39th District Council member Bill de Blasio, who is running for New York City Public Advocate, opposes Superfund status for the Gowanus Canal,

"We're being sold a bill of goods," he told the New York Daily News. "There isn't necessarily
money attached. … How can you call it Superfund if there's no fund?"

He also supports the Toll Brothers Development that has divided the neighborhood.

"We, locally, have gotten our act together. The city's doing the right
stuff. … The Toll site will get cleaned up," de Blasio said, charging
the feds would just "get in the way."

The Toll Brothers have said they will pull out of the site if it is designated a Superfund site. They want to build luxury townhouses, condos and a park and have promised to clean up the canal.

The question that is dividing the community now: Who do you trust to thoroughly clean a highly toxic canal that is rich in contaminated sediments? The federal government or a private developer (with the support of the city)?

As I understand it, the Superfund will not oversee or pay for clean up of the contaminated ground around the Gowanus and will not begin clean up until that has been completed.

Who cleans that? Questions. Questions.

Tonight join me at Brooklyn Reading Works (BRW), for another great event you won't want to
miss. Raina Washington, recipient of the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing awards at Brooklyn College, curates an evening of exciting new writing by
writers from the MFA program at Brooklyn College.

As usual, it's all happening at the Old Stone House in Park Slope (Fifth Avenue and Third Street) at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is appreciated and includes blender drinks and snacks.

Maisy Card was
born in Jamaica but raised in Queens New York. She is happily now a
resident of Brooklyn. She is a second year writer in the Brooklyn
College MFA program and a member of the Brooklyn Writers Space. Maisy’s
work explores characters and reinvents memories of life in Jamaica.

Andy Hunter has
served as editor-in-chief of various publications, including The
Brooklyn Review, Mean Magazine, and Lollapalooza Magazine.  In 2005,
his short fiction won the James Kirkwood prize, and in 2008 he obtained
his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. He
is working on his first novel.

Kristen Meinzer
is a Brooklyn-based writer. She received a BA in cultural studies and
comparative literature from the University of Minnesota in 1999, an
interdisciplinary MA in public history and consumer culture from NYU in
2005, and an MFA in fiction writing from Brooklyn College in 2008.
While at Brooklyn College, she served as Associate Fiction Editor of
the Brooklyn Review, and was a recipient of the Himan Brown Award in
Creative Writing. In 2008, she was granted a fellowship with the
Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation. Kristen's current project,
entitled The Year Of Asking (www.theyearofasking.com), documents her
attempts to receive something everyday, and receive it for free, for an
entire year.

Felise Nguyen was unworriedly
conceived in Saigon then born with some difficulty in San Francisco
then raised with much difficulty in Houston.  She has chronic
difficulty answering the question, Where are you from?, except when
she’s traveling, in which case she easily answers “Brooklyn”.  She is a
graduate of Barnard College, and the University of Chicago Law School
where she was taught by Martha Nussbaum and Barack Obama.  She has
every intention of receiving her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College this
May.  She currently divides her time between working as a legal analyst
and seeking a cause larger than herself, which should be easy because
she is very small.

Raina Washington never though
she’d live to see the day when ass cleavage is no longer a big deal.
She was recently a NYC Teaching Fellow, where she was not only allowed,
but paid to teach English to 6th graders. She is slowly getting her
brain back. Raina likes to raise the dead in her writing – giving new
voices to people from long ago. All writing is a kind of love letter to
these folks. Her work has appeared in Tarpaulin Sky and The Olive Tree
Review. Raina’s play “Reading the Meter” was performed at the Little
Theater at Dixon Place. She has received the Audre Lorde and Creative
Writing awards. Raina has a coveted writing MFA from Brooklyn College.
Please wish her well as she moves to Washington DC this summer.

Katia Kelly, who runs the great Carroll Gardens blog, Pardon Me for Asking, decided to take some out-of-towners to Two Toms for that real Brooklyn food experience. Read her story. Here's an excerpt:

Chilled by global warming? Starved for information about its effects on your food? Come to the Brooklyn Food Conference and hear activist Anna Lappe, co-founder of the Small Planet Institute and author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, talk about how the winds of climate change are affecting the global food supply and what you can do about it.

