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arts and culture

Tom Martinez, Witness: Buddhist Monk with Open Hands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi, who leads Buddhist Global Relief, is a renowned translator of the Pali Canon and frequent contributor to Parabola and many other magazines and journals. Here he poses for a photo after a meeting of Occupy Faith inside the sanctuary of the Fourth Universalist Society (Central Park West and 76th St.).

When I explained I wanted to photograph him for a project having to do with open hands and the UN effort to pass an Arms Trade Treaty he readily agreed.

This image of the Buddhist monk and others will be projected behind live dancers next Thursday, July 26th at 6PM at the Church Center for the UN (E. 44th St. and 1st Ave, directly across the street from the UN).

For info on the Arms Trade Treaty: http://www.controlarms.org/news.php?id=11351

arts and culture

Machel Montano: Spirit of Trinidad Carnival at Celebrate Brooklyn

On Friday, July 20, Machel Montano brings the wild and steamy spirit of Trinidad Carnival to Celebrate Brooklyn’s bandshell in Prospect Park. Doors open at 6:30 PM.

Born in 1974 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Montano’s career began in 1982 at age seven; at age nine he formed his band, Pranasonic Express. His 1985 debut album Too Young to Soca was an instant hit and at the age of 12, he was the winner of the Caribbean Song Festival

The night begins with an opening set by the socially conscious Creole singer-songwriter Bélo, who has been called Haiti’s musical ambassador to the world.

arts and culture

Creative Activity for Teens & Tweens at Film Biz Recyling in Gowanus

Here’s a fun thing for teens and tweens to do this weekend. Great if you don’t know what else to do with all those special family photos, cards, and random pictures on your wall.

Join Ashley Lucas at Film Biz Recycling this summer to make something super cool with your finds at home + the wonderful recyclables at FBR! Register today for Saturday’s event.

Found Items Collage

Ages 10+ | Great for Tweens + Teens

July 22, 2012 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm

$15 Per Person

 Film Biz Recycling

540 President Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Civics and Urban Life

Good News From the MTA for Brooklyn

Today the MTA announced that they’re spending $29 million to restore some service lost to budget cuts last year, and even some new bus lines.

Back in 2009, the MTA cried poverty and eliminated certain bus routes in an effort to balance the 2009-2010 budget (at the expense of its customers, I might add).

Today they’ve restored many of those eliminated bus lines and announced some brand new bus lines in places that never had buses before. One of these routes goes from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Greenpoint along the East River waterfront.

Red Hook, the neighborhood most underserved by public transportation, also got new bus service, which is very good news.

A cynic might say that the MTA did the good deed to sweeten the fact that they’re planning to raise fares next year. But the adding back and expansion of services is good news since much of it is happening in Brooklyn.

They also say that there has been an uptick in the number of riders on public transportation. All of these improvements will be phased in over the course of a year beginning this coming October.

“You have my assurance that we are committed to the strongest, most efficiently operated transportation system we can provide to the region and promise you that we will make every effort to continue to make the kind of progress that makes these improvements possible,” says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. Lhota who has been in service since November.

For specifics about the restoration and improvements go here. 

arts and culture

Best Fifth Avenue Bar to Watch Louis CK (Community Bookstore Episodes)

Tonight at 10:30pm! Watch the episode of Louie shot at the Community Bookstore with the bookstore crowd at the Loki Lounge (Fifth Avenue and 2nd Street). It’s a screening party!

You’ll get a chance to see the bookstore on TV.

Says the bookstore: “If you can’t make it to Loki (and our apologies for the late notice-it’s not easy finding a bar with TVs that’s not fearful of bookstore rowdies) you can watch “Louie” on FX in the safety of your home. And, with luck and if we behave ourselves, Loki will let us back next week when the second bookstore episode airs.”

Civics and Urban Life

More Bus Service to Red Hook

What a week it was for Brookyn bus and subway riders.

Well, it’s practically  old news, but it’s worth repeating that the  MTA has agreed to make the G train 5-stop extension to Church Avenue permanent. The G extension has increased the number of trains running along the Culver line through Kensington, Windsor Terrace, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and connecting our neighborhoods to Downtown Brooklyn and North Brooklyn.

But now there’s more news: the B57 bus (which now runs along Smith and Court Street), will be extended into Red Hook (past Smith/9th Street and down to IKEA), and more buses are being added to the route. That means another bus serving Red Hook, which desperately needs a second bus, and much less crowding on the B61 line, which often skips stops because buses are too crowded.

