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Walking With Whitman: Poetry in Performance – Gerd Stern, Kat Georges, Peter Carlaftes, Josie Bello

Walt Whitman Birthplace Association (WWBA) presents  Walking With Whitman: Poetry in Performance, hosted by Writer-in-Residence George Wallace. The signature series, now in its 14th season, continues to bring the most intriguing figures in contemporary literature on the national scene paired with local poets on the Walt Whitman Stage.

Friday, April 5th, Walking With Whitman will feature poets Gerd Stern, Kat Georges and Peter Carlaftes. The evening will also feature live music by Singer-Songwriter Josie Bello.  Join us for this exciting event!

Refreshments will be served starting at 6:30, music and readings start at 7:00.
There is a $10 entry fee for this event that will be collected at the door. (No registration is required)

 


Gerd Stern is a poet, painter, sculptor, and media artist. His oral history, From Beat Scene Poet to Psychedelic Multimedia Artist: 1948–1978, was published by The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He is a founder of, one of the first arts/technology cooperatives, active since the early 1960s, Based in Rockland County. Author of six collections of poetry, Gerd was born in Saarland on the German/French border in 1928, emigrated to the United States with his family as the Nazis rose to power, and eventually settled in Washington Heights in New York City. A lifetime of wide travels and accomplishments brought him in contact with the Allen Ginsberg, Carl Solomon, Charlie Parker and James Baldwin in NYC, a brief stint with the Black Mountain School, The SF Beat Scene (including Maya Angelou), and helped build the Living Theater on 14th St in NYC.

 


 

Kat Georges is a  author, poet, playwright, and graphic designer. Author of Awe and Other Words Like Wow, Our Lady of the Hunger and Three Somebodies: Plays about Notorious Dissidents. She is co-editor of the annual contemporary dada journal, Maintenant. Her poems have recently appeared in NYC from the Inside, Arriving at a Shoreline, and Mas Tequila. She lives in New York City, where she is co-director of Three Rooms Press, a literary publisher driven by diversty, dada, punk, and passion.

 


 

Peter Carlaftes is author of five books including the poetry collections Life in the Past Lane, Drunkyard Dog and I Fold With the Hand I Was Dealt and two collections of plays: Teatrophy and Triumph for Rent. He is co-editor of the annual contemporary dada journal, Maintenant and editor of The Faking Of The President: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir. His poetry has recently appeared in NYC from the Inside, Love, Love, Chorus: A Literary Mixtape and many more. Co-director of Three Rooms Press, he lives in New York City.

 


 

Josie Bello is a Singer-Songwriter from Huntington.  Her songs tell stories that are relatable, and explore issues that are both timely and timeless. Her newest release “Have Purpose Live Long” (2020) and her debut album “Can’t Go Home” (2018) have both had extensive U.S. & International radio play with the albums and individual tracks appearing on an impressive number of radio charts.  Josie performs solo and with her band, “The Kit House Band”.  Her music is available everywhere including Spotify, Bandcamp, iTunes and Amazon. For more information about Josie, you can visit her website at josiebello.com.

 


 

Make a meaningful gift to support our poetry programs:  https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2197152

 

This program is made possible with funds from Poets and Writers, The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation, NY State Parks, Suffolk County, Town of Huntington, and NYS Council on the Arts through Huntington Arts Council.

 

 

 

 

April 5, 2024
7:00 pm
7:00 pm