For a look at the mouth-watering and though-provoking menu of talks, workshops, and activities for adults and children at the Brooklyn Food Conference, visit brooklynfoodconference.com

The Brooklyn Food Conference
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
John Jay High School (7th Avenue and 4th Street)
and activities for kids at PS 321 (180 7th Avenue at 1st Street)

This Thursday at Brooklyn Reading Works (BRW), another great event you won't want to
miss. Raina Washington, recipient of the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing
Awards at Brooklyn College, curates an evening of exciting new writing by
writers from the MFA program at Brooklyn College.

As usual, it's all happening at the Old Stone House in Park Slope (Fifth Avenue and Third Street) at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is appreciated and includes blender drinks and snacks.

Maisy Card was
born in Jamaica but raised in Queens New York. She is happily now a
resident of Brooklyn. She is a second year writer in the Brooklyn
College MFA program and a member of the Brooklyn Writers Space. Maisy’s
work explores characters and reinvents memories of life in Jamaica.

Andy Hunter has
served as editor-in-chief of various publications, including The
Brooklyn Review, Mean Magazine, and Lollapalooza Magazine.  In 2005,
his short fiction won the James Kirkwood prize, and in 2008 he obtained
his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. He
is working on his first novel.

Kristen Meinzer
is a Brooklyn-based writer. She received a BA in cultural studies and
comparative literature from the University of Minnesota in 1999, an
interdisciplinary MA in public history and consumer culture from NYU in
2005, and an MFA in fiction writing from Brooklyn College in 2008.
While at Brooklyn College, she served as Associate Fiction Editor of
the Brooklyn Review, and was a recipient of the Himan Brown Award in
Creative Writing. In 2008, she was granted a fellowship with the
Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation. Kristen's current project,
entitled The Year Of Asking (www.theyearofasking.com), documents her
attempts to receive something everyday, and receive it for free, for an
entire year.

Felise Nguyen was unworriedly
conceived in Saigon then born with some difficulty in San Francisco
then raised with much difficulty in Houston.  She has chronic
difficulty answering the question, Where are you from?, except when
she’s traveling, in which case she easily answers “Brooklyn”.  She is a
graduate of Barnard College, and the University of Chicago Law School
where she was taught by Martha Nussbaum and Barack Obama.  She has
every intention of receiving her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College this
May.  She currently divides her time between working as a legal analyst
and seeking a cause larger than herself, which should be easy because
she is very small.

Raina Washington never though
she’d live to see the day when ass cleavage is no longer a big deal.
She was recently a NYC Teaching Fellow, where she was not only allowed,
but paid to teach English to 6th graders. She is slowly getting her
brain back. Raina likes to raise the dead in her writing – giving new
voices to people from long ago. All writing is a kind of love letter to
these folks. Her work has appeared in Tarpaulin Sky and The Olive Tree
Review. Raina’s play “Reading the Meter” was performed at the Little
Theater at Dixon Place. She has received the Audre Lorde and Creative
Writing awards. Raina has a coveted writing MFA from Brooklyn College.
Please wish her well as she moves to Washington DC this summer.

Once again we are thrilled to have this missive from Rocky Sullivan quiz master, Scott Turner. And this week he even sends us a picture of himself. Nice to put a face to a name, eh?

Greetings, Pub Quiz Alamo Memory Merchants…

Brooklyn is Brooklyn.  It's unlike anywhere else.

To be unlike anywhere else, a place has to be a lot like everywhere else.

It then takes that gumbo and cooks up the vibe that renders a taste found nowhere else.

That's why Brooklyn and Texas are two very rough, prickly, vibrant, extravagant feathers of the same extraordinary bird.

Today's Bolt From The Blue Comparison arrives in service of this week's Rocky Sullivan's San Jacinto Day Pub Quiz.  This Thursday Texas is the topic of the Quiz's Music Round, Photo Round and Guest Round, all helmed by Texas native Rachell Turner — no relation, but be assured that at least one of us told gullible classmates that Nat Turner was a distant relative.