Big News and a big win for Brooklyn subway and bus riders.

 

Civics and Urban Life

Brooklyn Mudra: Yoga Hike in Prospect Park

by Anna Sheinman

Practicing yoga outdoors will add a different dimension to your practice.

Yoga trains your mind to be still. When a mind is tame, you can see things clearly. Nature will intensify this experience and heighten your awareness.

By practicing outdoors you can establish your link to the environment. You can feel how inseparable you are from it.

Many yogic postures resemble animals and natural elements. Practicing it outdoors, you can experience this inseparability.

Looking into the vastness of the horizon, observing graceful birds flying in a space of “no walls,” the open space expands into the vastness and you sense the freedom you just can’t replicate indoors.

Spice up your practice with the special effects by inhaling and focusing on the smells of nature, such as mountain winds, ocean tides or grass. Exhale, be grateful and release back into nature. Listen to the music of the trees and the wind of the mountains. When you stop and “smell the outdoors,” it’s as if Mother Nature is telling us to be present and breathe deeply. Here’s a chance to practice Yoga outdoors:

LUNA Free Yoga: Yoga Hike in the Prospect Park

28 July, 2012 at 9.00am

Prospect Park West and 9th Street (map)

We kick off the day with an easy hike in Prospect Park to explore the beauty of the urban wonder with like-minded friends. We will continue to our amazing setting. The class will feature Vinyasa Krama as our main practice followed by breathing and meditation practices. It will consist of pose variations done slowly with great attention to breath steadiness and comfort. Outdoor Yoga Hike offers a stimulating experience for newbies and advanced yogis alike.

Wear: comfortable stretchy clothing Bring: Water sunblock mat or a towel. We’ll meet at the entrance to Prospect Park West on 9th Street (take F to 7th Avenue and walk towards the park) RSVP your spot today: http://www.yogalocal.com/?page_id=13302

See Anna’s bio here.

 

arts and culture

Best Park Slope Bar to Watch Breaking Bad: The Gate

The Gate,surely one of the best neighborhood bars ever, on Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope will air Sunday episodes of the fifth season of Breaking Bad.

If you’re into Breaking Bad and you do not have cable television, this will be excellent news.

This is the place to wach the continuing mis-adventures of Water and Jesse played by the great Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The show, directed and written by Vince Gilligan,  airs at 10PM Sunday nights in NYC.

This is the fifth and final season and from what I’ve heard the first episode was INCREDIBLE.

 

Civics and Urban Life

Green Beans Not Walgreens in Windsor Terrace

2,000 signatures have been collected so far from neighbors in Windsor Terrace, who are opposed to a new Walgreens at the site of the old Key Food, that went out of business in 2012.

“Green Beans Not Walgreens” is smart and funny new slogan (and website name) the group has come up with. The site will be chock full of information and action to oppose the replacement of Key Food with a Walgreens pharmacy.

The neighborhood activists say the area needs a full-service grocery store and not another pharmacy/drug store. Read more at their website. 

 

arts and culture

Food Will Win the War at Union Hall Tonight

Pop quiz: Who said “Food Will Win the War “and what war is it?

Also, the band, Food Will Win the War is performing at Union Hall (702 Union Street) in Park Slope this evening at 8:00 PM. It’s probably their last local show for a couple of months.

“Food Will Win the War explores a space largely unexplored even in Brooklyn’s dense music scene. There’s a delicate balance in this music between the fun of surrealist fantasy and the acceptance of life’s realities.” -Mike Levine, The Deli Magazine

And if you’re into bocce ball, you should come early (and/or stay late) because there are two bocce ball courts upstairs at Union Hall

arts and culture

Louis CK Episode Filmed in Park Slope’s Community Bookstore Airs July 19, Public Screening TBD

http://youtu.be/4Muf6Gl2pHM
This Thursday, July 19, one of the episodes of Louis C.K. shot in the Community Bookstore airs at 10:30pm on FX. So they are going to have a viewing party, of course. But where?

At last report, they were still trying to find a site with cable TV and plenty of space (and alcohol).

I will let you know where the viewing party is when I find out.

arts and culture, Civics and Urban Life

Coney Island Talent Show: Cash & Prizes on July 28

The Coney Island Boardwalk: What a great spot for a talent show.

