WORKSHOP #1
(FOR ADULTS)
Coney Island on Our Minds
Memory, Wishes, Waiting, Wailing
A FREE POETRY WORKSHOP
with Patricia Spears Jones
Saturday, October 13, 2012
3:00-4:30 p.m.
New York Aquarium’s Education Hall
(Boardwalk & W. 8th St., enter near the mural)
I am waiting for my case to come up
and I am waiting
for a rebirth of wonder
and I am waiting for someone
to really discover America
and wail
—Lawrence Ferlinghetti, from A Coney Island of the Mind
Coney Island on Our Minds is a workshop for adults (18+) to write about how Coney Island is on their minds as desire, memory, wish, and what they are waiting for. Over 50 years ago, Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote the Beat classic A Coney Island of the Mind and he wasn’t even from Coney Island! Bring your memories, imagination, paper, and pen, and write or wail.
First come/first write.
Brooklyn based, but Arkansas born and raised, PATRICIA SPEARS JONES is a poet, playwright, literary curator, educator, cultural maven and author of the poetry collections: Painkiller, Femme du Monde, and The Weather That Kills. She is editor of Think: Poems for Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Day Hat and 30 Days Hath September, another kind of noise. This year she received the Oscar Williams and Gene Derwood Award for her poetry from The New York Community Trust.
Registering in advance is encouraged.
(You can also register on the day of the workshop.) To register, please contact Becca:
parachutefestival@gmail.com
WORKSHOP #2
(FOR TEENAGERS)
INSTANT POETRY
CONEY ISLAND!
A FREE Poetry Workshop for Teenagers
WITH EMILY XYZ AND MYERS BARTLETT
Sunday, October 14, 2012
3:00-4:30 p.m.
New York Aquarium’s Education Hall
(Boardwalk & W. 8th St., enter near the mural)
HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN A POEM?
HAVE YOU WRITTEN TONS OF POEMS?
HAVE YOU NEVER WRITTEN A POEM, BUT WANT TO LEARN HOW?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY READING POETRY OUT LOUD?
COME TO THIS WORKSHOP!
First, everyone will write a couple of short poems. Since this is a special class, we're going to ask you to write about Coney Island in some way -- you decide how. Then we'll put everyone's poems together to make one big poem. At the end of the workshop, everyone will read his or her own poem, and then perform the "big poem" together!
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP TEACHERS:
Emily & Myers have done a lot of poetry readings, and a lot of workshops, in a lot of different places during the 20 years they have been performing together. We look forward to meeting you & hearing your work!
Registering in advance is encouraged. (You can also register on the day of the workshop.) To register, please contact Becca: parachutefestival@gmail.com
WORKSHOP #3
(FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA & THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS & THE GENERAL PUBLIC)
MEMORY ARTS CAFE
Saturday, October 13, 2012
10:30-11:30 a.m.
New York Aquarium’s Alien Stingers Exhibit
W. 8th St. and Surf Ave., Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY
A special session of the Memory Arts Café will take place as part of Parachute: the Coney Island Performance Festival, 10:30 to 11:30am, on Saturday, October 13th, at the New York Aquarium Alien Stingers Exhibit. People living with dementia, their family members and the general public are encouraged to attend the workshop. Participants will perform classic poems with Coney Island and ocean themes and create an original poem inspired the “Alien Stingers,” Jelly Exhibit. Poet Gary Glazner will lead the session.
Memory Arts Café is a new series of free art events for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers and the general public and is co-produced by New York Memory Center and the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project.
Founded in 1983, the mission of New York Memory Center is to help older adults who have cognitive, physical, and emotional limitations, to maintain or improve their level of functioning so that they may enjoy their later years at home and within the community. Through an innovative wellness center, New York Memory Center meets the needs of individuals living with Alzheimer’s and related dementia disorders and their Caregivers.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP TEACHER:
Gary Glazner founded the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project (APP) in 2004. The APP was awarded the 2012 MetLife Foundation Creativity and Aging in America Leadership Award in the category of Community Engagement. The National Endowment for the Arts listed the APP as a “best practice” for their Arts and Aging initiative. NBC's “Today” show, NPR's “All Things Considered” and Voice of America have featured segments on the APP.
http://parachuteconeyislandfestival.blogspot.com
http://www.alzpoetry.com
Registering in advance is encouraged. (You can also register on the day of the workshop.) To register, please contact Becca: parachutefestival@gmail.com
