Poetry & Pictures - Nov 18 - Evening of Frank O'Hara with readings by Hettie Jones & Tony Towle November 18, 2009

“Pictures and Poetry” – Gallery opening of work by four celebrated photographers and evening of Frank O’Hara poetry

Book Signing, Q & A, Refreshments, Free – Public Welcome

• Through the Lens - Selected black & white photography (31 images) featuring artists Sally Gall, Jerome Liebling, Caleb Cain Marcus and Jill Mathis.

• Writing Worth Reading: An Evening of Frank O’Hara – Hettie Jones and Tony Towle offer personal anecdotes of the poet as they read from his work.

When/What: Wednesday, November 18, 2009. 5:00 to 6:00 p.m: Wine and Cheese reception. 6:00 to 7:30 p.m: An Evening of Frank O’Hara with poetry readings by Hettie Jones and Tony Towle, followed by question & answer session, book signing (books by all three poets available for sale) and dessert reception (coffee and sweets).

Who’s Who – Poetry Reading

Frank O’Hara. O’Hara is one of the most beloved poets in modern times. During the 1950s and 1960s - until his death in a tragic accident at the age of 40 – he was a charismatic figure in the New York City cultural world. In addition to being an innovative and highly influential poet, he was an art critic and an important curator at the Museum of Modern Art. He also led an involved, hectic social life which continues to fascinate readers. O'Hara's poetry was featured on the first episode of Season 2 of "Mad Men" earlier this year - http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2009/03/frank-ohara.php AND
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5765938.ece

Hettie Jones. Jones married the then unpublished poet LeRoi Jones (now Amiri Baraka) in 1958. One of the few visible interracial couples at the time, the two were at the center of the downtown bohemian New York literary, jazz and art worlds. Her memoir How I Became Hettie Jones describes this period in her life and was listed by the New York Times in its Notable Books of the year. Her most recent poetry book, Doing 70, came out in 2007. She is the former Chair of the PEN Prison Writing Committee and currently a member of PEN’s Advisory Council.

Tony Towle. O’Hara was the mentor who changed his life. Since meeting O’Hara in 1962, Towle has published 12 books of poetry and a prose memoir and has received numerous awards, including the Gotham Book Mart Avant-Garde Poetry prize, an NEA Fellowship and an Ingram Merrill Foundation Fellowship. His book North (1970) was the third winner of the Frank O’Hara Award for Experimental Poetry. Like O’Hara, he has been involved in the art world, both as an art writer and as Administrative Assistant at the legendary printmaking center Universal Limited Art Editions on Long Island, where he has worked with Larry Rivers, Robert Motherwell, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg and other prominent artists.

General Public RSVP: By November 16 to [email protected]