Reflections: Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger’s Last Night on Stage
by Jesse Wegman, The New York Times, January 28, 2014

For Seeger, Years of Singing and Sailing to Save His Hudson River
by Joseph Berger, The New York Times, January 28, 2014

Pete Seeger, 94

Pete Seeger, Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music, Dies at 94
by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, January 28, 2014

Farewell, Madiba

Madiba
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
1918-2013

farewell

rest, ancestor, in power

fierce love, fierce pride

courage to fight when fight is called for

to sacrifice

to gather strength, your higher wisdom

to extend a balm

you, blazing star, lift us, dignify us

true life is lived in this way

and death can claim no triumph

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Dance Dr. King's dream on August 28

Let freedom ring!

Take part in the global celebration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

Dance the Dream is a global flash-mob dance on August 28. Find out how you can participate: Click here.

Poets as activists, activists as poets

POETRY+ACTIVISM+IDENTITY, OH MY!!

A celebration, discussion and reading with 

Susan Sherman and Kathy Engel

Wednesday, March 27 (7pm)

at Bluestockings

Sharing personal experience and their own work, these two poet/activists will examine the fulfilling but often problematic relationship of poetry/identity and activism, as well as celebrate the NYC launch of Susan Sherman's new collection of poetry, The Light that Puts an End to Dreams (Wings Press).

For over thirty years, Kathy Engel has been a cultural worker, writer, educator, producer and consultant in the meeting place of imagination and social justice/change. Her books include Ruth's Skirts (IKON, 2007) and We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon, co-edited with Kamal Boullata. (Interlink Publishing, 2007). In 2012, she was Featured Poet at the Split This Rock Poetry Festival, and a fellow at the Hedgebrook Women Writers Retreat.

Poet, playwright, co-founder of IKON magazine, Susan Sherman, has published five collections of poetry, and a memoir, America's Child: A Women's Journey through the Radical Sixties (Curbstone, 2007). Intense political poems, intimate love poems and provocative reflections characterize her new collection, the journey of one woman intimately involved with "many of the most important events of our time, including feminism and gay liberation, anti-war activism, and the movements in Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Cuba.

Free admission

Bluestockings
172 Allen Street (between Stanton and Rivington Streets), Manhattan
(map/directions)
212-777-6028

Adrienne Rich, 82 [UPDATE]

Adrienne Rich
(Photo: Robert Giard/Norton)

Poet Adrienne Rich, 82, has died
Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2012

A Poet of Unswerving Vision at the Forefront of Feminism
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, March 28, 2012

Malangatana Ngwenya, painter, 74

Malangatana Ngwenya, Mozambican Painter and Poet, Dies at 74
by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, January 8, 2011

Tadej Brdnik: dances for peace

Move-Meant for Freedom: A King Day Intergenerational Dance Lab

at Middle Collegiate Church
50 East 7th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), Manhattan

Monday, January 17 (10am-2pm)

The Civil Rights Campaign was called a movement for a reason! Join Tadej Brdnik, Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company along with a few special friends, a small team of professional dancers and Middle Church Staff on King Day in a joyous multicultural experience. Participants will come together and explore using movement to reach across differences to generate a dance vocabulary for peace.

This event is open to all ages and no dance experience is required. Participants should arrive with an open mind, wear comfortable clothing and be ready to move (at their own pace) for freedom!

After a short welcome and orientation, seniors, families, young adults, teens and children will split into special instructor lead break-out sessions specifically designed for their age groups. The afternoon will culminate as the groups come back together in a special one-time group performance... a Move-Meant for Freedom!

At the close of group activities, participants will be treated to special performances from the professional instructors. This event is not to be missed.

Dance Lab: 10am - 12pm

Lunch: 12pm - 1pm - Lunch is child and grownup friendly

- Cost for lunch $5 Adults and $1 Children

Group Dance and Special Performances from Dance Instructors: 1pm - 2pm

Program Director: Tadej Brdnik, Principal Dancer, Martha Graham Dance CompanyTadej Brdnik began his dance career in Slovenia. He has danced with Battery Dance Company, Avila/Weeks Dance, White Oak Dance Project, Robert Wilson, and Pick Up Performance Company, as well as in works of Maurice Béjart, Lucinda Childs, Yvonne Rainer, Susan Stroman, Steve Paxton, and Deborah Hay. He has taught extensively in the United States and Europe and is on the faculty of the Martha Graham School. Mr. Brdnik is currently Education Director for the Downtown Dance Festival. He is a recipient of the Benetton Dance Award and the Eugene Loring Award and has been with the Company since 1996.

RSVP for this event here.

Desmond Tutu on arts boycott of Israel [UPDATED]

Tutu Urges South African Opera Company Not to Perform in Israel
by Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times, October 26, 2010

UPDATE: Over Tutu’s Objections, South African Opera Company Says It Will Tour Israel

Happy birthday, John!

Israeli theater artists protest settlements

Actors' Protest and Rabbi's Sermon Stoke Tensions in Israel Ahead of Peace Talks
by Isabel Kershner, The New York Times, August 29, 2010

Issey Miyake: A Flash of Memory

A Flash of Memory
by Issey Miyake, The New York Times, July 14, 2009