This past week, the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association and Project Woodhaven, in conjunction with historic Neir's Tavern, hosted an evening celebration of the written word, called "Writers and Pints." Local wordsmiths were encouraged to come out and read, and we were honored to be joined by Paolo Javier, the Poet Laureate of Queens.
The WRBA regularly showcases local talent by providing residents the opportunity to read their writing publicly in the friendly confines of Neir's Tavern, Queens' oldest bar. And Neir's showcases local talent on Wednesdays (Jam Night), Fridays (Karaoke) and they also feature live performances every Saturday. Woodhaven is a thriving little artistic community! And the evening was a smash hit, bringing together members of the community.
"Woodhaven has so many talented writers of both prose and poetry," said WRBA Director Vance Barbour. "By providing them with a platform to share their work with the rest of Woodhaven, we hope to enhance the neighborhood's status as one of the city's most vibrant and creative communities."
Here is a video of highlights from the evenings' performances.
A great time was had by all. Paolo Javier, the evening's special guest, has been a resident of Queens for over 10 years. His appointment as the borough's poet laureate was announced in June by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and Queens College President James Muyskens. His award-winning poetry is only one facet of his artistic contributions; he is also a playwright, film director, professor, editor, and publisher.
Here, lifelong Woodhaven resident Christine Barbour reads a selection of her poems to the audience. Christine recently gave classes on writing poetry at the Woodhaven Library.
And here is a video of Christine:
Next up was Aisha Menard, who is multi-talented, acting, singing, and dancing who gained experience performing live at open mic slams at Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
And here is video of Aisha's performance:
Next, we were treated to Rose Kavanaugh, secretary of the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society. Rose is a lifetime member of the International Society of Poets, volunteered at both PS60 and St Thomas, was a member of the STA choir for 25 years, and has had over 70 poems published in the Leader Observer. And as a bonus, her appearance that evening coincided with her birthday -- and we all got together and surprised her with a birthday cake.
We were also blessed to have so many of Rose's friends in attendance, making it a special evening. And Neir's did something really nice, presenting Rose with a bouquet of flowers.
Here is a video of Rose's performance, including the whole tavern serenading her with a chorus of Happy Birthday:
And finally (after a break for coffee and cake) we were treated to our guest, Paolo Javier. This was Paolo Javier's first performance as Poet Laureate -- and we were honored that he made his debut as poet Laureate right here in Woodhaven! "What an honor it is for me to be invited to your series," Javier said. "As the new Queens Poet Laureate, I am excited most of all by the opportunity to discover long-standing and vital poetry communities such as Woodhaven's. I look forward to hearing your poetry, and to sharing my own."
The excitement seems to be felt on both sides. "We are tremendously pleased to welcome Paolo to Woodhaven and are eagerly looking forward to Thursday night," Barbour said. "We expect that his work will inspire the scores of writers and enthusiasts of the written word who live in our neighborhood."
It was a real pleasure sitting back, tipping back a few, and being treated to the works of such talented individuals.
Here is video of Paolo's performance:
What was notable was the respect that each of these artists showed for one other, listening to each others' works, and talking to each other about their performances afterwards.
As the evening ended we all agreed that it was a big success, a nice creative evening in our community. Mr. Javier also indicated that he'd enjoy working with us again, both here in Woodhaven, and on the road, with some of our local talent. Do you have a writing talent? If so, drop us a line! Photos & Video: Joey Wendell Text Contributed By: Alexander Blenkinsopp
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com .