Be part of the 3rd Annual Coney Island Talent Show on the boardwalk (between 10th & 12th street) on Saturday July 28th from 3:30pm-8pm.

Categories for this year’s talent contest are:

Creative kids 9-12 years old

Creative kids 13-17 years old

Circus Freaks & Sideshow Geeks

Song & Dance

Best Drag Performance or Celebrity Impersonator

Over $4000 in cash and prizes!

This years celebrity judges include Dick Zigun of Coney Island USA, Miss Ekaterina, Broadway Brassy and artsy Waldorf kid, Sequoia Harrison!

 

Food and Drink

Peter Luger Named Best Steak House In US By USA Today

Peter Luger, the renowned and historic steak house in Williamsburg, Brooklyn,  was recently named the best steakhouse in the United States byUSA Today.

Marty Markowitz had this to say about this carnivore’s emporium: “Now Americans across the country know what Brooklynites and New Yorker s have known all along: that Peter Luger is, hands down, the best place to eat a steak in America.”

The steak house has been around since 1887. Here’s a link to the  USA Today story: http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/story/2012-07-12/The-USAs-best-steakhouse/56183522/1

arts and culture

Dancing Under the Stars Tonight in Park Slope

 Tonight is Dancing Under the Stars, the Fifth Avenue BID’s summer music/dance program (every Tuesday evening in July and August).

Coincidentally, I just ran into Irene LoRe, who runs the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID  at Forty Weight/Sweet Wolf’s on Sixth Avenue and 12th Street.

Tonight DJ Chris Style in Washington Park will be spinning the beats for great dancing.

Starting at 6, of course, Park Slope’s favorite rock band, Rolie Polie Guacamole, will do an hour of music for kids.

At 7, Dj Chris Style will spin the dance beats that will get Fifth Avenue moving!

Civics and Urban Life

In Honor of the G-Train Extension: A Hop On & Off G-Train Tour

I think it’s probably just coincidence that  the 92YTribeca sent this out on the heels of yesterday’s MTA rumored announcement that the G-Train extension would be permanent.

Coincidence or not, it sounds like a fun tour if you’re into those sorts of things (I am but I never get around to it. Note to self: do it). On Sat, Aug 11, from 11AM until 2:30 PM (tickets from $35), the 92YTribeca is sponsoring a Walking Tour called the Brooklyn Train Tour.

And it focuses on Brooklyn’s beloved G-train.

The G is the only train in the subway system that doesn’t stop in Manhattan. Durng this walk, you will hop on and off the line from Carroll Gardens to Clinton Hill and Williamsburg , taking in townhouses, campus facilities and other buildings along the way.

Actually, none of the extension stops will be included. Hmmm. Next time.

The guide, John Hill is an architect, blogger, adjunct professor at NYIT and author of Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture, which looks at more than 200 buildings built in the five boroughs since 2000. Meet in front of The Schermerhorn, 160 Schermerhorn Street , between Smith and Hoyt streets.

 

arts and culture

Stitch This at the Brooklyn Museum

To all you crafty minded people who aren’t going to a beach this weekend, I’ve got something for you to do on Saturday, July 21 at the Brooklyn Museum, which is very well air-conditioned.

I just heard from Julia Santoli a member of the Adult Programs division of the Education Department at the Brooklyn Museum.

This Saturday, July 21 at 2 pm, the Brooklyn Museum is holding a Creative Art Making program called “Stitch This.”

Led by Etsy artist Jessica Marquez, participants will create bold, graphic works of art combining thread and paper with images and text. Participants will need to bring their own image (preferably as 5 x 5-inch photocopies), or be inspired to create something original.

There is a $15 materials fee, and registration is required. Register at www.museumtix.com or at the Museum’s Visitor Center.

Sounds fun, eh?

arts and culture

Marissa Mayer, New Top Exec at Yahoo

File under: maybe Yahoo won’t be such a crappy site/email service anymore.

The talk yesterday at a blogger’s event for a certain frozen yogurt shop in Park Slope, in addition to what flavor of yogurt to try, was about Marissa Mayer, the brand new executive of the troubled Yahoo (and my email service).

Many at yesterday’s event for mostly twenty-something Brooklyn social media mavens were enthusiastic about the choice of Mayer, who was a very early employee of Google, is a trained engineer, with a masters degree in computer science from Stanford. She ran Google’s search group, location and local division.

