I got off the subway in Astoria, and this is the image that greeted me. I just had to stop and take a photograph. I love the delicacy of the pink petals against the steel of the subway ramp, the art in nature and graffiti, the way the tree reaches out to the blue sky, persevering. We must bloom where we are planted.
Astoria is a neighborhood in Queens, New York, that in the 70s had the largest Greek population outside of Greece itself.
I expanded a post that started out here on this blog, and it’s up on Burnside now! It’s about the first Greek Easter I spent in New York….
I think there’s probably a law against carrying an open flame in the subway. I’m not sure. But it’s a pretty safe bet. This turns Easter in New York City into a midnight marathon.
So excited to finally share with you the press release for the documentary on endangered languages I’ve been involved with:
The First TV Series to Focus on Endangered Languages
New York City: “Of the 6500 languages spoken in the world today, only half will make it to the next century,” says poet Bob Holman, one of the founders of the Endangered Language Alliance and host of a new travel series spotlighting the cultures of endangered languages, premiering February 1, 2012, on LINK TV. “While endangered plants and animals are protected by law, who is looking out for the cultures and ways of life held in these words? That is the heart and mission of this series.” Encounter the distinct cultures and peoples of West Africa, Asia and the Middle East in the three-part documentary On the Road with Bob Holman and discover ancient languages on the brink of extinction. Each of the half-hour shows, produced by Rattapallax in association with Bowery Arts and Science, will air on Link TV, which is available on local cable channels, DVD, online, and on DirectTV channel 375 and Dish Network channel 9410.
“The way Anthony Bourdain goes after the edible delights of far-flung cultures,” comments Bob Holman, “that is the way I reveal the extraordinary richness of languages that encircles the globe—the personalities who embody ways of life so different from, yet achingly familiar to, our own.” Holman, who won three Emmys producing poetry shorts for WNYC-TV and founded the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City, discovers that the roots of spoken word go back thousands of years and span the globe. He goes On the Road to track them down! He throws himself into the life—sharing meals and participating in ceremonies, dances, and parties, as he trades stories, fun, recipes, insights, jokes, songs, and poems. Along the way, he gets passionately immersed in the Endangered Language crisis and guides us to the bottom-line question of survival of these systems of consciousness with respect, joy, and dedication to diversity. In 2010, with linguists Daniel Kaufman and Juliette Blevins, he founded the Endangered Language Alliance in New York.
In the first two episodes, Holman visits West Africa to focus on the griots, keepers of the West African oral tradition and tribal genealogy through poetic songs. He travels up the Niger River and continues on to Timbuktu, where Beat poet Ted Joans lived in the 1960s. He discovers the roots of hip-hop, rap, and blues that originated in Africa and witnesses a kora–guitar jam session between griot Karamo Susso and Ali Farka Toure’s son, Vieux. Holman then visits the Timbuktu Library, which houses volumes from the 16th century when the city was the center of African learning. We learn how to ride a camel before venturing into the Sahara, where we spend an afternoon listening to the hypnotic music of the Tuaregs, the nomadic “blue people,” so named because their indigo-dyed clothing rubs off on their skin. Then it’s on to Dogon country, where we witness a breathtaking mask ceremony. These two episodes air February 1 and February 8, 2012. The third episode focuses on the resurrection of Hebrew in Israel and the decline of Yiddish, Ladino, and other tongues. When poet Ronny Someck, a “true Israeli poet from Iraq,” gives Bob a tour of Jaffa and suggests he visit the West Bank to hear Arabic, Holman takes the grueling journey through the endless checkpoints and the Separation Wall to reach Ramallah. Once across the Wall, he meets with some young Palestinian hip-hop poets who explain the complexities of living near the Separation Wall that dominates the landscape. The experience leaves Holman pondering how a national language creates barriers between the many different voices and languages of the region and affects political thinking. This episode airs February 15, 2012.
Travel the road not taken, with Bob Holman, in On the Road with Bob Holman, beginning February 1, 2012, on LINK TV.
More to come soon!