The Battle of San Jacinto — war, patriotism, and a really good Pub Quiz event

Yeah…a lot of Brooklynites and Texans might be aghast.  But remember — this isn't lumping together.  That's cattle-car uncomfortable.  Or NYC studio-apartment cramped.

No, this is a celebration of the confluences of the weird and
eccentric — plus a few tawdry scoundrels who deserve the bright red
target they've painted on their own backs.

We begin with…

Attitude.  Brooklyn and Texas are incredibly attitudinal.  From Marty Markowitz's dopey "Leaving Brooklyn — Fugheddaboudit!" signs to "Don't Mess With Texas," both places have a hopped-up sense of self.

Beer.  Both locales' suds have made the rest of the world very happy.  Brooklyn gave up its Brewing Capitol of America crown in the 1950s, but before that Piels, Rheingold and Schaefer all
called Brooklyn home.  Sadly, the borough's current best-known brand,
named after the borough, is an enthusiastic supporter of Bruce Ratner's disastrous Atlantic Yards project.  In Texas, Shiner Bock, Pearl and Lone Star are beloved brews that make the Lone Star State very, very unlonely.

Insane stadiums.  Ratner's disintegrating Barclays Nets
arena is insane.  But that's not the comparison here.  Rather, it's the
100,000 domed realm that Brooklyn and Texas reach across the aisle
for.  Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley wanted to build a 100,000 seat geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller.  Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has built a 100,000 seat dome.  Insane.

Scales of Grandeur.  Texas' affinity for big, bigger, biggest
is legend.  Brooklyn, for all of its little-guy championing, has a
latent and always emerging hunger for The Big.  Markowitz's bizarre Manhattan envy is just Brooklyn's latest love-of-large proclivity. A century ago Coney Island's grand amusement parks were juggernauts.  The Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII employed 70,000 24 hours a day.  And there's that Nathan's hot-dog eating contest every Fourth of July.

Immigrants.  Brooklyn and Texas have reaped the fruits of people
from other lands.  Despite all the back-patting, neither place is as
opened armed as we like to think or need to be.

Jackalopes and jackass politicians.  Neither Texas nor Brooklyn has a living jackalope, but at least in Brooklyn they're allowed to be off-leash in Prospect Park
before 9 a.m.  As for jackass politicians, we have both in droves. 
Recent times alone have been damaging.  Much of Texas is proud of George Bush and his Crawford cartel, and Governor Rick "We're Seceding From Obama's America" Perry.  Brooklyn?  Texas' infatuation with Bush, Perry, Phil Graham and Tom DeLay is more than matched by Brooklyn's bizarre and self-victimizing love of Michael Bloomberg.

Texas jackalope and jackass

Brooklyn's equivalents, in Prospect Park and 1 Metro Tech

phalluses, comma, big.  Brooklyn wins this competition, but just by a…hair.

churches.  Brooklyn is the Borough of Churches, and there's a rumor making the rounds that Texas itself is taken with religion.

accents. 
Texas and Brooklyn accents always used to turn up together.  Usually in
World War II movies.  Generally, the Brooklyn guy died before the Texas
guy.  Today, the classic Texas accent is alive and well.  Brooklyn? 
Fading, but still there.  Arrivals from elsewhere pick up Texas
accents, but in Brooklyn, they don't.

the Runaway Scrape vs. The Battle of Brooklyn.  In 1836, Sam Houston's
ragged army retreated from Mexican forces and deployed a scorched-earth
policy behind them.  In 2009, Bruce Ratner's ragged forces retreat from
community opposition, the bad economy and his own incompetence,
deploying a scorched-earth policy in Prospect Heights.  Houston's
forces emerged victorious and the Republic of Texas is formed.  Here's where the similarity will likely end.

Sam Houston, architect of the Runaway Scrape, and the architecture of Bruce Ratner's own Runaway Scrape

There're dozens more.  But the time has come to get this Quizmail into the mail.  Let me know what I've left out — I'll send out your Brooklyn-Texas suggestions in the next Quizmail.

