{SALON NYC}

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{ON TAP TO READ}

NYC | September 19, 2010

Ah summer! We’re holding onto you for as long as possible, but what’s that on the literary horizon…? You guessed it: four phenomenal writers who will keep that summer spirit going at the September 19th Sunday Salon. We’re looking forward to it! Join us at Jimmys 43 at 43 E. 7th St. 8pm. (Please note time change for this month’s event.)

Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943 and received a BA from Columbia in 1964, and a doctorate from the Union Graduate School in 1979. He has written fifteen books of poems, essays, novels, film criticism, biographical monograph, urban meditation, and a memoir about teaching. He has edited numerous anthologies including Writing New York (Library of America, 2008) and The Art of the Personal Essay (Doubleday-Anchor, 1994). Phillip has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants, and two New York Foundation for the Arts grants. His most recent books include Two Marriages (Other Press, 2008), Notes on Sontag (Princeton University Press, 2009) and At the End of the Day (Marsh Hawk Press, 2010). He teaches in the MFA graduate programs at Columbia, The New School and Bennington.

After journalist Jessica DuLong was laid off from her dot-com job, life took an unexpected turn. A volunteer day aboard an antique fireboat, the John J. Harvey, led to a job in the engine room, where she found a taste of home she hadn’t realized she was missing. Working with the boat’s finely crafted machinery, on the waters of the storied Hudson, made her wonder what America is losing in our shift away from hands-on work. Her questions crystallized after she and her crew served at Ground Zero, where fireboats provided the only water available to fight blazes. Vivid and immediate, My River Chronicles is a journey with an extraordinary guide—a mechanic’s daughter and Stanford graduate who bridges blue-collar and white-collar worlds, turning a phrase as deftly as she does a wrench. As she searches for the meaning of work in America, DuLong shares her own experiences of learning to navigate a traditionally male world, masterfully interweaving unforgettable present-day characters and events with four centuries of Hudson River history. A celebration of craftsmanship, My River Chronicles is a deeply personal story of a unique woman’s discovery of her own roots—and America’s—that raises important questions about our nation’s future.

Matthew Sharpe is the author of the novels You Were Wrong (published this fall by Bloomsbury), Jamestown, The Sleeping Father, and Nothing Is Terrible, and the short-story collection Stories from the Tube. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. He has taught at Wesleyan and Columbia Universities, and in the MFA program at Bard College. He lives in New York City. For more information: http://www.matthew-sharpe.net/?page_id=98

Alexis Romay received a Master of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from the City University of New York. His novel Salidas de emergencia (Emergency Exits) was published in Spain and in Italy; his book of poetry Los culpables (The Guilty) was published in Spain. He is a contributor to the quarterlies Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana, Caleta, Replicante and Letras Libres. He has translated into Spanish the novel Flight to Freedom, by Ana Veciana-Suarez, as well as the Newbery Award winning book of poetry The Surrender Tree, by Margarita Engle and, into English, the novel Al norte del infierno, by Miguel Correa Mujica. With Enrique Del Risco, he has written lyrics for Paquito D’Rivera’s operetta Cecilio Valdés, Rey de La Habana (Cecilio Valdes, King of Havana) He lives in New Jersey with his wife, his dogs and a few books, and writes about Cuba, literature and other tropical diseases in his blogs: Belascoaín y Neptuno & Mixing Memory and Desire.

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{SALON NYC BLOG}

No Baggage Travel

Is it possible? I met up recently with travel writer supreme Rolf Potts and a few other travel writing enthusiasts at a watering hole in NYC before Rolf embarked on his 6-week journey around the world with no baggage. Yea, you read that right: no baggage. However, he did show off his cool vest with lots of pockets that stored everything he’d need for the trip, including one ultra-compact, mini keyboard to attach to his iPod touch, eh voila, transforming it into a nifty tool of the trade!

So, yes, the answer is yes. For you luggage hounds out there, take heed. All you really need is the spirit, and of course, the funds (that one I’m still working on, but won’t let it stop me) to travel.

Check out Rolf’s website (and funny video, and his books, if you can’t afford to vagabond internationally quite yet) for more inspiration.

Happy travels, Rolf!

-N

ps and for you city folks on a budget (or not): pack your sunscreen/water/book and head to one of ny’s lovely sandy beaches like Long Beach (accessible by LIRR) or Far Rockaway Beach (on the beloved A train). No better time than the present.

Aid to Pakistan

Consider donating to the International Rescue Committee to help out those affected by the flood in Pakistan.

Or here: Save the Children.

Or here: Mercy Corps.

Bahut Shukria. Thank you.

Coming soon: Salonzine’s new issue SPILL

Stayed tuned for the upcoming issue of Salonzine. SPILL is still marinating, but boy, it’s gonna be good!