Did you know Audubon (yes, the bird guy) was one of the founders of a church up in Washington Heights? If you weren’t able to make it to the live Church Hopping event, you can read about it here, on Burnside Writers Collective.
New York’s largest free literary event took place on Sunday, September 18. That’s right — the Brooklyn Book Festival!
My writer cohort and I had such a blast zig-zagging through the tents, ducking into readings, creeping close to authors, poring over books, and running into people we knew. She introduced me to John Woo of the Magnetic Fields. We ran into another friend from Little, Brown and Company, who instead of going the MFA route is doing his Masters in Publishing at NYU. I saw Alisa Harris, whom I used to work with at Patrol, and who now has her own book out.
On the speaker side of things, I got to hear my writing mentors Phillip Lopate and Darcey Steinke. I also got to hear Mary Karr, whom I had also heard speak at FFW. Plus so many other great speakers.
I spied my writing colleague Susan E. Isaac‘s memoir on the Greenlight Bookstore table at Brooklyn Book Fest.
…as well as Greek American Tina Fey‘s memoir.
There are days when I’m in the mood to write, to let the words flow freely onto the paper, only to end up feeling all angsty sitting up in my room, all alone in front of the computer. Writing can feel so isolating sometimes. In the summer, when the weather’s warm, I want to sit outside in the grass or at the beach, instead of in my room or in a café. To remedy my desire to both write and enjoy some sunshine I’ve been taking my work outdoors.
The other day I packed up an essay I’d been working on and went to Central Park. If you enter in the East Seventies, there’s a man-made pond, where you can rent toy sailboats. There are a ton of benches and lots of sunshine even in the evening hours, so it makes for a great writing spot.
Being outside writing made me feel so productive! I felt like I was not only getting my writing done but that I was still taking advantage of the last month of summer and the beauty of living by Central Park.
Check out Burnside for a full recap on Church Hopping LIVE to St. Bart’s. Part 2 to St. Patrick’s will post later this week so keep your eyes peeled!
And, don’t forget: the next Church Hopping LIVE event is August 20. Details here.
“Ten minutes from the George Washington Bridge.” That’s how I always described where I grew up. There was something about growing up in northern New Jersey that made us define our hometown by its proximity to New York City.
Photographs I took of the Manhattan skyline on a recent visit to New Jersey.
I think there’s probably a law against carrying an open flame in the subway. I’m not sure. But it’s a pretty safe bet. This threw my Easter celebrations into flux last year.
Usually I spend Easter with my family in Baltimore. Last year, though, Greek Orthodox Easter fell on the same Sunday as “American” (i.e., Protestant and Catholic) Easter, so I decided to stay in New York rather than deal with holiday traffic.
At the Cathedral, we lit candles to signify that now that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, we, the believers, are to be to the light to the world. We carry our lit candles out of the church with us at the midnight Easter service, and shine them for all the world to see on our way home. Up until last year, that had always meant carrying our lit candles into my uncle’s van.
Last year, though, I took the subway to the Easter service. When I left the Cathedral, lit candle in hand, I realized I was more than twenty blocks from my apartment. How could I get home with my candle still lit?
Surely, I’d get stopped if I tried to go in the subway.
What cabbie wouldn’t object?
I can never figure out the bus system, and it certainly wouldn’t be the solution anyway.
So, I hoofed it. I got a lot of stares from passersby on my walk home. At first, the masses coming from the Cathedral looked like we’d attended a vigil. Or, maybe we were part of a weird cult. As the crowd dispersed—east, west, uptown, downtown—we began to look like solitary candle holders. Who were we? Why were we carrying candles across city sidewalks in the middle of the night?
I’m glad you asked.
I passed this gelato stand in Central Park the other day. Dear spring, I hope you settle in and stay awhile. I’m looking forward to sundresses, reading by the fountain, and picnics with friends.
Stephanie Nikolopoulos is a writer, editor, writing teacher, and speaker based in New York City.
She is the coauthor, with Paul Maher Jr., of "Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road.'"
You can email her at stephanie_701 {@} yahoo.com
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 