Road.

Every July 4th, Staten Island OutLOUD hosts a community reading of the Declaration of Independence and a conversation about our nation’s historic document.

Enter the grounds of Fort Wadsworth via the Guard Station at Bay St & School Road (just a few steps away from Von Briessen Park). Then park in the Visitors Center lot & follow the sidewalk to the scenic Harbor Overlook).

For public transportation to Fort Wadsworth, take the S51 bus from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Ask the driver to alert you when the bus reaches Bay Street and School Road. Then enter the grounds of Fort Wadsworth via the Guard Staten walk about 3 blocks fro

Sunday, July 13, 6:30pm (Bastille Eve) At Westervelt Community Garden, 143 Westervelt Ave (near Curtis Place),, SINY 10301 Rain or shine – We’ll have tents!

Bring a lawnchair and join Staten Island OutLOUD in the charming Westervelt Community Garden. Free. Plenty of free parking on surrounding streets.

A candlelight celebration of Bastille Day, the French national commemoration of its 1789 revolution. (Bastille Day falls on a Monday this year, so we’ll meet on Sunday (Bastille Eve) for everyone’s weekend convenience.) We’ll share a participatory reading of selected poetry and prose. We’ll have translations available, so no problem if you don’t speak French.

Please note: To enter the garden, one must climb about 10 steps up from street level. Most OutLOUD events are accessible, but unfortunately there is no wheelchair access at the garden, which is supported by neighborhood volunteers. SPECIAL THANKS TO the New York Restoration Project for providing equipment and encouragement. AND BIG THANKS to the fabulous Ann Marie Spina for her invaluable expertise and infectious energy!

Monday, June 23rd at 11:30am at Port Richmond Library, 75 Bennett Street, SINY 10302

Join Staten Island OutLOUD and our fabulous librarian friend Jocelyn Victoria & all the excellent librarians at the beautifully renovated Port Richmond Branch Library as we explore F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. Copies will be available at the library for you to check out ahead of time. 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of this timeless classic.

Often described as a picture of the Jazz Age, “Gatsby” was praised by T. S. Eliot: “It seems to me to be the first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James.” The story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made man who pursued a lost love, a beautiful woman who seemed beyond his reach, is a story of hope and dreams – or delusion – that feels relatable to readers today.

The novel illuminates some of the dramatic changes in American life during the years following World War I, and current events reflect elements of those changes. “Some of those radical changes included the rise of wealth… An agrarian society was rapidly becoming industrialized as Congress passed laws that allowed for railroad subsidies and new immigration and tariff increases….”