Good cred, I’d say.

The company has not had great luck with leadership recently. A slew of execs have come and gone, including. Terry Semel, Jerry Yang, Carol Bartz, and Scott Thompson.

A young woman who works at Small Girls, the PR firm that is handling said new Park Slope yogurt shop’s PR suggested that Mayer might render Yahoo a cool place to work.

The plain yogurt was my favorite and I’m excited to see if Mayer, who happens to be pregnant, brings something new and exciting to the Yahoo table.

arts and culture

An Upright Piano on Third Street

About a month ago, someone on Third Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues in Park Slope) wanted to get  rid of an upright piano. They wrapped it in plastic and left it in their building’s front yard. Perhaps they were waiting for someone to take it, to sell it, or for bulk garbage day.

The Department of Sanitation provides “free curbside removal of large non-commercial ‘bulk’ items (items that are too big to be discarded in a container or bag) from residential buildings.”

A piano is definitely too big to be discarded in a container or bag.

On Monday afternoon, in preparation for bulk garbage pick up, the piano’s owners left the piano on the curb.

A talented local musician I know tried to convince his father to carry the piano to the apartment where he lives. When THAT didn’t happen, he had the idea to make a video of himself performing two songs using that piano. A group of his friends arrived on Third Street with a video camera and professional recording equipment.

The shoot lasted an hour or more. The piano is broken and more than a little out of tune. The local musician was able to make the non-working peddles work.

It was, I thought, a sight to behold. In the golden light of a summer afternoon, a young musician sat on an old television set, playing an out-of-tune upright on the Third Street sidewalk, surrounded by friends.

The songs, they were beautiful.

 

Civics and Urban Life

G-Train Extension is Now Permanent

In 2009, the MTA added five stops to the G-train route in Brooklyn, including Seventh Avenue, 15th Street and Church Avenue. I for one was shocked the first time I saw a G train at the Seventh Avenue F-train station. Hey, what’s that doing here?

Interestingly, the addition of the five stops never had anything to do with rider convenience or the connecting of previously unconnected neighborhoods. It was all about track work on the F- line that prevented the G-train from doing its turnaround.

As far as the MTA was concerned: when the construction ended, the G-line extension would be history.

Over time, I made use of that G-train. I’d take it to Hoyt/Schermerhorn and connect to the A train into Manhattan or to Bed Stuy. I’d take it to Williamsburg. Like me, riders liked the extra five stops and the convenience and connections they offered. The only negative is when you’re waiting for a F-train into Manhattan and the G-train pulls into the station instead of the F. I have been known to utter: “Damn that G-train.” But there’s usually an G-train close behind.

Business owners along the new route liked it, too. Many local politicians, including Marty Markowitz, state Sen, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Daniel Squadron joined with riders and local businesses to pressure the MTA to keep the five extra stops.

The pressure worked, we’ve got our extra five stops for G-train travel and everybody is happy.

 

Food and Drink

Will Pinkberry Advertise on a Local Park Slope Blog: It Remains To Be Seen

3 Comments

The following is an exchange that went on between me and Team Pinkberry. I noticed that someone from the new Park Slope Pinkberry was reading my blog posts and even chiming in about dates and times for their opening.

It occurred to me that it would be nice for them to advertise on OTBKB. So I sent them a message on Facebook. There is no Facebook page for the local Brooklyn business so I guess it went into some national Pinkberry message space.

Yesterday, I spoke with Ryan, the owner of Park Slope’s Pinkberry. He lives in Long Island and is very excited about opening a business here. I asked him directly if he’d like to advertise on OTBKB and he told me that he’d have to speak with the national office about advertising.

Today, I got this email from the national office. I think it’s a form letter response. I feel a little bit dissed, I have to admit.

 

Louise Crawford

July 12

Louse Crawford

  • Dear Team Pinkberry: Thanks for the comment on my blog and I will let the readers of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn (a popular Park Slope blog since 2004) know that there will be an opening celebration on July 19th. Yay.

    I’d like to offer you an inexpensive banner ad. If you send me a banner jpeg or gif, you can have the top banner spot on my blog.

    Let me know if you’re interested and I will quote you a low price for 6 months!!!

    People know and trust OTBKB and an ad here will speak volumes about our delight in the addition of Pinkberry to the Seventh Avenue landscape.