Brooklyn…Texas: Different…Yet Not.

* * * * * * * *
Before we get to last week's wrap-up, a note about something exceptional.  Two weeks ago, during a round on Easter, I asked this question: "Which five colors do Peeps come in."  Most teams got all or most of the colors — yellow, white, pink, lavender and purple.  A number of teams insisted — insisted — that green is also a Peep color.

The Rocky Sullivan's Green Peeps Defence Committee was right, and I was wrong.  Green Peeps were introduced in 2007, the newest kids on the Peep block.

How wrong was I?  A package was waiting for me last week at
Rocky's.  I opened it to discover a five-pack of green Peeps and a note
from Anne Olivia Bauco.

Dear Scott,

Anne:  I don't think
you're a crazy-pants, complete or even partial.  I'm glad you proved
you were right in the most undeniable way possible — physical proof
sought out, purchased and delivered.  Thanks, Anne, for standing up for
yourself and everyone I left in the lurch.

The Quizmaster and the five tiny marshmallowy horses he should have ridden in on.

At 27, John Heyer is the youngest of the City Council candidates for the 39th District, but in many ways he's an old soul. The only candidate born in the district, Heyer is a fifth generation Carroll Gardener, who has been involved in local politics since he was 14-years-old and has a deep interest in the history of his neighborhood.

I met John and his wife, Maria, for breakfast last week at Joe's Coffee Shop, an institution in Carroll Gardens and a great place to run into long time locals. John, of course, knew practically everyone in the place and our conversation was punctuated with greetings to neighbors and friends.

Knowing his neighborhood past and present is key to Heyer's candidacy and who he is. Last year, he even  helped to curate an exhibition about Carroll Gardens for the Brooklyn Historical Society. He is currently planning a tour of the neighborhood's mom and pop shops, a chance to share his intimate knowledge of local history. 

He and his wife are currently buying a house in Carroll Gardens, moving out of the family apartment building where he grew up with his parents and grandparents. "I had a nightmare last night that I was stuck in the middle of the woods," he told me. "I think that was about my fear of not being able to get the house."

Heyer attended Xavarian High School in Bay Ridge and caught the political bug when he worked for Assemblywoman Joan Millman and the late Assemblywoman Eileen C. Dugan in his spare time. He cites them both as mentors and strong influences. 

At Fordham University, Heyer studied political science and theology and considered going to divinity school after college. He says he likes theology almost as much as he likes politics and devotes a great deal of time to service at his church, Sacred Hearts – St. Stephen, where he mentors kids in the Sacred Heart Youth Program.

But there was the tug of politics and public service he learned working with Millman and Dugan. Heyer briefly considered law school but decided instead to become a certified funeral director. He currently oversees 160 funerals a year at the Scotto Funeral Home, owned by Buddy Scotto, founder of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, an important figure in local politics. 

I, of course, was fascinated to hear what it takes to become a funeral director.

"You learn about cosmetology, anatomy, chemistry, embalming, bereavement psychology, small business and accounting," Heyer told me about his studies in a program associated with St. John's University.

Heyer, who was wearing a dark suit because of a funeral later in the day, is serious about his work at Scotto's. "It's not just the business of the dead, it's about the living and you have to be sensitive."

At the age of 23,  Heyer got the call from Borough President Marty Markowitz that changed his life. For nearly four years he has been assistant to Markowitz, a job that has taught him "how government works." While he doesn't agree with Markowitz about everything, Heyer does have great respect for his boss and firmly believes that Marty's support of Atlantic yards is not cynical. "He really thinks it's good for Brooklyn."

I asked Heyer what he thinks about the controversial project: "Certain aspects are too large. But I do think Brooklyn should have a national team."

From Marty Heyer has learned the key to a certain kind of local politics. "Marty knows that politics is about presence. Look at his schedule. In June he attends 16 graduations a day. He is many people's one-on-one connection to government."

So, I asked Heyer, what qualifies you, at the age of 27, to be a city council member?

"I am an expert on the district.  I know where it's been and where it needs to go. I was born here, it's where I grew up."