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{SALON NYC RECENT WRITERS}

Alexis Romay

Alexis Romay received a Master of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from the City University of New York. His novel Salidas de emergencia (Emergency Exits) was published in Spain and in Italy; his book of poetry Los culpables (The Guilty) was published in Spain. He is a contributor to the quarterlies Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana, Caleta, Replicante and Letras Libres. He has translated into Spanish the novel Flight to Freedom, by Ana Veciana-Suarez, as well as the Newbery Award winning book of poetry The Surrender Tree, by Margarita Engle and, into English, the novel Al norte del infierno, by Miguel Correa Mujica. With Enrique Del Risco, he has written lyrics for Paquito D’Rivera’s operetta Cecilio Valdés, Rey de La Habana (Cecilio Valdes, King of Havana) He lives in New Jersey with his wife, his dogs and a few books, and writes about Cuba, literature and other tropical diseases in his blogs: Belascoaín y Neptuno & Mixing Memory and Desire.

Matthew Sharpe

Matthew Sharpe is the author of the novels You Were Wrong (published this fall by Bloomsbury), Jamestown, The Sleeping Father, and Nothing Is Terrible, and the short-story collection Stories from the Tube. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. He has taught at Wesleyan and Columbia Universities, and in the MFA program at Bard College. He lives in New York City. For more information: http://www.matthew-sharpe.net/?page_id=98

Jessica DuLong

After journalist Jessica DuLong was laid off from her dot-com job, life took an unexpected turn. A volunteer day aboard an antique fireboat, the John J. Harvey, led to a job in the engine room, where she found a taste of home she hadn’t realized she was missing. Working with the boat’s finely crafted machinery, on the waters of the storied Hudson, made her wonder what America is losing in our shift away from hands-on work. Her questions crystallized after she and her crew served at Ground Zero, where fireboats provided the only water available to fight blazes. Vivid and immediate, My River Chronicles is a journey with an extraordinary guide—a mechanic’s daughter and Stanford graduate who bridges blue-collar and white-collar worlds, turning a phrase as deftly as she does a wrench. As she searches for the meaning of work in America, DuLong shares her own experiences of learning to navigate a traditionally male world, masterfully interweaving unforgettable present-day characters and events with four centuries of Hudson River history. A celebration of craftsmanship, My River Chronicles is a deeply personal story of a unique woman’s discovery of her own roots—and America’s—that raises important questions about our nation’s future.

Phillip Lopate

Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943 and received a BA from Columbia in 1964, and a doctorate from the Union Graduate School in 1979. He has written fifteen books of poems, essays, novels, film criticism, biographical monograph, urban meditation, and a memoir about teaching. He has edited numerous anthologies including Writing New York (Library of America, 2008) and The Art of the Personal Essay (Doubleday-Anchor, 1994). Phillip has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants, and two New York Foundation for the Arts grants. His most recent books include Two Marriages (Other Press, 2008), Notes on Sontag (Princeton University Press, 2009) and At the End of the Day (Marsh Hawk Press, 2010). He teaches in the MFA graduate programs at Columbia, The New School and Bennington.

Allison Tartalia

Musical Guest:

“Tartalia is to pop music what granola is to cereal.”
- NYRock.com.

Indeed, Allison Tartalia is not your run-of the-mill songwriter. Her unconventional arrangements, brutally honest lyrics, and wry humor make her as unpredictable as she is unforgettable. Audiences have taken notice at clubs, colleges and festivals around the country. A classically trained pianist, Allison draws upon diverse influences to create her eclectic brand of orchestral chamber pop. In addition to her work as a singer-songwriter, Allison composes for both theater and film. The musical drama 1918: A House Divided, was produced by Theater for the New City, and she recently co-wrote music for the documentary 5,000 Miles From Home.

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{ABOUT SALON NYC}

Nita Noveno and co-host/fellow New School grad Caroline Berger keep a refreshing blend of new and experienced literary voices on tap at Stain Bar every third Sunday of the month and online in the Sunday Salon zine.

Nita Noveno and Caroline Berger Nita Noveno is a graduate of the New School MFA Creative Writing Program. She founded the Sunday Salon series in the summer of 2002. She has most recently been published in Lost and Found: An Anthology of Teachers Writing and Worldview and was a finalist for the Missouri Review's 2005 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize. Nita read at the July 2002 Salon.

Caroline Berger lives in up-and-coming Bed Stuy (she's waiting patiently). Her proetry (that's not a typo; she likes to make up her own genres) has appeared most recently on La Petite Zine and Pindeldyboz and in Barrow Street. She is the co-host of the Sunday Salon and once used all 7 letters in a game of Scrabble to spell e-t-i-o-l-a-t-e. She teaches writing at The New School & has recently succumb to the world of blogging: Apocalyptic Whimsy. Caroline read at the August 2002 Salon.