    Best, Louise

  • Pinkberry
    about an hour ago

    Pinkberry

    • We are pleased to learn of your interest in partnering with the one-of-a-kind brand that is Pinkberry. We will be sure to share your contact information with the marketing team for further review and follow up. Thank you.

  • Louise Crawford
    a few seconds ago

    Louise Crawford

    • Thanks. Advertising with a local blog would show a real commitment to the community. And Brooklyn LOVES neighborhood-invested businesses. It must go both ways.

    • Park Slope’s Barnes & Noble got a lot of flack for not, initially, doing things in conjunction with local schools, etc. They changed their ways big-time and now are, I think, considered a part of the neighborhood when they do the gift wrap fundraisers and poetry readings for local schools. It is especially important for chains and franchises to show their love for where they are.

Civics and Urban Life

Good News for Brooklyn G-Train Riders

Riders around here LIKED those extra five G-train stops. They connected Park Slope, Kensington and Windsor Terrace to each other to Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. I for one found it very useful.

The MTA said no, it’s got to go. But the riders and pols spoke back.

Well, the people WON. The MTA has agreed to keep those five extra stops. And it’s a big win for straphangers.

NYC Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio had this to say:

“It’s hard to remember the last time we had good news about transit in Brooklyn. Our message to the MTA was simple: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It looks like we’ve been heard. Keeping these extra five stops is a huge win for commuters and businesses in the Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington.”

arts and culture

Brooklyn Social Media: My New Company is Growing

File this under: unabashed self-promotion.

On May 24, 2012, I announced my new venture, Brooklyn Social Media with a post on OTBKB. I made a quick logo (which is about to change), set up a Facebook page, and went out in search of clients.

Well, it didn’t take long.

I’ve had an exciting two months. From my office in Park Slope, I worked hard to define and refine what it is I have to offer. In the process, I’ve developed a rather extensive menu of deliverables, including a Social Media Kit, Blog Tours, a Social Media Strategy and an Editorial Plan for blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Video, Constant Contact, podcasts and more. I also offer coaching and short-term consulting and brainstorming.

First and foremost, I am helping creative entreprenuers and authors of all kinds (published, self-published, print-on-demand, etc) reach a wide audience using social media. One of the ways I do this is by interacting with book and special interest bloggers, who do book reviews and Q&As with authors.

You’ve heard of a Book Tour, well now a Blog Tour is the thing. And it’s armchair travel for the author. Some of these book bloggers can be quite influential when it comes to recommending books, featuring authors on their blogs, giveaways, and Q&As.

There has been a wellspring of interest in this from authors and publishers and I am currently hard at work on behalf of an interesting group of authors including Peter Matthiessen Wheelwright, author of As It Is On Earth (forthcoming from Fornite) and Ora Shtull author of The Glass Elevator, to name just two.

I am also happy to be working closely with Marian Brown PR. Marian has been called a new author’s dream. She was Anne Lamott’s publicist. Lamott writes: “Marian was my publicist when Bird by Bird came out, and it was a true pleasure to work with her. She was brilliant and efficient, hardworking and fun.”

I can tell you, Marian Brown is truly someone you want on your team.

Another client I am happy to be working with is  Legacy Portrait Films, award-winning filmmakers who capture and preserve elderly loved ones on film. This is an amazing and urgently important service (and gift) for those with aging parents.

Today, I set up a twitter account for Brooklyn Social Media (@bksocialmedia) so please become a follower and I will be sending out tweets about all kinds of interesting books, authors, events, music, stores, people. Sort of like OTBKB but by tweet.

To you the readers of OTBKB, I ask you to please do a couple of things to help me create a sustainable business:

Please LIKE Brooklyn Social Media on Facebook (facebook.com/brooklynsocialmedia) AND become a friend.

Please FOLLOW Brooklyn Social Media (@bksocialmedia) on Twitter.

With gratitude.

 

Civics and Urban Life

New Awnings on Seventh Avenue via Here’s Park Slope

Let’s throw some love over to Here’s Park Slope. He’s got pictures of some new signage on Seventh Avenue. The Community Bookstore has a new green awning with the lovely typography we wrote about a few weeks ago. 

Also a new awning and renovations to the interior of Rice Thai Kitchen. Not pictured is a new hanging sign for Shawn’s Wine & Spirits. 