But it's his youth, Heyer says, that enables him to relate to young families that are more and more making Carroll Gardens their home. Heyer's wife Mia, is a lovely young woman, who works as a kindergarten teacher in Kensington, and is a member of Community Board 6. There's also a baby on the way.

Heyer like many of the candidates says that he's an advocate for livable neighborhoods. I asked him to specify because the phrase gets bandied about all the time.  "Livable means to keep each neighborhood distinct. A neighborhood isn't about brownstones, it's about characters."

Affordable housing is another buzz word that Heyer, like most of the other candidates, uses frequently. "There should be a place for everyone who wants to be here." Later he tells me: "No one one should want to move away. No one should have to move away."

He also wants to bring industry back to the Gowanus. "If we want industry we have to be smart about it. Small artisan businesses. Look at the Brooklyn Navy Yard."

So what about Superfund status for the Gowanus? I got the feeling that Heyer is suspicious about it and not sure why it has come up so suddenly. He also isn't really sure who actually pays for the clean up and wonders if it will mean more delays to the development of the area. (We spoke before the EPA community forum about Superfund status on April 14th and I'm curious how Heyer feels about the matter now).  

About the Toll Brothers luxury condos and townhouses? Heyer seems to like it. He's has some issues with it but likes the park, the residential element, and the inclusion of affordable housing.

Talking to Heyer you do  forget that he is only 27-years-old as he seems to have lived the history of Carroll Gardens from the immigrant days of his great grandparents to the 1970's when neighborhood activists like Buddy Scotto and others organized the first block associations to plant trees, revitalize the neighborhood and organize safety patrols.

From John, I learned about the four Brooklyn churches that were demolished because they were on the path of Robert Moses' BQE and the renaming of Carroll Gardens (named for Charles Carroll the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence).

By the end of breakfast I was fascinated by this amateur historian who has been working in politics since he was a teenager and is now a close associate of Marty Markowitz. Older than his years, Heyer is smart, enthusiastic and a strong proponent for preserving the character of historic neighborhoods.

Playwright Lynn Nottage's won the Pulitzer Prize, announced Monday, for Ruined, her play about the women of a Congolese brothel owned by an earth mother named Mama
Nadi..

"I wanted to tell the story of these women and the war
in the Congo and I couldn't find anything about them in the newspapers
or in the library, so I felt I had to get on a plane and go to Africa
and find the story myself," Nottage told the Associated Press.  "I
felt there was a complete absence in the media of their narrative. It's
very different now, but when I went in 2004 that was definitely the
case."

The drama currently is on view at
off-Broadway's Manhattan Theatre Club and is a co-production with
Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

Approximately 100 people  braved the inclement weather Monday night to participate in the first forum for candidates for City Council in the 33rd District (that includes the North Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, parts of Carroll Gardens, Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

The event, held in the auditorium of St. Francis College on Remsen Street, was sponsored by Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, was my first chance to eyeball and hear all the candidates in the 33rd. As you know I've had breakfast one on one with all the candidates in the 39th District.

So who was there? Six of the seven candidates, a smattering of local press, and interested citizens of the 33rd District.

And who are the candidates? Issac Abraham, Ken Behr, Doug Biviano, Ken Diamondstone, Jo Anne Simon and Evan Thiese. Steve Levin is also a candidate but he was not in attendance.

I could give you a quickk snapshot of each of the candidates but I am still processing my impressions and trying to decipher my notes.

More later.

I just heard from one of the organizer of the Kids Food Fair which
is part of the Brooklyn Food Conference

The conference is on May 1 and there are two sites for this ambitious event: adult and teen
events are at John Jay HS (Seventh Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets) and will run all day from 9-5 and end in a
dinner/dance.  And the Kids Food Fair runs from 11-3 at PS 321 (180 Seventh Avenue). 

She provided me with a  list of activities for the did's events at PS 321 so you can see all the great activities they're offering.  For more information on the whole thing, you can
log onto brooklynfoodconference.org.

The following is a list of events for kids at the Kids Food Fair at PS 321
All children must be accompanied by an adult, please!

