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Melissa
Kaish, Peter Manning, Paula Hornbostel, Frank Platt, Nick
Potter, Lorraine Weinberg, Jonathan Dorfman, Lee Potter,
John Hornbostel.
Photo courtesy of
Poet's House
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Invitation to the Muse:
A Celebration of Partners in Poetry
Raises Funds to Support Poets House’s Diverse Programs for
Adults and Children
Poets House, the nation’s poetry library and
literary center located in Lower Manhattan, presented an
evening celebrating the art of fine dining and timeless
poetry on Monday, February 27 with poets Mark
Doty, Cathy Park Hong, Taylor Mali and Nicole
Sealey. The
night was hosted by
Daniel Halpern, poet and president and publisher of
famed HarperCollins’s imprint Ecco Press.
All proceeds support Poets
House’s diverse programs for adults and children, which
keeps programming free or low cost. The
70,000-volume Poets House library, which features one of the
world’s most complete contemporary poetry collections,
reading room, and an imaginative children’s room are free
and open to the public.
This magical evening—a cosmic alignment of
food, wine, conversation, and poetry—began at Poets House
with effervescent toasts and continues at Danny
Meyer's lauded North End Grill for
a meal designed by Chef Eric Korsh and readings by acclaimed
guest poets. Wine pairings by celebrated importer and member
of the Poets House Board of Directors, Neal
Rosenthal, add sensory stimulus to this tantalizing
literary and culinary evening.
For almost thirty years, Poets House’s
mission, programming, and goals have worked to build a place
for poetry that welcomes every one. The library is filled
daily. The Poets House Emerging Poets Fellowship provides
deep support and community for important new voices from
around the world. Poets House continues to make a place of
learning, civil discourse and exchange that supports the
transformative power of poetry as it changes lives and
thinking, helping communities bend toward understanding.
As Poets House rounds the corner toward its
30th Anniversary, the depth of its commitment to
social justice programs—like Poets House’s ten city
initiative in libraries Poetic Voices of the Muslim
World—are also timely, necessary and have intrinsic social
value.
Poets House is
a 70,000-volume poetry library and a national literary
center that invites poets and the public to step into the
living tradition of poetry. Poets House—through its poetry
resources, literary events for adults and children, and
exhibitions—documents the wealth and diversity of modern
poetry and stimulates public dialogue on issues related to
poetry in culture. Founded in 1985 by two-time Poet Laureate
Stanley Kunitz and legendary arts administrator Elizabeth
Kray, the library has created a home for all who read and
write poetry. In 2009, Poets House moved into its permanent
home, at 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City, on the banks
of the Hudson River. Last year, 80,000 people visited Poets
House, and millions more were introduced to Poets House via
its new website and national partnerships. For more
information about these events and Poets House in
general, visit poetshouse.org and
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