 

Civics and Urban Life

Bklyn College’s Bring a Weasel and a Pint of Your Own Blood Festival

File this under: it’s a Brooklyn thing but it’s taking place in Manhattan.

Plays by playwrights from Mac Wellman’s Brooklyn College MFA program are being presented in the seventh-annual Bring a Weasel and a Pint of Your Own Blood Festival.

Graduates of the experimental Brooklyn College program, led by the celebrated playwright Mac Wellman, have helped to shape New York downtown theatre over the last 10 years. Alumni of the program include Thomas Bradshaw, Annie Baker, Young Jean Lee and Ken Urban. This festival, now in its seventh year, has been called “a breeding ground for new work.”

How could I not post about something with a name like that.

Location: East 13th Street Theatre, 136 East 13th St
(btwn. 3rd & 4th Ave – 4, 5, 6, N, R train to 14th St, Union Sq)
Dates/Times: Thurs. August 9, Fri. August 10 & Sat. August 11 @ 8 pm
Tickets: $18/15 students, reserve tickets at bringaweasel@gmail.com

Civics and Urban Life

Venus & Jupiter Shinning Bright Over Park Slope

How remarkable. That’s Venus and Jupiter out my bedroom window, visible in the predawn darkness and morning twilight.  According to Earth Sky, you should be able to see two planets just before and after dawn throughout July.

I was having trouble sleeping and I popped out of bed.

Our bedroom window faces north but gives us a view of the east. Venus and Jupiter are the sky’s brightest and second-brightest planets. Very bright tonight!

Good thing I couldn’t sleep.

From my window, it looks like they’re straight up from Second Street and Seventh Avenue. It’s a sight to behold. Such bright planets, here in Brooklyn.

And there’s more planet watching to come.  Earth Sky says: “mid-July 2012, the waning moon will pass the bright planet Venus and Jupiter, making for some spectacular predawn sky scenes.”

 

arts and culture

Tom Martinez, Witness: DeJesus Painting at BWAC Color Show

July 28 through August 19 see how the artists of the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition  responded to the challenge: “What is color?”

There will be over 1000 works of art in all media exhibited in BWAC’s amazing 25,000 square foot Civil War-era warehouse gallery with great views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

The first floor of the exhibit will be devoted to a special juried show of 120 works of art in all media submitted by artists from around the country. Brooke Kamin Rapaport was the show’s sole juror. An independent curator and contributing editor and writer for Sculpture magazine, she is also the former curator of the contemporary art department of the Brooklyn Museum. 

Ms. Rapaport writes: “Through the deliberate choice of riffing on color, artists work in cellophane or video, digital photography or ink jet prints, acrylic or oil paint, loom loops or felt, and corrugated cardboard or collage. There are traditional landscape photos tweaked to magnify the photographer’s vision of a polychrome cityscape. There is an assortment of abstract painting, some referencing color theory and much of it looking nostalgically to 1950s and 1960s modernist canvases. There are great swaths of color in these installations, sculpture, paintings and photographs.”

arts and culture

New Poetry From D. Nurske: A Night in Brooklyn

D. Nurske was the Brooklyn Poet Laureate two poet laureates ago (Tina Chang currently holds that honor). His books of poems are published by Knoph, which makes him an unusual poet because “major publishing houses” don’t publish much in the way of contemporary poetry.

He’s considered a major American poet, I guess.

A resident of Brooklyn, he is the author of nine books of poetry, including Voices Over Water, The Fall (Knopf) and, Burnt Island. He has received in Whiting Writers’ Award, two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Tanne Foundation Award.

I’ve saw him read at Park Slope’s Community Bookstore in 2008 and he was quiet, thoughtful and compelling, as are his poems.

Now he has a new book out called A Night in Brooklyn, which you can get as a paper-and-glue book or as an eBook. Here’s the wonderful title poem from the book and it’s about a night of love in a narrow Brooklyn bed. I love it.

A Night in Brooklyn

We undid a button,

turned out the light,

and in that narrow bed

we built the great city —

water towers, cisterns,

hot asphalt roofs, parks,

septic tanks, arterial roads,

Canarsie, the intricate channels,

the seacoast, underwater mountains,

bluffs, islands, the next continent,

using only the palms of our hands

and the tips of our tongues, next

we made darkness itself, by then

it was time for daybreak

and we closed our eyes

until the sun rose

and we had to take it all to pieces

for there could be only one Brooklyn.