Keeping Chickens in the City: A Community Gardner Shares His Chickens and Expertise
Gregory Anderson, Walt L. Shamel Community Garden

Big Feast: A Menu-Building Game Using Food from the Farmers Market
Sarah Poten, Greenmarket Youth Education Project, CENYC

Making Yummy Guacamole!
Laura Stanley, The Sylvia Center

Breakfasts For Babies: Wholesome Baby Food From Around The World To Your Kitchen
T.I. Williams, Educator and Activist

Bread-ucation: Learn, Create and Interact with the Bakers of HotBread Kitchen
Jessamyn Waldman, HotBread Kitchen

Puppet Show: Alicia’s Adventures in Bodegaland
Anna Sobel, Talking Hands Theatre

YOGA!
Jen Henriquez, International School of Brooklyn
Amy Quinn-Suplina, Bend and Bloom Yoga
Lauren Maples, BijaKids

‘Ask Me’ Clinic: Educated Advice on Food, Health, Nutrition and Allergies
Danielle Green, Brooklyn College
Maurice Washington, Maurice Healthworks
Nancy Tanney, Mother and Kindergarten Teacher, Brooklyn Friends
Sung Uni Lee, Holistic Health Educator and Chef
Lillian Hope, Mother and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, New York Presbyterian Hospital

Sweet and Savory Muffins: A Cooking Activity
Nadia Rohrs, Occupational Therapist, PS 261
Eila Masur, Occupational Therapist, PS 321

Farm to Table: An Art Mural Painting Activity
Isabel Cruz, PS 27 Art Teacher

Go, Slow, Whoa!: A Physical Exercise Activity
Dina Lipkind, MS, RD, CDN; Yeled V’ Yalda Early Childhood Center-Eat Well, Play Hard in Community Project

Butter Churning and Apple Cider Making
Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum

Making Vegetable Summer Rolls
Ellen Barker, Go! Healthy The Children’s Aid Society

Urban Organic Farming: A Seed Sprouting Tutorial
Anastasia Andreyeva, Brooklyn College
Alex Sherman, Brooklyn College

What Does Hunger Look Like?: Learning about World Hunger
Shelton Walker, Mercy Corps

Let’s Make Ice Cream!
Farmer Rick, Ronnybrook Farms

Story and Art Activities from the Librarians of the Brooklyn Public Library
Lana Adlawan,
Lauren Anduri,
Janet Conton
Rakisha Kearns-White

Wiggly Worm Composting
Michelle Piano, Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment
Janet Pedersen, Children’s Book Author, Illustrator, and Composting Enthusiast

Scavenger Hunt for a Sustainable World
Barry Weinbrom, Environmental Educator

A Fair Trade Chocolate Tasting: Smell and Touch Real Cacao Beans and Learn How Chocolate Is Made
Ruthie Orland, Equal Exchange

Letter Writing Campaign/Art Project
Claudia Friedetsky, Parents for Climate Protection
Jacqueline Smith, Parents for Climate Protection

Dinneropoly: Travel the World to Gather a Sustainable Dinner
Katherine Borowitz, Green Mom
Marietta and Peter Brill, Green Parents

Story Pie: A Tasty Series of Readings and Activities
Robert Weinstock reads Food Hates You, Too and Other Poems and leads a poetry workshop

Emily Goodman reads Plant Secrets and we’ll plant a pizza garden

Janet Pederson reads Pino and the Signora’s Pasta and we’ll draw food portraits!

Green Smoothies!
Amie Hamlin, New York  Coalition for Healthy School Food

Brooklyn Bees: All about Beekeeping in the City from Brooklyn’s Own Artisanal Urban Honey Maker
John Howe, Brooklyn Bee

Acrobatics!
Big Apple Circus Afterschool Kids, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Film Preview: What’s on Your Plate? A Provocative New Documentary about City Kids Exploring Their Place in the Food Chain.  Includes Q & A with the film’s stars Sadie Rain Hope-Gund and Safiyah Kai Russell Riddle

Hip Hop Applesauce: Cool Moves from STATIC
Tilden High School’s Hip Hop Dance Troupe

That's Tuesday night at Issue Project Room. Doors open at 8 p.m. Show begins at 8:30. And what a reading it will be with music by Hal Wilner, Sean Lennon, Yuka Honda, Trevor Dunn  and Doug Weiselman.

Issue Project Room at the Old American Can Factory
232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Telephone: 718-330-0313

This Thursday at Brooklyn Reading Works (BRW), another great event you won't want to
miss. Raina Washington, recipient of the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing
Awards at Brooklyn College, curates an evening of exciting new writing by
writers from the MFA program at Brooklyn College.

As usual, it's all happening at the Old Stone House in Park Slope (Fifth Avenue and Third Street) at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is appreciated and includes blender drinks and snacks.

Maisy Card was born in Jamaica but raised in Queens New York. She is happily now a resident of Brooklyn. She is a second year writer in the Brooklyn College MFA program and a member of the Brooklyn Writers Space. Maisy’s work explores characters and reinvents memories of life in Jamaica.

Andy Hunter has served as editor-in-chief of various publications, including The Brooklyn Review, Mean Magazine, and Lollapalooza Magazine.  In 2005, his short fiction won the James Kirkwood prize, and in 2008 he obtained his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. He is working on his first novel.

Kristen Meinzer is a Brooklyn-based writer. She received a BA in cultural studies and comparative literature from the University of Minnesota in 1999, an interdisciplinary MA in public history and consumer culture from NYU in 2005, and an MFA in fiction writing from Brooklyn College in 2008. While at Brooklyn College, she served as Associate Fiction Editor of the Brooklyn Review, and was a recipient of the Himan Brown Award in Creative Writing. In 2008, she was granted a fellowship with the Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation. Kristen's current project, entitled The Year Of Asking (www.theyearofasking.com), documents her attempts to receive something everyday, and receive it for free, for an entire year.

Felise Nguyen was unworriedly conceived in Saigon then born with some difficulty in San Francisco then raised with much difficulty in Houston.  She has chronic difficulty answering the question, Where are you from?, except when she’s traveling, in which case she easily answers “Brooklyn”.  She is a graduate of Barnard College, and the University of Chicago Law School where she was taught by Martha Nussbaum and Barack Obama.  She has every intention of receiving her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College this May.  She currently divides her time between working as a legal analyst and seeking a cause larger than herself, which should be easy because she is very small.

Raina Washington never though she’d live to see the day when ass cleavage is no longer a big deal. She was recently a NYC Teaching Fellow, where she was not only allowed, but paid to teach English to 6th graders. She is slowly getting her brain back. Raina likes to raise the dead in her writing – giving new voices to people from long ago. All writing is a kind of love letter to these folks. Her work has appeared in Tarpaulin Sky and The Olive Tree Review. Raina’s play “Reading the Meter” was performed at the Little Theater at Dixon Place. She has received the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing awards. Raina has a coveted writing MFA from Brooklyn College. Please wish her well as she moves to Washington DC this summer.

On Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Anne Waldman, who has published over forty volumes of poetry, directed St. Mark's
Poetry Project, and co-founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied
Poetics will read at the Stephan Dweck Center at the Central Library. Brooklyn-born Martin Espada has published thirteen books in all as a
poet, essayist, editor and translator will also be reading.

The Stephan Dweck Center
Brooklyn Public Library (at Grand Army Plaza)

OTBKB has four free tickets to see Nina Violet at Jalopy tonight. Let me know if you are interested.

Nina an intriguing new artist from Martha's Vineyard, is a songwriting machine who sings and plays a half dozen instruments. She is part of Willie Mason's ("Oxygen") band and has opened for Radiohead with Willie in the UK.

www.myspace.com/ninaviolet

Another great event at Brooklyn Reading Works that you won't want to miss.

Raina Washington curates an evening of new fiction by Brooklyn writers.

April 23rd at the Old Stone House at 8 p.m.
Fifth Avenue at Third Street

A $5 donation includes blender drinks and refreshments.

Photo of voice activated blender by PM Tarrone